This Vell research report on Characteristics of Successful CEOs investigates whether common perceptions regarding the predictors of CEO success are valid. The research uses data about public technology products companies in New England with over $100 M in revenues and their CEOs. Our research examines the correlation (or lack of) between a company's performance and the CEO's education, experience, tenure, age, reliance on an independent Chair, and whether the CEO came in as internal promotion vs. external hire. Not unexpectedly, technology companies differ from other companies in many significant ways. Although we work extensively with technology CEOs, some of the findings were surprising to us. For example, the predominance of founders among companies with revenues between $100 M $1 B was unexpected. Each topic has three sections. The Patterns Detected section summarizes the underlying distribution of our data set, e.g., the percent of CEOs who were founders by company size. The So Where Were the Differences section reports the correlation between corporate performance and the relevant characteristics, e.g., founders vs. non-founders. The Key Take-Aways section highlights the most striking conclusions.

Dozens of top CEOs reveal their candid insights on the keys to effective leadership, and the qualities that set high performers apart. "The Corner Office" draws together lessons from chief executives like Steve Ballmer (Microsoft) and Jeffrey Katzenberg (DreamWorks).

"Based on extensive interviews with today's . . . corporate leaders, this look at how the best CEOs do their jobs focuses on the mindsets and actions that foster an environment of excellence"--

A 2018 DIGITAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST BUSINESS BOOK Covered in Forbes, Fast Company, and Harvard Business Review, Crack the C-Suite Code is "a true insider's guide," according to Harvard Business School professor Boris Groysberg. How can I reach the C-suite? That is the most common question Cassandra Frangos hears from the executives she coaches. Many aspire to reach the C-suite, but the typical paths to the top are hard to find and difficult to follow. In Crack the C-Suite Code, Frangos reveals the hidden dynamics for reaching the C-suite. She offers expert guidance based on her experience as a consultant at Spencer Stuart and former head of global executive talent at Cisco, a company with 70,000 employees. Her deep research on the topic includes candid interviews with CEOs, hundreds of aspiring C-suite candidates, and the leading experts in the field. Frangos identifies four core paths you can follow to reach the C-suite: The Tenured Executive, The Free Agent, The Leapfrog Leader, and The Founder. To actively improve your chances for success, she presents: Insider knowledge from current CEOs and well-known executivesGuiding questions that clarify the risks and rewards associated with each pathAccelerators and derailers that either enhance or detract from your chances to succeedAdvice on how to leverage your experience, leadership brand, and mindset to help you land on the C-suite short listInsight on how the evolving role of the CEO affects your strategy to reach the top A career playbook for anyone who aspires to the top spot, Crack the C-Suite Code features advice from successful C-level leaders, including Accompany's Amy Chang, Goldman Sachs' Edith Cooper, Nest's Yoky Matsuoka, Cisco's Chuck Robbins, and Corning's Wendell Weeks. These and other top leaders from a broad range of companies, including Microsoft, Google, and General Electric, tell the stories of their success and help aspiring executives crack the C-suite code. "If you've ever wanted to really figure out how to ascend to the C-suite, this is your Rosetta Stone."—James M. Citrin, Leader, Spencer Stuart CEO Practice, and author, You're In Charge, Now What? "Frangos has created a roadmap for executives on the fast track." —Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author, Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor and Executive Presence

The CIO playbook, with lessons from the world's best leaders The CEO of Technology shows today's CIOs how to become exceptional leaders and bring value to their organization. By taking lessons from some of the world's best CEOs, you'll develop the traits and characteristics that drive legendary leadership. Interviews with top executives at leading global technology companies including Apple, Boeing, Direct TV, Facebook, Texas Instruments, and more provide deep and valuable insight into what it means to lead in a hyper-driven tech environment. These stories provide valuable lessons that don't come from a classroom, but only from the in-the-trenches experience of the world's best leaders—coupled with a groundbreaking leadership approach designed for the demands of today's markets, to give you the ultimate CIO handbook. You'll learn how to maximize the value of your greatest asset—your team—and how to drive performance to unprecedented levels. You'll discover how great leaders communicate business strategy across the modern enterprise, and become a driving force behind your organization's success. The IT industry is experiencing a seismic shift that is revolutionizing the way companies do business. The stakes are high, everything is in flux, and there are no guaranteed paths to success. Whether this revolution means crisis or opportunity is up to you; this book gives you a game-changing approach to IT leadership in the 21st century enterprise. Improve the quality of your leadership and strengthen the C-suite bond Attract top talent, build great teams, and align IT with overall strategic vision Become the indispensable leader who consistently drives achievement Integrate technology and business strategy to become a high-value CIO Modern CIOs face a radically new array of leadership challenges in today's ultra-competitive, highly volatile markets; are you capable of leading the charge to the top? The CEO of Technology offers a visionary approach and the wisdom of experience to help you join the ranks of great leaders.

The Challenge Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the verybeginning. But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? The Study For years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins. Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great? The Standards Using tough benchmarks, Collins and his research team identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. How great? After the leap, the good-to-great companies generated cumulative stock returns that beat the general stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world's greatest companies, including Coca-Cola, Intel, General Electric, and Merck. The Comparisons The research team contrasted the good-to-great companies with a carefully selected set of comparison companies that failed to make the leap from good to great. What was different? Why did one set of companies become truly great performers while the other set remained only good? Over five years, the team analyzed the histories of all twenty-eight companies in the study. After sifting through mountains of data and thousands of pages of interviews, Collins and his crew discovered the key determinants of greatness -- why some companies make the leap and others don't. The Findings The findings of the Good to Great study will surprise many readers and shed light on virtually every area of management strategy and practice. The findings include: Level 5 Leaders: The research team was shocked to discover the type of leadership required to achieve greatness. The Hedgehog Concept (Simplicity within the Three Circles): To go from good to great requires transcending the curse of competence. A Culture of Discipline: When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great results. Technology Accelerators: Good-to-great companies think differently about the role of technology. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop: Those who launch radical change programs and wrenching restructurings will almost certainly fail to make the leap. “Some of the key concepts discerned in the study,” comments Jim Collins, "fly in the face of our modern business culture and will, quite frankly, upset some people.” Perhaps, but who can afford to ignore these findings?