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1-Page Summary of The CEO Next Door
Overview
People often think that CEOs are highly educated and wealthy individuals. However, many of them don’t have a higher education degree or come from an affluent background. Instead, corporate success has little to do with book smarts or a massive bankroll. The authors ran several extensive studies to pinpoint what exactly is needed for someone to become the CEO of a successful company. Anyone can learn these skills, and the steps to acquiring them are clearly outlined in this article by providing examples of eminent CEOs across different industries who demonstrate those qualities well.
In this article, you will learn that a majority of CEOs are introverts. You’ll also discover how a garbageman became CEO of a $9 billion company and when it’s appropriate to ask people about their underwear.
Big Idea #1: CEOs aren’t born, they’re made.
Many people believe that CEOs and business leaders are special. They think that these individuals were born with a specific set of skills or privileges. However, the ghSMART project (which the authors participated in) surveyed 2,600 CEOs and found otherwise.
Most CEOs are just regular people who have developed leadership skills over the course of their careers. More than 70 percent of the CEOs surveyed said that they never intended to become a CEO when they first started working. For example, Don Slager was a garbageman at Republic Services and is now one of the top-500 wealthiest companies in America as rated by Fortune magazine. He didn’t go to college but became known for his work ethic and knowledge about waste services, which led him to be promoted within the company until he became CEO.
According to a recent survey, it is possible to become a CEO without being an Ivy League graduate. In fact, this study showed that CEOs who use complicated words or ideas are not as effective or successful. Moreover, those who put forth complex ideas are less likely to be hired at all. However, one thing we should keep in mind is that seven percent of Fortune 500 companies have Ivy League graduates among their leaders, and eight percent of CEOs never attended any college at all.
You don’t need to be a very outspoken person to become the CEO of a company. Egoistic people make bad CEOs because they’re focused on their own success and not that of the company’s. In fact, 30% of CEOs are introverts.
Big Idea #2: Make fewer and thus faster decisions.
We’ve previously shown that a college degree is not necessary for becoming the CEO of a lucrative company. However, being highly intelligent is also not required to become a successful entrepreneur.
In fact, CEOs with high IQs often experience information paralysis because they have to make so many decisions. They can choose from thoughtful, impulsive or decisive approaches to reaching a decision, and the best CEOs are those who decide quickly and decisively.
In addition to being quick, an overarching decision is usually better than one that’s detailed. To illustrate this argument, let’s look at Steve Gorman who took over Greyhound Lines when it was $140 million in debt. He compared the map of America with the Greyhound route map and came up with a bold decision to stop all routes that serviced low-density populations. Four years later, he turned a profit of $30 million annually for his company.
So, like Gorman, find a formula that works for your business and stick to it.
A CEO of a financial company, Doug Peterson, was following the strategy of another famous CEO to become successful. He wanted his company to be number one or number two in every new sector it entered and wouldn’t accept anything else.
