贏得並坐穩CEO之位的必修課

在邁向CEO的路上，過往的成功實績並不夠，真正的關鍵在於你是否「準備就緒」，讓大家都能清楚看到你是最強大、最讓人安心的領導人選。
On the path to CEO, your track record of success isn't enough, it's much more about readiness that others clearly see you as the strongest and safest choice to lead going forward.

成為CEO最大的挑戰在於，你永遠得證明自己已經準備就緒，而且必須證明兩次──第一次證明自己是個合格人選，第二次證明自己值得被選中。而等你當上CEO後，你還得要持續贏得這份信任。

登上最高位不僅僅關乎能力，更重要的是準備就緒。要成為CEO，你必須贏得及維持7個關鍵利害關係人的信任，包括：你自己、董事會、你的同儕、前任CEO、大股東、你的員工，當然還有你的客戶。

「依照過去對成功的定義，你已經在現職上證明了自己，這正是你名列CEO候選名單的原因。但是對於前方即將面對的人與事，你一無所知。我們總是告訴候選人：你無法僅憑過往顯赫的成就贏得眾人的真心認可，也不能指望決策者在經常充滿爭議的遴選過程，始終保持透明公開的態度。更不能期待當前的業務狀態或穩定的市場環境，能讓董事會對於誰適合擔任公司CEO的看法不被動搖，要知道在這個變動劇烈的時代，董事會甚至可能被迫重新思考公司所需CEO的資格。因此，絕對不要將這個過程交給運氣。透過本書提供的工具與建議，我們將助你一臂之力，讓你在這個艱難的過程中占得先機。」
──馬克．湯普生與拜倫．洛弗林

The challenge with becoming CEO is you always have to prove you're ready twice – first to be qualified, and then second to be chosen. You then have to keep earning that trust every day you serve as CEO.

Reaching the top isn't merely about competence, it's much more about readiness. To be made CEO, you have to earn and retain trust across seven key stakeholders: yourself, the board of directors, your peers, your predecessors, the owners, your employees, and of course your customers.

"You have already been successful in your role by the old definition of what that means; that is why you are on the short list for the corner office. But you don't know what you don't know about who and what lies ahead. We always tell candidates: you cannot rely on your noteworthy accomplishments to win hearts and minds, or on consistent transparency about an often-contentious process run by the decision-makers. Nor can you count on the current state of your business or stable market conditions to support what your board may think or be forced to rethink about the qualifications of a CEO for your company in an era of disruption. So don't leave this process to chance. With the tools and advice we provide here, we're giving you a leg up in the process against all odds."
– Mark Thompson and Byron Loflin