Andrew Davidson’s book, 1000’s CEO’s, is packed with colorful and instructive career anecdotes and advice from business leaders around the globe.
However, since it’s a 512 book, and you’re a busy executive, I’ve collected my best notes, keepers and offshoot thoughts from my reading experience for your enjoyment.
1. Administer the medicine no matter how bad it tastes.
2. Be no afraid to expect a fair amount from people.
3. Be not afraid to court controversy.
4. Big isn’t necessarily beautiful.
5. Capitalize on the benefits of scale.
6. Channel the ambition.
7. Constructive confrontation works.
8. Create a place where all employees can advance their talents.
9. Create a solid foundation of goodwill.
10. Deliver bad news with calm and quiet optimism.
11. Dictate the way ahead. Position your company to play a leading part in the revolution.
12. Discuss rather than just presenting points of view.
13. Do you view your challenges as more pressure or mere paths to success?
14. Don’t be afraid to build on others’ decisions.
15. Educate the people other companies are ignoring.
16. Embody unshakeable belief.
17. Excise every ounce of fat from your process.
18. Find endless incremental improvements.
19. Firm up people’s commitment.
20. Forget about the detractors.
21. Free yourself from the constraints of orthodoxy.
22. Get the advice in advance.
23. Get your ass out there and explain yourself, otherwise you’re destined to be defined by your mistakes.
24. Give people what they want before they know exactly what that is.
25. Have decisive courage.
26. Hedge against fluctuation.
27. How often do self-doubt and caution take hold of your decision making process?
28. Idealism is valuable as long as you don’t let it compromise your financial future.
29. If people aren’t told what’s going on they will assume the worst.
30. If size mattered, dinosaurs would still be alive.
31. If you believe in something be prepared to risk everything.
32. If you want to make your brand stick, stick with the values that made it successful in the first place.
33. Impress the market with your long-term future.
34. Keep pushing or your dominance will crumble.
35. Keep your eyes open for markets into which your business can naturally expand.
36. Learn to change without crisis.
37. Listen hard to their aims.
38. Make every aspect of what you sell visually appealing.
39. Make sure people understand your vision and their part in it.
40. Never believe that the only people who know what’s best for the business are the people inside the business.
41. Never hesitate to reinvent.
42. Never ignore a formula that has worked before.
43. Never let go to the original idea that made you successful.
44. Not every question has an answer.
45. Overestimating your ability plus underestimating the challenges leads to death.
46. Provide a secure base from which to operate.
47. Radical decisions are rarely universally welcomed.
48. Reduce your argument to a few crisp words and phrases.
49. Relentlessly seek out new innovations.
50. Reputation for unreliability.
51. Respect the legacy you inherit.
52. Seek to renew yourself, even when you’re hitting homeruns.
53. Spot opportunities overlooked by rivals.
54. Stop ignoring the people who will take you forward.
55. Study the width of your brand.
56. The paralyzing fear of criticism often prevents you from acting decisively.
57. There’s no point in being scared of the system.
58. Treat people as people, not tools to transmit your directions.
59. Unswerving dedication works.
60. What is your name synonymous with?
61. You can’t let your critics define who you are.
62. You need people who are going to challenge your way of thinking.
