The Fearless Executive

Product DescriptionSuccessful leaders share one (and only one) common factor: They discover their own unique blend of talents and trust it completely.Executive success is really just that simple, according to Alan Downs, author of the incisive Corporate Executions. So what stops businesspeople from trusting and maximizing their talents The enemy is fear--the kind of crippling fear that insists we must be something more than what we are and persuades us to abandon our core strengths.This masterful book explains how to conquer such fear in all its guises, see reality clearly, and free untapped potential. THE FEARLESS EXECUTIVE explores seven universal fears that choke off growth: * Rejection ("What if I don't make it to the inner circle ") * Inadequacy ("What if I fail ") * Scarcity ("What if someone steals my piece of the action ") * Reality ("Isn't there a quick fix ") * The Unknown ("What is lurking out there ") * Aging ("What if I'm obsolete ") * Authority ("What if I break the rules ")Rich in real-life vignettes and on-the-job management applications, this is a practical and compassionate guide. It will inspire readers to face their daily demons and live the fearless life--on the job and beyond.Praise for the author's previous books: "An important and insightful work." --Library Journal (on Beyond the Looking Glass) "Should be required reading for CEOs across the land." --Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Corporate Executions)From Publishers WeeklyDrawing partly on the lessons of his own career path as a human resources executive turned management consultant, and partly on his experience counseling downsized employees, Downs sets out to show executives that they are often their own worst enemy. Many remain in jobs they dislike, relying on administrative and political skills that may be their weakest, thereby setting themselves up for failure. According to Downs, executives often operate based on the "trait of fear." Different from the terror of, say, walking down a dark alley, it's an ongoing concern about the future or anxiety over some imagined event: "you feel fear and avoid action altogether," Downs explains. He offers examples from corporate America (including the experiences of Lee Iacocca and Charles Wang) and some fairy tale anecdotes to show readers that they can break this fear cycle by "acknowledg[ing] and confront[ing] the irrational beliefs that underlie a fear; mak[ing] a conscious effort to push past the fear and take positive action in the direction of the fear." Although Downs's premise is intriguing, his book is a disappointment. A more cohesive structure bolstered with more practical exercises and real-life scenarios would have made it a more useful tool. (June)Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.From BooklistFear, our greatest enemy, undermines our confidence in ourselves and persuades us to abandon our core strengths and talents. Downs teaches us how to recognize basic fears and how to break the cycle of fear to discover what we are truly good at and where our passion lies. He analyzes the basic fears, such as inadequacy (What if I fail ), fear of rejection (What if I'm not accepted ), fear of scarcity (What if someone else steals my role ), fear of reality (Isn't there a quick fix ), fear of the unknown (What is lurking out there ), fear of authority (What if I break the rules ), and fear of aging (What if I'm obsolete ). The author concludes that successful leaders share one common factor--they all manage their fears and have discovered their unique blend of talents, trusting those talents completely. Although some may not agree with all his concepts, this is a thought-provoking book on a familiar topic. Mary WhaleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedReview"..a thought provoking book." -- Booklist"The book is filled with practical, timely recommendations, any one of which can get you back on track." -- Casino International"This practical and compass
Author: Downs, Alan

Publisher: AMACOM

Binding: Hardcover

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0814405657

ISBN-13: 9780814405659