Confessions from the Corner Office: 15 Instincts that will get you There
Pattye Moore and Scott Aylward
229 pages
John Wiley & Sons
$24.95
“When I was a little girl I used to line up my Barbie’s and do presentations for them.” Pattye Moore knew from a young age what she wanted to do with her life. She has been passionate about every job she’s ever had, she’s had a love affair with her job so it’s never been work to her.
When Scott Aylward graduated college he worked for a jewelry company, he hated it. He immediately quit, slept on the floor of a friend’s apartment and worked at a diner until he found an advertising job that he truly loved. He wanted to have a love with his job so it never seemed like work.
This is just one of the 15 instincts that co-authors Pattye Moore and Scott Aylward wrote in their book “Confessions from the Corner office: 15 Instincts that will Help you get There.” This book collaborated on the ideas of two people who have successfully climbed up the corporate ladder and have stayed at the top.
Pattye Moore graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in public relations. She served as the president of Sonic Corp. from 2002 to 2004. She currently serves as the non-executive Chairman of the Board of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers.
Scott Aylward graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in advertising. He is the former president and CEO of one of the largest advertising agencies in the nation, Barkley Advertising. Aylward and Moore are the co-founders of INSTINCTS LLC, a company that specializes in brand development.
In 1994 Moore was the vice president of Sonic while Aylward was working with the advertising agency Barkley Evergreen and Partners. Sonic hired Barkley Evergreen and Partners and Aylward was put in charge of the Sonic account. Over the next years Moore and Aylward worked closely on Sonic. As they grew closer together they learned that they shared very similar leadership characteristics.
Big Idea
Each chapter of this book highlights a specific skill that is important to reach the top, and shares the experiences of the two professionals. From finding a corporate soul mate to sharing the spotlight each chapter dives into the characteristics that can shape a great leader.
After Moore and Aylward have both given their personal experiences on each characteristic in the chapters, they end the chapter with questions for the reader to ask themselves. This provides a way for the reader to challenge themselves, looking inwardly and finding out if they possess these characteristics.
Thoughts
There is no doubt that Moore and Aylward have been successful in their careers. Their use of personal experiences makes it even more believable that the two of them have used all of these instincts themselves to reach the top. The times I enjoyed reading the books the most was when each of them told stories from their different careers, it gave them more credibility.
As I read through the book I realized how much integrity these two individuals had. So many times in corporate America we hear of the apathetic, unapproachable CEO who pays no attention to workers below him. Pattye and Scott break this stereotype by discussing times when they worked for Sonic and got some of their best ideas from employees and managers of the fast food restaurant.
I appreciated the way they wrote so relaxed throughout the entire text, how they started each chapter with dialogue between the two of them. It gave me a better understanding of how the two of them work together as corporate soul mates. With that being said, there came a point when the dialogue came across as corny. There were times when I felt as if Aylward was trying to entertain the reader so much that his jokes fell flat and ended up not very funny.
There were also some chapters that made me question my future as a public relations practitioner. In Chapter 7 Moore and Aylward discussed that in order to reach the corner office you have to be willing to put in work outside of the typical nine to five schedule. However, in chapter 15, they discuss how both of their biggest regret in life was that they didn’t balance their work lives and they personal lives very well. Reading both of these chapters left me confused, they urge the reader to balance a personal life with work, but they also tell the reader that the road to the corner office is full of long work days with little time to ourselves.
Conclusion
Anybody who wants to have any type of success in the corporate world should read this book. It not only teaches about how to reach the coveted corner office, but it also teaches important life lessons. Throughout the book the passion for their careers is seen clearly by the reader. When finishing I became inspired to want to work hard in my own life and be the Pattye Moore or Scott Aylward of the corporate world.
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