Part II: The Invincible Personality

Chapter List

Rule 11: Anger is a Tactic, Not an Emotion

Rule 12: Harness Your Fear to Sharpen Your Professional Judgment

Rule 13: Respect Ambition, but Destroy Opportunism

Rule 14: Value Loyalty, but do Not Depend on It

Rule 15: Put a Very Fine Line between Yourself and Your Subordinates

Rule 16: Wield a Spiritual Shield, but Not a Spiritual Sword

Rule 17: You do Not Have to be Good-Looking, but You Have to Look Good

Rule 18: Take the High Ground and Never Give it Up

Rule 19: Don't Lose Your Confidence for Very Long

Rule 20: You Can and Must Develop Professional Charisma

Part Overview

Now it is time to move from the external career paths of invincible executives to their inner workings. In Part II, we will go into the minds of invincible executives to explore their emotional and spiritual makeup. We will answer such questions as, What role do anger and fear play in the personality of a person who makes it to the top? How do top professionals size up other people when deciding whether to work with them? What role do loyalty, friendship, and spirituality play in their professional lives?

There is less unanimity among top professionals about what personality characteristics lead to success than there was on the subject of career planning that we discussed in Part I. However, once we scratch the surface, it will become clear that most of the differences in the viewpoints among the interviewees are the result of a distinct evolution over the past twenty-five years in the personality qualities that lead to success. What worked twenty-five years ago does not work today. Consequently, more senior invincible executives tend to have one set of personality characteristics, while younger ones value and display a slightly different set of characteristics. Let's study the personalities of executives with staying power.