How to succeed in business

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

By Scott Aylward and Pattye Moore

Pages: 234

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Pirce: $23

 

                                               Photo provide by Tom Herron at tomherronexperience.com

How to Succeed in Business
By Anna M. Restuccia

According to Scott Aylward and Pattye Moore, to succeed in the field of public relations, business, advertising, management, and marketing it is necessary to develop seven attitude instincts and eight performance instincts. This book explains the different characteristics and traits that any manager must have in profit and non-profit organizations to grown, prosper, and generate revenue.

The key audiences of this book are those people who would like to start a new business or want to improve the structure, culture and development of an organization. There are key important concepts that explain how these two professionals became successful entrepreneurs. The authors said it is necessary to develop conceptual, interpersonal, technical and political skills to succeed. In the book, Aylward and Moore related their personal life experience while working as managers.

The book states that in order to managers to build powerful relationships with stakeholders it is necessary to have passion, dedication and motivation. But to build these relationships it is important to trust, protect, defend and honor those who work in the organization (internal public). Leaders need to work, understand and motivate employees to work as a team to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives.

According to the book, managers have a lot of responsibilities, authority and power. For this reason, it is important to managers to treat people equally, free of any bias or prejudice. Because managers are always around people from different backgrounds, it is important to listen to everybody’s necessities and desires. The top, middle and first-line managers have to empower their employees to develop more and better ideas for the organization. By giving employees more responsibilities, employees will be able to be more creative and think critically.

 In an interesting conversation via Skype with Moore, she explained some of the challenges she faces every day in her job and the strategies she uses to overcome complex and ambiguous situations in the field of public relations. She mentioned it is important to keep focus on accomplishing goals using smart and creative tactics. She advised students to take business and management classes to develop critical thinking, to learn to get things done efficiently and effectively, and to be able to prosper even in challenging economic times.

I strongly encourage student and professional to take the chance to read “Confessions from the Corner Office” because it will give them the opportunity to analyze and understand how businesses work.

Nothing Tells a Story Quite Like Personal Experience

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

Scott Aylward and Pattye Moore

224 pages, 15 chapters

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

$24.95

 Source website:

http://media.wiley.com/product_data/coverImage300/87/04701267/0470126787.jpg

Nothing Tells a Story Quite Like Personal Experience

By Kristina Luetkemeyer

A promise and a secret. I’m sure you are all curious as to what that might be. In this book, they pertain to the personal experiences of the author. Unfortunately for you, I will not reveal them here, but I will let you in on a secret and a promise of my own. Not many people know, but this book contains the road map to gaining your own corner office, and I promise it is worth the read.

The authors Scott Aylward and Patty Moore had their bumps in the road to the corner office, but these corporate soul mate’s passion helped them achieve superior accomplishments in their careers.

Just what accomplishments summed up the career of the authors? For Aylward, it is becoming president and soon after CEO of one of the largest advertising agencies, Barkley Evergreen and Partners. For Moore, it is becoming the president of the Sonic Corporation. Together, it is co-founding Instincts, LLC. 

Not many professionals can say they made it to the top of their field, became president of a company and took their seat in the coveted corner office, but Aylward and Moore certainly can.

Therefore, they have a lot of advice and lessons to pass on to those of us who want to follow in their successful footsteps. In this book, they do just that. Each chapter, 15 total, lays out an instinct that Aylward and Moore feel is essential to be successful. 

Overall, the best pieces to take away from this book are the excerpts of personal experiences. In each chapter you can find stories from both the authors, or sometimes even other contributors, which show how these instincts came into play in their careers.  

This blog argues what is better – books or experience? Of course we can learn a lot from experiencing things on your own, but we can learn a lot from the experiences of others as well. Haven’t you heard the saying by Otto von Bismarck, “A fool learns from his mistakes, but a truly wise man learns from the mistakes of others”? We should all take a lesson from Aylward and Moore.

I know I did when both authors made a visit to the University of Oklahoma, Moore’s alma mater. They talked about some of the instincts in their book, and of course, shared their personal experiences. Check it out here:

So, do you have the instincts that it takes to obtain a corner office? Confessions from the Corner Office helps you figure if you have them already, and teaches you how to learn them if you do not. Aylward and Moore can teach you these skills not just to help your professional life, but your personal one as well. 

Buy the book OR read an excerpt of chapter 1!

The Importance of Being Earnest

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

Scott Aylward and Pattye Moore

224 pages

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

$24.95

The Importance of Being Earnest
by Michael Brestovansky

            You pick up the book, curious. “Confessions from the Corner Office: 15 InstinctsThat Will Help You Get There”. Catchy title, anyway. And you are interested in career advancement, so why not? You pick it up, buy it, take it home. And then, opening to a random page, you find the authors bantering and regaling each other with tales of the advertising industry. They are talking about getting free burgers. One of them says they were “right up there with sex.”

