Q: WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO START
WRITING THE CORNER OFFICE
COLUMN?
Adam Bryant: I was a business reporter
here at the Times for many years and
covered a lot of industries and, over that
time, interviewed many CEOs. What I
realized is that the business press pretty
much always interviews CEOs as strategists
and are only interested in getting
at two main questions: 1) What is your
growth plan? and 2) What is the competitive
landscape?
Although these are valuable questions
to answer – and they attract a big audience
– I found that the more time I spent
with CEOs, the more I became intrigued
with them as people and wanted to ask
them very simple questions like “How do
you do what you do?” and “How did you
learn to do what you do?”
Q: SO HOW DID THE BOOK COME
ABOUT?
AB: Actually, I did not set out to write
a book initially. There are plenty of leadership
books out there, but after about
75 interviews, I started noticing some
patterns, hearing some themes echoing
throughout the interviews and it got me
wondering, what is it about these people
– what are the qualities they have in common
– that help explain how they got to
the corner office?
And, in my opinion, people ask the
wrong question when trying to understand
the pathway to success because
they ask, “What led you to your success?”
The problem with this question is that
it generally leads to answers that are neither
surprising nor particularly insightful.
If you ask anybody this question, you
are probably going to get some variation
of hard work, perseverance, passion, etc.
Those answers are right, but, to me, they
are not insightful.
So what I did with the book was to
frame the question far more narrowly,
feature
“IT MAY SEEM INEFFICIENT TO WALK AROUND THE BUILDING AND STOP
INTO PEOPLE’S OFFICES SINCE THERE IS NOT AN IMMEDIATE ROI ON
YOUR TIME, BUT THE CEOs I SPOKE WITH LEARNED SO MUCH IN TERMS
OF WHAT EMPLOYEES ARE WORKING ON, WHAT THE ROADBLOCKS
ARE, ETC. THEY OBTAINED GREAT INSIGHTS BY DOING THIS.”
Looking for a professional speaker or trainer
for your next meeting? We can help!
HARNESS THE POWER
OF MY FELLOW CAPS SPEAKERS TODAY!
www..AllberrttaSpeakerrs..com
www.CalgarySpeakers.com
www.TorontoSpeakers.com
780-707-0189
Bob ‘Idea Man’ Hooey Visit www.ideaman.net
The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers is pleased to announce
the launch of an Employer Resource Centre for engineering companies
in Ontario. Gain access to a wealth of HR resources, tools, and templates
that can help you attract and retain the resources you need.
44 ❚ FEBRUARY 2014 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL