Why CEO's Fail: The 11 Behaviors That Can Derail Your Climb to the Top and how to Manage Them » (1ST)

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 in 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.

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.

Publishers Weekly

Businesses are often defined by the personalities at the top. Enron's Jeff Skilling and Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski rose through the ranks with their single-minded determination and abrasive styles, but also saw their careers-and companies-fail spectacularly because of those same traits. Management consultants Dotlich and Cairo diagnose the behaviors that can sink even the most talented businesspeople. Whether it's arrogance, aloofness, volatility or any of the other personality flaws they've singled out, the authors encourage CEOs to throttle back on Type A brashness and focus more on team-building that will create a loyal and honest staff. It's an original melange of business smarts and accessible psychology, and the authors' able storytelling brings their diagnoses to life. Unfortunately, after pointing out everything CEOs are doing wrong, they don't spend much time on what they should do instead; a quick wrap-up chapter on successful managing techniques is all that's offered. But as a dissection of the leadership flaws that saw so many executives crash and burn over the last couple of years, this is a book without peer. (May 6) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.