            That is the beauty of this book, what makes you read it and not want to stop: its absolute frankness, its charming informality and its infectious optimism.

                                                                            Source: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

            This excellent guide to leadership success was written by Scott Aylward and PattyeMoore, two well-known and respected figures in corporate marketing. The two met in 1994 working for the Sonic Corporation, and have been partners (“corporate soul mates,” they call themselves) ever since. Together they founded INSTINCTS, LLC, a company focused on helping executives develop their leadership skills. Currently, Aylward works with the entrepreneurial counseling agency SCORE, while Moore is Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc.’s chairman of the board.

            These two powerhouses wrote a book, a manual of sorts for becoming a good leader. But rather than a dry lesson in eyeing profit margins, bottom lines, and brown-nosing, they highlight the value of caring, the worth of devotion and the importance of being earnest.

            You start from the beginning now, reading the preface and introduction, smiling as the authors tell you their stories. Their words are friendly and inviting; you feel as though you know them personally after only a few paragraphs. You reach the first chapter (titled “Get Married Again—Your Spouse Won’t Mind) quickly and voraciously. Quotes, authorial dialogue, and anecdotes pepper the text—you find you are at times amused, touched or shocked, but never bored.

            The dynamic between Moore and Aylward is what makes this book the gem that it is. Each chapter is prefaced by cheerful banter between the two, but it never feels forced and it never gets old (rather, it feels rather Burns and Allen-esque). Their easy comfort with each other transfers to the reader, who feels instantly at home in their pages.

            Most refreshing, however, is the book’s emphasis on compassion in leadership. We live in a time dominated by cynicism surrounding corporate America. We are unsurprised, nay, we expect our CEOs to be aloof and impersonal. That this book challenges that belief and gives strong reasons to do so is encouraging and gratifying.

            You are at the eleventh chapter now (“Working the Room Is Not Just for Politicians”). You haven’t set the book down once. You try to recount what instincts you have learned. What were they again? They blend together somewhat, a repeated message made indistinct by its many permutations, but made all the clearer for its simplicity. You begin to feel optimistic. Maybe you can enjoy this job after all.

            I feel as though I should say some ill about this book. Perhaps the message repeats itself too much, or perhaps the self-evaluations at each chapter’s end become wearing. But these complaints are miniscule, and can’t hold up against how the book makes you feel. The guide’s optimism and heart are contagious, and made me see my career choice in a completely new light.

            You finish the book, but don’t shut it right away. You stare into space, thinking for a while. Your heart feels lighter than it has for weeks, maybe months. Finally, you close the book, and smile. You have work to do, after all.

            In case it wasn’t obvious, the “you” here is me. 

My View of the Corner Office

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

Author: Scott Aylward and Pattye Moore

Length: 229 pages

Publisher: Wiley

Price: $24.95

My View of the Corner Office

By Morgan McMullen

 Confessions from the Corner Office 

            Getting married again, your spouse won’t mind. The title of chapter one makes one wonder what they are really reading about. Then as Pattye and Scott go on to explain they are corporate soul mates things start to make sense. As explained in chapter one of the book, finding someone who is like-minded, challenges you, and will be a ruthless but constructive critic is part of finding your corporate soul mate. Pattye and Scott then go on to explain how they have counted on each other numerous times during their careers to have the support one would normally gain from a spouse or partner. In the industry it is very beneficial to have someone who understands the world you are living in and how things work.

            With years of agency experience both Pattye and Scott have become experts in their fields. Neither Moore not Aylward have more training then bachelor degrees and years of experience but in the industry experience speaks for itself. Both have been CEO, Vice-President, President, and Senior Executives at one company or another throughout their career and now they run INSTINCTS, LLC together.

            Confessions is very beneficial to anyone who would like to be a good boss someday. Working in the entertainment industry is not necessary for learning the skills described in this book. Moore and Aylward discuss the difficulties of managing family and work, firing employees, and how to become a good leader in 15 short chapters. They do a great job of giving you self check points to see if you really are doing each instinct or if you need to work on something. If you need to work on a skill they also provide a list of things you can do to improve.

My View of the Corner Office

 

            This was a quick read and very useful for anyone who would not only like to make it to the corner office but would like to be a good manager or boss. One of the strength’s the book had was giving personal examples throughout so people could really get a sense of who Pattye and Scott are. The only weakness the book had was not going into more detail at the beginning of each chapter. It was meant to lead you into the chapter but more of the example given would have been a nice addition.

            The book is great for anyone in college to learn the steps to success, it would also be very beneficial to anyone in a management position. Some of the instincts discussed are things management avoid and don’t do well. Reading this book gives you an insight into what a good leader should be doing on a regular basis for there employees instead of settling for mediocre like most managers do. Anyone looking to have a career should invest in this book and learn these instincts.

Sources:

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