How Do You Plan to Make it to the Corner Office?

Confessions from the Corner Office: 15 Instincts That Will Help You Get There

By Scott Aylward and Pattye Moore

224 pages

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

$24.95

Photo Credit: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

How Do You Plan to Make it to the Corner Office?

By Mikala Ewald

“How you build and maintain relationships, motivate those around you, instill confidence in all who work with you, and maintain an impressive level of self-awareness can make or break your career.” This is just one valuable piece of advice from Scott Aylward and Pattye Moore in their book, “Confessions from the Corner Office: 15 Instincts That Will Help You Get There”.

 “Confessions from the Corner Office” is an informative guide that provides readers with 15 business and leadership instincts essential to climbing the corporate ladder (click here to read an excerpt from the book). The authors, Scott Aylward and Pattye Moore, injected this guide with their charming personalities, including back-and-forth banter between the two, making this book an easy read rather than a boring business book. The authors offer a wealth of business sense they learned throughout their successful careers.

Scott Aylward is the former President and CEO of Barkley Evergreen and Partners, which is the largest employee-owned advertising agency in the United States. Aylward met his co-author, Pattye Moore, when his company was hired to do the advertising for the Sonic Corporation of which Moore was the president. During the time Aylward and Moore represented Sonic, the business grew from less than $900 million to just over $3 billion in system-wide sales. Aylward and Moore went on to open their own consulting business, Instincts, LLC, which specializes in brand development.

Source: YouTube

The book centers on the idea that you should have a passion for your career and must be willing to work hard to become successful. The book is divided into two parts: attitude instincts and performance instincts. While some of the ideas in the book are somewhat generic pieces of business advice (such as learning to listen, remembering to take time for yourself and the importance of networking), the authors also offer a unique perspective not often found in business books.

For instance, chapter one is titled “Get Married Again—Your Spouse Won’t Mind: Corner Office Instinct 1: Find a Corporate Soul Mate”. This chapter focuses on the idea that having someone with similar goals and business sense to discuss problems and ideas with will help you rise to the top. Aylward and Moore support their ideas with their own personal experiences, both successes and failures.

The honesty and straightforward conversation about the fifteen instincts allows the reader to really connect with the authors. Both Aylward and Moore share very personal details of their lives in order to help the reader understand the importance of the fifteen instincts, and to encourage young professionals to preserve while working toward their career goals. I think their transparency is key to the success of the book.

While at times charming, the back-and-forth conversation between the two authors at the beginning of each chapter often falls flat and seems forced, it does help you understand the personality differences of the two. The personal anecdotes about their experiences in the office provide illustration to the fifteen instincts.

Overall, the authors provide great business instincts that are attainable. The honesty and transparency provided by the authors makes them relatable, unlike many bigwigs from the business world. I believe, if put into action, these instincts will allow you to move forward in your career.