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How to Become a C.E.O.?
Article

How to Become a C.E.O.?

The Quickest Path Is a Winding One


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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Overview
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

For aspiring senior executives, the path up the corporate ladder isn’t as linear as it once was. Recent research shows that would-be top directors who camp out in just one functional area reduce their competitive edge, while those who branch into multiple specialties increase their odds of reaching the top. Journalist Neil Irwin explores the findings from new research into the ways senior executives earn their positions. getAbstract recommends this article to any worker aspiring to reach the upper rungs, especially those with his or her eye on the CEO’s seat.

Take-Aways

  • Ambitious workers aspiring to senior executive positions can improve their odds of success by accumulating experience in multiple functional areas.
  • According to a new study, acquiring a second specialty counted as much as three years of experience, and having four specialties contributed the equivalent of earning an elite MBA.
  • “Hybrid jobs” – occupations that require expertise in more than one specialty – are becoming more common.

About the Author

Neil Irwin is a senior economics correspondent at The New York Times and author of the best-selling The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire.