How to Get to the Top: Business Lessons Learned at the Dinner Table

by Jeffrey J. Fox

The bestselling author of How to Become CEO returns with a pithy, smart, and useful collection of wisdom learned by business leaders at their own family dinners.

Do you want to get to the top? Do you want to know how to rise above the crowd and become a leader in your field? Then this is the book for you. In How to Get to the Top , bestselling author Jeffrey J. Fox combines his own experience as an extremely successful entrepreneur with lessons learned at the family dinner table by business leaders such as Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks; Tom Chappell, founder of Tom's of Maine; Leslie Blodgett, CEO of Bare Escentuals; and George Steinbrenner, principal owner of the New York Yankees. The essential guide on how to get to the top--and stay there--this compelling book contains hard-hitting advice on independence and self-reliance, management dynamics, and problem solving,

Genres: Business, Management

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Ling · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a short and simple book that gives you insights, opinions, ways about business that often overlook in our ordinary lives. I like how it separate events or discussions that are in small chunks and simple language.

[Linda Lazin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! It explains concepts in simple, layman’s terms, perfect for business-minded people looking to grow their businesses. It includes relatable real-life stories, valuable lessons learned and more.

[Norhaizan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to understand. Easy to practice.

[Osric Lecourtier]

I'm not a MBA student, but I found this book was an easy read and quite interesting. There are 55 short lessons that potential movers and shakers can absorb. They are told in a folksy, "down home" manner, without the jargon (which is actually rule #22: Buzzsaw the Buzzwords). Some of the suggestions seem to be common sense (like rule #53: Don't Give the Jewish Guy a Pork Roast) but they bear repeating. Because the audience for this book of advice is supposed to be wide, certain anecdotes are deliberately vague but are clear enough that the reader can apply them to his/her situation (like rule #16: The Most Important Question in Business - "why would I do business with me?"). I was pleased to see that some of the things I already do are in there (like rule #10: Always Compliment the Chef... Especially at Home). I think the only piece of advice I'd be cautious with was rule #5: What I Would Do in the First 100 Days. Do you think King Claudius or Queen Gertrude would approve of me, a simple potential civil-servant, giving him a list of things I think he/she could do to run Denmark? That's why they have high-level advisers like Polonius around. However, this book has given me many ideas for making my name in the Danish court (like rule #4: Be Both Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside).

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good advice, but the book didn't seem to go far enough. It didn't tell which business leaders gave which advice, nor how they applied it. Additionally, the business leaders are generally ones I haven't heard of (with some exceptions, like George Steinbrenner). It would have been nice if the likes of Steven Jobs, Jack Welch, etc would have been interviewed.

[Debra Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This quick an easy read had me gripped from cover to cover. Jeffrey Fox uses excellent stories and anecdotes to imprint his family wisdom into your thinking. Useful life lessons that will benefit anyone who reads them.

[Oyun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simple but useful advices

[Jim Serger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clever little book---takes a ton of what families talk about around the dinner table--good book.

[Author Shatona Groves · Rating 4 out of 5]

True relatable business and life lessons in this book. So relatable, I was able to share the basketball story with my 13 year old son. Great book!

[Mohammad Saleh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice and easy read, with many lessons in business world using common simple language, nice read while traveling