About the Book
"How They Achieved" draws from interviews with 30 of the most highly successful leaders and achievers in business today, from both the corporate and non-profit worlds. The book looks at the motivating factors that result in becoming a high achiever. These are some "pearls of wisdom" from the successful leaders interviewed for the book. "Be the most passionate guy in the room. Not the smartest, not the cleverest, but the most passionate. Care more than anybody. You'll be the guy that wins" (Ted Bell, vice chairman and worldwide creative director, Young & Rubicam). "People who are lucky enough to be in a position to choose their career should ask themselves, 'What interests me? What makes me really excited?' Then they should get going and never take no for an answer" (Susie Tompkins Buell, founder and former owner, Esprit Clothing). "People usually plan their vacations more carefully than they plan their careers. I'm a compulsive planner, but there were times when I had no idea what I was doing" (Bob Cohn, CEO, Octel and Lucent Technologies).
"A lot of it is timing, but a lot of it is a desire to work hard and to contribute, to not be somebody sitting on the sidelines and commenting, but to be someone playing a part in what's happening. It's also having the courage to toss your ideas out even though eight out of ten of them will be shot down" (Jane Cahill Pfieffer, president, NBC, and former vice president, IBM).
Table of Contents:
Introduction CEOs. Frank Cary, Former President and Chairman, IBM. Dan Case, CEO, Hambrecht and Quist. John Chen, CEO, Sybase. Donald M. Kendall, Former CEO, PepsiCo. Jane Cahill Pfeiffer, Former CEO, NBC; Former Vice President, IBM. ENTREPRENEURS. Wilkes Bashford, Owner, Wilkes Bashford Retail Clothier. Ted Bell, Former Vice Chairman and Worldwide Creative Director, Young & Rubicam. Susie Tompkins Buell, Founder/ Former Owner, Esprit Clothing Company. Bob Cohn, Former CEO, Octel and Lucent Technologies. Ray Kassar, Former CEO, Atari. Howard Lester, CEO, Williams Sonoma. Nick Nickolas, Venture Capitalist. Bradley Ogden, Restaurateur. VISIONARIES. Allen Grossman, Former Director, Outward Bound; Professor, Harvard Business School. Jack Kornfield, Buddhist Monk. Robert Mondavi, Founder, Mondavi Vineyards. Faith Popcorn, Futurist. John Sculley, Former CEO, Apple Computer. Alice Waters, Founder/Owner, Chez Panisse Restaurant. Faye Wattleton, Former President, Planned Parenthood; Founder/ Executive Director, Center for Gender Equality. EPILOGUE. Thomas J. Watson, Jr., Former Chairman, IBM Corporation. Index.
About the Author :
LUCINDA WATSON is the granddaughter of IBM's Thomas J. Watson and the daughter of IBM's former CEO, Thomas J. Watson Jr. Watson's privileged upbringing offered her access to world leaders and business moguls, connections she drew from when writing this book. Watson is a former professor of communications at Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
