As you may have already figured out, I do not write for CEOs. These guys and gals they’ve got it made. They don’t need me to fluff their buttermilk pancakes.
I write for the up-and-coming folk who is rising to the top and is ready to rock the boat. If you don’t know how to rock the boat, you’ll not only suffer reprisals but will end up worse than you are.
There’s one ex-CEO, however, that’s inspirational. If you haven’t read Carly Fiorina : “From Secretary to CEO” bio you should. It’s a powerful life example
Fiorina went to Stanford, got a liberal arts degree, then went to law school and dropped out. “When she broke the news to her father, he responded: “I’m very disappointed. I’m not sure you’ll ever amount to anything,” she wrote. She got a job as a receptionist at Marcus & Millichap.” She worked there for a year, she quit, married her college sweetheart and moved to Italy to teach English.
Does that sound familiar, is it a life that many people relate to ? Yes, I thought it is. Keep reading.
After graduating from Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, Fiorina got an AT&T sales rep job. She was promoted several times so that by 1985 she was District Manager, overseeing AT&T’s largest civilian government account, the General Services Administration (GSA).Eventually, AT&T sponsored her for a fellowship at the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She then became Director of International Strategy and Business Development for Network Systems, and then promoted to Vice President of Strategy and Marketing. Source: From Secretary to CEO.
How many are still hanging on that plot? Not many ! Keeping up with the Joneses suddenly got hard. You got lost somewhere.
“In 1997 she was named group president for the Global Service Provider Business of AT&T spin-off Lucent Technologies.” The story continues, of course. She becomes CEO of Hewlett Packard in 1999 and candidate for Republican nomination in 2016.
Guessing game or not ?
Max tells about power moves in the boardroom …
Does running out of fucks count as cardio ?
