The Education of an Accidental CEO Lessons Learned from the Trailer Park to the Corner Office

David Novak&;one of today&;s most engaging, unconventional, and successful business leaders&;lived in thirty-two trailer parks in twenty-three states by the time he reached the seventh grade. He sold encyclopedias door to door, worked as a hotel night clerk, and took a job as a $7,200-a-year advertising copywriter with the hopes of maybe one day becoming a creative director. Instead, he became head of the world&;s largest restaurant company at the ripe old age of forty-seven.While David never went to business school, he did learn from the greatest of teachers&;experience&;and plenty of other very smart people as well: Magic Johnson on the secret to teamwork, Warren Buffett on what he looks for in the companies he buys, John Wooden on ego, and Jack Welch on one thing he&;d do over. Now he wants to share with you what he discovered about getting ahead and getting noticed; motivating people and turning businesses around; building winning teams and running a global company of nearly one million people; and always staying true to yourself.The Education of an Accidental CEO is filled with David Novak&;s street-smart wisdom:From his formative years...&; Walking through your anxieties&; Avoiding the poison of stereotypes&; Staying &;right-sized&; &; Breaking through the clutterFrom his years as an ad executive and chief marketing officer ...&; How not to roll over like Fluffy the dog&; Seeing yourself as a brand&; When to pull the plug on the Super BowlAs the COO of Pepsi Cola and then as president of KFC and Pizza Hut ...&; Why a gold watch can have less value than a floppy rubber chicken&; Knowing when &;the answers are in the building&;&; Knowing when to do nothing&; What it takes to revitalze a companyAnd as CEO of Yum! Brands, Inc. ...&; How to &;shock the system&;&; How to avoid the slow-no&;s&; Managing two up and two downDavid Novak&;s ideas for building an entire culture around reward and recognition&;getting everyone from division presidents to dishwashers to buy into recognizing the achievements of others&;is studied by other companies and discussed here in great detail. Whether you are the CEO of a global conglomerate or a budding entrepreneur, there is something here that will help you get where you want to go.