The Ten Roads to Riches: The Ways the Wealthy Got There (And How You Can Too!)

Beinga herois a good

path to the

CEO

chair.

Pardon Me, That's My Throne 139

Big pay seems "obscene" to some.

If

that's you, this isn't your

road. M ost observers aren't so upset at big pay for successes,

but

they really hate failed

CE

Os (perceived or

oth

erwise) getting a

huge check going out the door.

Cru

cify them! Still, if you become

CEO,

fail, and get crucified publicl

y-

you still almost always end

up well-off financially.

CEOS

AND

SUPERHEROES

It's tough becoming

CEO

, and tougher lasting long-term.

On

e way

to boost your odds is:

Think

hero . Be a swashbuckling risk taker.

Th

e

one with vision, fearlessness to pursue it, and fortitude to recognize

mistakes, alter course, and plunge fearlessly ahead again. Good heroes

make exceedingly lonely decisions, but sell the board, employees, and

shareholders on why the road less taken is better. T hose unp opular

decisions can flop, but real heroes usually bounce back.

On

e former superhero

CE

O was

GE

'sJack Welch (net w

orth

$720 millionj.l' Welch became

CE

O in 1981 when GE was a great

company, turned it upside down (read: layoffs), and made it greater.

Welch didn 't just trim payroll

s-he

decimated whole business lines.

To him, if

GE

wasn't a world leader or a close second at anything,

they should

n'

t be doing it. T

hro

ughout his career, he fired the b

ot-

tom 10 perc

ent

of

managers yearly.l!

While

tho

se fired man agers

likely weren't pleased, there are few

CE

Os in modern history as

well re