Free Book Summary : Executive Warfare 10 Rules of Engagement for Winning Your War for Success Author: David F. D’Alessandro with Michele Owens Publisher: McGraw–Hill, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-07-15423-8 263 pages

The Big Idea

It's not enough anymore to be smart, hard-working, and able to show results – because nowadays everybody can do those things. What really sets you apart are the relationships you build with people of influence. These people can include your peers, your employees, your organization's directors, reporters, vendors, and regulators – as well as the people directly above you in the organizational hierarchy.

There is now a hazy matrix of hundreds of bosses both inside and outside the office. “Executive Warfare” offers concrete advice for handling all of them.

Attitude, Risk, and Luck: They Are the Most Influential Bosses

To rise, you’ll need three things to make the most of the chances you are given: the right attitude (it’s incredibly important to get your own head in the game if you intend to rise), a willingness to take calculated risks (higher management is all about handling risks intelligently and in a calculated fashion), and dumb luck (nobody gets to the top without being lucky).

Bosses: You Need a License to Cut Hair, but Not to Manage and Control Thousands of People

Your relationship with your boss is a business transaction. Love them or hate them, what you really want is to get beyond them. Next, understand that once a decision has made, even if you don’t agree with it and have argued against it, you must drop your opposition and execute it to the best of your abilities.

Third, be eager to always want to know what your boss’ next move is going to be. Lastly, assure the boss that you are both loyal and discreet. Never make the boss feel betrayed – unless, of course, you are ready to grab the boss’ job.

Peers: Understand That They Are Your Most Valuable Allies… or Your Most Dangerous Enemies

Suck up to the "consiglieri", the people able to walk into the office of the executive director or president or CEO on a moment’s notice. They can also be extraordinarily helpful as you struggle to get things done. Use your peers and they can have a lot of influence on your success.

Rivals: Defeat Them with a Siege, Not a Coup

Allow them to be short-sighted; relax and behave like a leader. Patiently work to prove that you are better than they are. Ask them pointed questions - give them "performance appraisals" in public. If you can't resist a show of aggression, make sure that it's lethal and you finish him or her off as a rival. If you lose, however, learn to like eating crow, or go - because with formal rivals, it's always kiss or kill.

Outsiders with Influence: Be Wary, Be Right, and Be Prepared to Prove It

Work to keep your clients happy. You have to layer your clients and donors and concentrate on the important ones. Be accessible at the drop of a hat, to the extent of serving as a "consiglieri" to them. Help them solve problems, not just in their businesses and careers, but also in their lives. Lastly, never lie to them.

Position: Get into Place, Whether You Are a Hunter, Skinner, or Diner

Don’t expect people to come around and hold out a Halloween basket for you so that you can pick whatever revenue-generating job you want. Put yourself into position. Make it known that you want a revenue-gathering job. Don’t just raise your hand when a job comes up, when people are already thinking of other candidates. Raise your hand in advance. Then dive right in. If it turns out that you have no appetite for the hunt, you can always come back to the staff job later.

Culture: Before You Sign on, Make Sure it’s a Culture, Not a Cult

Pay attention to a few things when you move into senior management. Know the unwritten rules of your organization’s culture so that you don’t break them unwittingly. Consider whether or not the culture is one that will reward your efforts. Make sure that the culture doesn’t wind up warping you in ways that will damage your career. Lastly, to be a leader, you have to try to influence the culture in positive ways.

The New Bosses: It’s Not the Same Old Twentieth-Century Game

The new world is more analytical, more numbers-focused, more aggressive, more skeptical, and more unforgiving than ever before. You have to be effective in this world to make it to the top.

If you want to rise, you have to demonstrate leadership to many different audiences. These include the people above and below you in the organizational hierarchy, the people who are competing with you for the next job and those resentful because they cannot compete for it, the outsiders and insiders and shareholders and donors and disinterested observers only looking for a juicy story to alleviate the tedium.

You will never convince all these different audiences to trust you if you don’t have a very strong sense of yourself and a good idea of what integrity is. But you also have to listen to all these bosses, think about them, and try to understand their agendas.

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