Staying Power : 30 Secrets Invincible Executives Use for Getting to the Top - and Staying There

287 Pages·2003·1.63 MB·English

by  Thomas A. Schweich

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S
TAYING
P
OWER
3 0 S E C R E T S I N V I N C I B L E
E X E C U T I V E S U S E F O R
G E T T I N G TO T H E TO P
A N D S TAY I N G T H E R E
—
THOMAS A. SCHWEICH
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To my wife, Kathy, and my children,
Emilie and Thomas Jr.
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: “Most Unlikely to Succeed” ix
PART I THE INVINCIBLE CAREER PATH 1
RULE 1 Do Not Map Out Your Career 3
RULE 2 Discover Your Talents Early, and Discard Your
Fantasies Immediately 13
RULE 3 Maintain Pervasive Professional Flexibility 23
RULE 4 Get Lucky 33
RULE 5 Promote the Organization, Not Yourself 47
RULE 6 Connections Get You a First Chance, but Never a
Second One 55
RULE 7 When You Suffer a Setback, Come Clean
and Bounce Back 67
RULE 8 Learn to Take a Punch 77
RULE 9 Work Is a Member of the Family 87
RULE 10 Find a Job That You Look Forward to Every Day 93
PART II THE INVINCIBLE PERSONALITY 99
RULE 11 Anger Is a Tactic, Not an Emotion 101
RULE 12 Harness Your Fear to Sharpen Your Professional
Judgment 111
RULE 13 Respect Ambition, but Destroy Opportunism 119
RULE 14 Value Loyalty, but Do Not Depend on It 127
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vi Contents
RULE 15 Put a Very Fine Line Between Yourself and Your
Subordinates 133
RULE 16 Wield a Spiritual Shield, but Not
a Spiritual Sword 143
RULE 17 You Do Not Have to Be Good-Looking,
but You Have to Look Good 151
RULE 18 Take the High Ground and Never Give It Up 163
RULE 19 Don’t Lose Your Confidence for Very Long 177
RULE 20 You Can and Must Develop Professional
Charisma 183
PART III THE INVINCIBLE MANAGEMENT STYLE 189
RULE 21 You Can Only Micromanage Ten Employees
and About Six Hundred Square Feet 191
RULE 22 The Invincible Executive Delves into Specific
Problems at Great Depth 197
RULE 23 Intimidation Chases Away Talent, Opportunity,
and Creativity 203
RULE 24 Spend More Time on Information Inflow than
Information Outflow 209
RULE 25 Wring the Emotion out of Risk Analysis 215
RULE 26 Take Decisive Action to End Discord 221
RULE 27 Get Results Through Alignment and Adjustment, Not
Democracy 227
RULE 28 Minimize Meetings 233
RULE 29 Negotiate the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, but
Leave the Games to Others 237
RULE 30 Put the Interests of the Organization Over the
Interests of Individuals—Very Carefully 243
Conclusion 249
Appendix: List of Those Profiled 251
Index 259
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my editor, Judith McCarthy, for her skill,
encouragement, and enthusiasm. She is a true professional, and
I have very much enjoyed working with her on my past two book
projects. My agent, Wendy Sherman, has become one of my most
trusted advisers, not only in my writing, but in life generally. My
wife and family have been wonderful supporters—letting me toil
away in my home office without interruption and with genuine
support and excitement.
I would also like to thank the dozens of people who took time
out to help me with the material for this book. It is my first book
that required a lot of outside assistance. Thanks to my partners and
associates at Bryan Cave who helped me line up interviews, includ-
ing Chairman Walter L. Metcalfe Jr., Senator John C. Danforth, and
Edward L. Dowd Jr. Thanks to my assistants Colleen Kashif and
Alesia Carter for arranging the complex logistics of the interviews,
typing up interview reports, and assisting me with the final edits
to the book.
And thanks especially to the top leaders who took time out from
their busy schedules to talk to me about their views on success.
They are
Douglas G. Bain Richard R. Bell
Andrew N. “Drew” Baur Norma B. Clayton
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viii Acknowledgments
Adam Clymer Thomas J. “Tom” O’Neill
Sheryl Crow James F. “Jim” Parker
John C. “Jack” Danforth Admiral Joseph Prueher
Robert J. “Bob” Dole Janet Reno
Edward L. “Ed” Dowd Jr. Dave G. Ruf Jr.
Patrick J. “Pat” Finneran Joseph Ryan
Samuel “Sam” Fox Lt. Gen. John B. Sams Jr.
Ronald J. Gafford Jack Schmitt
Richard A. Gephardt Bruno Schmitter
Joel Gotler Michael M. “Mike” Sears
Earl G. Graves William “Bill” Shaw
Thomas M. “Tom” Gunn Gina Shock
Juanita H. Hinshaw Alan K. Simpson
Dr. Joshua Korzenik Barrett A. Toan
Stephen K. Lambright Hendrik A. Verfaillie
Christopher Lloyd William “Bill” Winter
J. W. “Bill” Marriott Jr.