What It Really Takes to Get to the Top, Stay There, and Thrive

• Inside the life of the top-level leader: a candid view from the CEO of one of the world’s top executive search firms
• What top executives do, how they do it, and how great leaders keep improving
• Covers all the toughest issues--from driving change to balancing work and personal life

At the very top, everything is different: the lifestyle, the decisions, the relentless, nonstop pressure. What’s it really like up there? There’s only one way to know: ask another top-level leader. In Top Jobs, the CEO of one of the world’s top executive search firms shares the no-holds-barred lessons he’s learned in his own career and the most powerful insights learned from hundreds of leaders he’s worked with. Discover how to grab the reins and start delivering from day one...how to cope with brutally tough stakeholders...how to continually improve at everything from strategy to top-level team-building...how to keep your personal life from imploding while you’re working 24/7!

In Top Jobs, Kevin Kelly takes you inside the life of the top-level leader and shows you exactly what it takes to thrive at the top.

Never before has the reality of top-level leadership been brought home with this much clarity, candor, and passion. Kelly writes from personal experience as CEO of one of the world’s top executive search firms, Heidrick & Struggles. He doesn’t just lead his own company: He works personally with hundreds of fellow leaders and board-level leaders.

Kelly discusses what to do in your first 100 days...how to lead in a global environment...how to preserve your family life when you’re working and traveling nonstop...even how to prepare for life beyond the corner office.

This is the one book you’ll need to succeed in your top job--whether you’re already in it or not!

• Finding your own path to the top
  What it will take for you, personally, to get there
• Your first 100 days leading the organization
  Crucial first decisions and first impressions
• The nuts and bolts of top-level leadership
  Winning at strategy, execution, communication, and global leadership
• Me, myself, and I
  Staying sane and balanced in your 24/7 job

Introduction      xv

Chapter 1 Why Top Jobs Matter    1

Chapter 2 Getting There    17

Chapter 3 My First 100 Days    35

Chapter 4 The Job: Leadership, Strategy, and Execution    63

Chapter 5 The Job: Communication and People    85

Chapter 6 The Rise and Rise of the Global Leader    109

Chapter 7 Me, Myself, and I    127

Chapter 8 Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs    153

Chapter 9 Tomorrow’s Leaders    165

Chapter 10 The Life Beyond    175