Why CEOs Fail: The 11 Behaviors That Can Derail Your Climb to the Top - And How to Manage Them / Edition 1

by David L. Dotlich, Peter C. Cairo

Overview

If any of the following behaviors sound like you or someone you work with, beware! In Why CEOs Fail, David L. Dotlich and Peter C. Cairo describe the most common characteristics of derailed top executives and how you can avoid them:

• Arrogance—you think that you're right, and everyone else is wrong.
• Melodrama—you need to be the center of attention.
• Volatility—you're subject to mood swings.
• Excessive Caution—you're afraid to make decisions.
• Habitual Distrust—you focus on the negatives.
• Aloofness —you're disengaged and disconnected.
• Mischievousness—you believe that rules are made to be broken.
• Eccentricity—you try to be different just for the sake of it.
• Passive Resistance—what you say is not what you really believe.
• Perfectionism—you get the little things right and the big things wrong.
• Eagerness to Please—you try to win the popularity contest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780787967635
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/17/2003
Series:	Jossey-Bass Leadership Series , #48
Edition description:	1ST
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	177,352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

THE AUTHORS

David L. Dotlich, former Executive Vice President of Honeywell International and Groupe Bull, is a partner of CDR International (www.cdr-intl.com) and coauthor of Action Learning (Jossey-Bass, l998), Action Coaching (Jossey-Bass, l999), and the breakthrough best-selling book Unnatural Leadership: Going Against Intuition and Experience to Develop Ten New Leadership Instincts (Jossey-Bass, 2002). He is a business adviser, educator, and coach to top executives in many global corporations.

Peter C. Cairo is a partner of CDR International and member of the faculty of Columbia University Business School Executive Education. He has worked with many companies in the areas of leadership development, executive coaching, and organizational effectiveness. He is coauthor with David Dotlich of Action Coaching and Unnatural Leadership, both from Jossey-Bass.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Ram Charan xi

Foreword by Robert Hogan xiii

Introduction xvii

Chapter One Arrogance: You’re Right and Everybody Else Is Wrong 1

Chapter Two Melodrama: You Always Grab the Center of Attention 13

Chapter Three Volatility: Your Mood Shifts Are Sudden and Unpredictable 27

Chapter Four Excessive Caution: The Next Decision You Make May Be Your First 39

Chapter Five Habitual Distrust: You Focus on the Negatives 51

Chapter Six Aloofness: You Disengage and Disconnect 63

Chapter Seven Mischievousness: You Know That Rules Are Only Suggestions 77

Chapter Eight Eccentricity: It’s Fun to Be Different Just for the Sake of It 91

Chapter Nine Passive Resistance: Your Silence Is Misinterpreted as Agreement 103

Chapter Ten Perfectionism: You Get the Little Things Right While the Big Things Go Wrong 115

Chapter Eleven Eagerness to Please: You Want to Win Any Popularity Contest 127

Chapter Twelve Why CEOs Succeed 139

Bibliography 151

Acknowledgments 157

About the Authors and CDR International 161

Index 165

Editorial Reviews

"...it follows a simple, clean formula that seems to make intuitivesense and is backed up with real-life case studies...an interestingand enlightening read..." (Leadership & OrganizationDevelopment Journal, August 24, 2003)

"...particularly refreshing...the balance is right..." (Director, March 2006)

From the Publisher