CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest

Great book backed by well thought through research. I was a bit skeptical from the book title but very impressed with the content. Definitely a great tool for leaders.

One of the first things a reader discovers in this book is how lonely being a CEO often is. You’ve reached the top, but all of a sudden, everyone wants a piece of you. And everyone holds you responsible for everything. This book looks at how that feels and what that means through the eyes and actions of the world’s best corporate leaders. How each CEO meets the pressures and opportunities of their position comes through so clearly because the authors have chosen to let each CEO use their own voice to tell their personal story and choose their best insights. The breadth of global experience presented has never been achieved before, especially not at this level. And although these are exceptional people, they're still people at day’s end and this comes through in a remarkable variety of observations, grouped perceptively along 6 “mindsets” to make it easier to self-reflect and take action. There are plenty of compelling numbers and statistics that one would expect from a deeply researched firm such as McKinsey & Co. which makes this much more than a CEO self-help book. The first reason many will buy this book may be the chance to sit inside the rarified space we can only remotely hear from in media. The second reason is the sheer number of good ideas, most amazingly simple, that turned a culture, situation or meeting around. But after reading CEO Excellence, the most profound connection even a casual reader will hopefully have is that taking the sense of gigantic scale away, the position of the CEO is felt by all of us in one very intimate way - our personal lives, where we are ultimately alone, however interconnected with the people and environments we navigate. If you are a CEO, want to be a CEO, or simply seek better leadership of yourself, this book feels like sitting down with some of the smartest people in business and letting them whisper in your ear what they wish they would have known when they first sat down in the big chair. And what they are thinking to do next. This is the first online book review I've ever written, but it deserves writing. More than a playbook, CEO Excellence is a personal as well as business journey written for all of us.

Sort of a DIY MBA course

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest offers a deep dive into the key mindsets that set top leaders apart from the rest. The book provides a thorough analysis of what makes an exceptional CEO, with practical examples and insights drawn from interviews with some of the most successful leaders across industries. What stands out is how the book focuses not only on strategy and decision-making but also on the personal qualities that enable leaders to inspire, motivate, and lead their organizations to success. The six mindsets explored in the book—vision, accountability, resilience, collaboration, humility, and authenticity—are essential for navigating challenges and driving growth. This is an engaging and practical read for anyone looking to improve their leadership skills, whether you’re a CEO or an aspiring leader. The advice is grounded in real-world experiences, making it relatable and actionable. Overall, CEO Excellence is a must-read for anyone interested in leadership development and the qualities that make a great leader.

I have been doing a research effort on the role of the CEO, so had this book on pre-order and eagerly read it upon its arrival. I’ve now read it twice through. It is a masterpiece that can ably replace the best 40+ books of my literature review. With its evidence-based synthesis of interviews supported by years or practice and observation, CEO Excellence has filled the void between executive (auto)biographies and “ok but predictable” self-promotional books whose raison d’etre seems to be creating a platform from which the author can assert their own authority. CEO Excellence breaks the mold of the typical consultant-led marketing effort that are plentiful in the genre. It brings data and a scope that only the vast reach and resources of McKinsey can provide and is delivered with a straightforward humility of self-assured authors who have nothing left to prove. The content is original, insightful and impactful beyond the CEO role and well worth the time of any current executive or manager with ambitions of leadership.

But they know more

CEO Excellence systematically walks through the core responsibilities that make up the irreducible core of the CEO role. But mostly importantly it brings to life the unique mindsets of the best CEOs (e.g., 'Be bold,' 'Treat the soft stuff as the hard stuff'). Once you get those, it's clear how and why those high-performing CEOs have adopted a number of unexpected practices an behaviors. Even if you're not a CEO, there's a lot to learn. I will definitely be thinking differently about how I manage teams ('Manage the team's psychology') for example. The many vignettes and stories make this a very memorable, accessible read - it's really like getting VIP access to a fireside chat with 67 of the world's best performing CEOs. Highly recommend (though I admittedly may be biased!). Including a photo of the book, just in case helpful to anyone. Definitely nice enough looking to gift

Un excelente libro que nos brindan seis formas de ver el negocio y sus herramientas para resolver problemas relacionados a esas areas.

Una alternativa bien fundamentada para innovar la gestión.

Super insightful! Worth the read!

It is often said that single digit companies grow in double digits. In a fiercely competitive world, few companies manage to survive and thrive, generating healthy shareholder returns. Lot of work has been done on companies that are ‘Built to Last’, ‘Good to Great’ and the likes of those who find their names ‘In Search of Excellence’, to decipher the DNA of outstanding companies. This book focuses on the role of select CEOs who make the difference at the top. This book is an outstanding piece of research and insights, McKinsey standards. It outlines the hypothesis and methodology very clearly in the introduction. CEOs who rank in the top 20 percent of financial performance generate, on average 2.8 times more TRS (Total Shareholder Returns) during each year of their tenure than average performers’. This sets the agenda for the rest of the book. Tons of data from 1000 largest companies (covering 2400+ CEOs) over 15 years, with at least 6 years in role, and recognized in ‘best CEO’ Industry Lists. To give a fair representation, while maintaining high bar of performance across industries, gender, races, geographies and ownership structures, further data is added to generate a list that can be considered most credibly, the best CEOs in the world in the twenty-first century. The economic value created by these 200 leaders, in excess of their peers is approximately $ 5 Trillion, equivalent to the gross GDP of Japan. Like the 7-S framework in ‘In Search of Excellence’, this book discusses ‘The Six responsibilities of the CEO. The excellent CEOs practice these six aspects rigorously and very differently than the rest who don’t make the cut. The book then goes on to discuss each of these six ‘mindsets’, in abundant measure, with concepts and cases. The first mindset ‘Set the Direction’ consists of Vision, Strategy and Resource Allocation, and a chapter that elaborates on each. Every chapter begins with a beautiful quote, followed by crisp outline and discussion on salient points. Other five mindsets are Align the Organization, Mobilize through Leaders, Manage Personal Effectiveness, Engage the Board and Connect with Stakeholders. Excellent CEOs are ‘Servant Leaders’. They lead to serve. They are humble, and humility is ‘freedom from pride and arrogance’ and is ‘not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less’ as aptly described in this book. They feel gratitude for ‘the deep responsibility and obligations’ and for ‘serving people on the frontline’. They are deeply grounded, thankful, and bless the people they work with. ‘It is not your work; you’re just doing your part. Give glory to God’. It is important to note that this book is useful for leaders at all levels in an organization. Every business leader, at national, divisional, regional, or product level has similar responsibilities, and are prospective successors to the CEO role. Appendix 1 is an excellent toolkit that acts as a concise summary and guide. Appendix 2 is a list of CEO biographies for quick reference. This book is certainly a masterpiece on leadership in the twenty-first century. Unmissable and unputdownable. Highly recommended.

Its a great book for anybody who wants to be CEO or wants to create a legacy as a company.

Great book , summarize all success stories for various CEOs. The book also provided great insights on valuable mindsets that can shift any organisation into perfection.