The Secrets of CEOs: 150 Global Chief Executives Lift the Lid on Business, Life and Leadership

It turns out it's lonely at the top, after all, according to the 150 top chief executives whose interviews are compiled in this richly informative collection from businessmen Tappin and Cave. The interviewees—including such heavy hitters as Sir Terry Leahy of Tesco and Lord John Browne of BP—speak frankly and in depth about their motivations and key business strategies. In a useful taxonomy, the guide divides business professionals into five main leadership approaches—commercial executors, financial value drivers, corporate entrepreneurs, corporate ambassadors and global missionaries—and describes the changing role of a CEO in a rapidly changing marketplace, illustrating how leaders have successfully addressed issues such as sustainability, alternative capital and attracting Web users and talent. There are grim cautionary reminders that professional success often requires a choice between family and career, and that the job of CEO should come with a serious health warning. The content is thoughtful and well-reasoned, peppered with enthusiastic encouragement from the likes of Tony Robbins, but hampered by its appeal to already-established CEOs (not up-and-comers) and heavily British-leaning research. (Nov.)