60-Minute CEO: Mastering Leadership an Hour at a Time

by Dick Cross

Looking toward the C-suite? Take heed. Author and serial CEO Dick Cross pulls back the curtain on this top leadership role, explaining in his new book that being a successful leader, running a business, and doing it extraordinarily well isn't a full-time job. In 60-Minute The Fast Track to Top Leadership, Cross makes the case that the single greatest determinant of business success revolves around the job at the top. Cross suggests that the most important, and often overlooked, duty for a CEO is thinking about how to improve his or her business and how to be a leader. Cross also reveals that a mediocre leader can be transformed into an exemplary one simply by refining two key thinking and character. In Cross's trademark conversational style, he conveys why strategy and execution, while important, should take a back seat to authenticity and responsibility, and that the essential elements of the CEO role can be accomplished in several 60-minute sessions every week. Executives may fill their time with other tasks, but leading and running a company requires explicit skills different from those needed for any other corporate position. The good news is that those skills are easy to learn, fun to do, and not time-consuming. In an entertaining style, Cross offers executives the fast track to the top leadership position. And while 60 minutes may seem like a quick fix, as Cross sees it, three 60-minute sessions a week devoted solely to considering your business and your role as leader are crucial to business and leadership success. In 60-Minute CEO, Dick Cross brings over 25 years of experience of transforming companies in various stages of underperformance into industry powerhouses. Cross combines his knowledge and experience with the stories and lessons of preeminent leaders and thinkers including General George Patton and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2014

About the author

Dick Cross has worked with underperforming companies for more than 25 years, helping mainstream businesses get “unstuck” to achieve their next level of success. Dick has been the Chairman, CEO, or President at eight of those companies, and has mentored more than 100 CEOs at others. Much of his career has been spent in private equity circles, including Fenway Partners, and he currently serves on the board of numerous corporate, philanthropic, and civic organizations.

Early in his career, Dick worked with the management consulting firm The Cambridge Research Institute (CRI), and later joined the Berwick Group, a start-up, Boston-based general management consulting firm focusing on strategic planning. The focus of his work there was diagnosing and addressing companies’ shortfalls in strategic and financial business performance. The beginnings of his Just Run It! framework began to take shape.

At Fenway Partners, Dick continued to perfect his craft. The prospectus for Fenway was to acquire and fix under-performing businesses. Since that time, Dick has gone on to run eight companies and to help dozens more turn around. Most recently, as Chairman and CEO of CARSTAR, a business that he steered from insolvency to a hugely successful recapitalization valued at ten times earning, Dick once again proved the success of his Just Run It! approach. During that time he also served as a Chairman or Director of a number of other business and philanthropic organizations.

Dick is an enthusiastic, colorful, and engaging speaker, who greatly enjoys conveying the story behind every business. He holds a degree in Architecture from the University of Virginia and a Masters of Science in Business from Columbia University. He and his wife split the year between Concord, Massachusetts, and Gloucester Point, Virginia.

Though this book and his Just Run It! Summits, Dick’s goal is to spread the word that running your business is easier than you think.

Reviews

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serves as a good reminder of whats important. Provides a succinct yet comprehensive description on how to lead, 60 minutes at a time, 3 times a week. Thought, character, authenticity, trust and purpose are essential..

[Robbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Your Ordinary How To Book d Book

I've read a zillion business books from excellent to indecipherable. Dick Cross' 60-Minute CEO is by far the most practical with instructions and guidelines almost anyone can understand and implement. The only requirement is honesty and truly caring about your business, employees and end-users. Easy to say but a true commitment and love of your business combined with this book will help you achieve the highest level of professional and personal success. You'll feel renewed excitement, inspiration and optimism for what you business can accomplish. Now that the economy is booming again, here are some straightforward lessons to boost or restart your business to renewed vigor and growth, too.

[Vas Giatilis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good tips for CEOs and eventually managers with strong sense of accountability. I think author repeats himself throughout and many of core leadership ideas repeat from chapter to chapter. Although he mentions positions on core values, he completely misses the corporate culture topic and how this affects strategy. CEO is the maestro of a firm and as such initiates the culture inculcation within. I would love to see more examples and case studies. The book loses its credibility without justification from multiple references and examples of strategic and influential CEOs. Nevertheless the book respects its readers and it seems that the author's priority was firstly to influence and then to make money.

[Don Mario · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, one very good idea: if you find yourself doing "the job at the top", you need to spend 60 minutes alone three times a week constantly reviewing the big picture.

But, sorry, the rest of the book is examples of what you might think about in your 60 minutes sessions... and it sounded so much like "the usual thing" that not a single page really gave me any useful insight.

Could have been an interesting and useful paper.

[Arun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dick Cross knows what he is talking about and his principles are valid not just for CEO but the analogy can be practiced for any leadership position.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and intending to practice in real world.

[Amy Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life changing. Or rather, work changing. I have used this book to transform how I think about running my company.

[Sohel Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found some good information that helped me grow my job at the top.

[TOYA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too much fluff. Methodology and "how to" gets lost.

[Vairavel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the book is titled as a book targeted at heads of organisations (CEOs), this would apply to anyone who is doing a strategic role within an organization who needs to think and act like a CEO. Overall, a good read with some great tips on managing your organization. A good read.

[Debbie]

Primary message: CEOs are paid to think; should be scheduling a minimum of one hour three times a week to do nothing else but think about the company, in relationship to the market, the industry, the stakeholders. Good message; somewhat repetitive.