How to Become a CEO

So many personal finance gurus talk about saving money that it's easy to forget the other side of the coin. To save money you have to make money first. You can sell stuff on eBay or do odd jobs, but why not take advantage of the situation you're in? Conventional wisdom holds that doing your job well and occasionally lobbying for a raise or promotion will get you where you want to go. Conventional wisdom is wrong.

Climbing Horizontally

If you have a job in an organization with more than one employee, you have a shot at becoming a top leader where you work. A recent study by Stanford University economist Ed Lazear concludes that the number of different positions a person has held during their career has a lot to do with how far they can go.

Reaching the top means moving left and right first. If you want to reach a 'C-level' (CEO, CFO, COO) position, you can't afford to become too specialized. Learning your area of expertise may let you move up in the short term, but, as Lazear says, “the higher you get in an organization, the more likely you are to encounter problems from a variety of different areas.”

In fact, out of the study's respondents, those who had held 2 or fewer roles had only a 2% chance of eventually becoming a C-level leader, while those who held at least 5 positions had an 18% chance of reaching the top.

The Roadmap

Although some organizations are well-suited for the kind of cross-training needed to groom top managers, chances are you'll have to take the initiative to make it happen. Remember, no one cares about your financial security like you do.

Make friends with people in other areas of your company and learn about their jobs. Volunteer for projects that involve working across department lines. Learn as many critical positions as you can within your company, and get the experience and recognition you need to move up.

The Prize

Why should you bother? The real bottom line lies in, well, the bottom line. According to a May 2009 department of labor study, the average CEO's salary is $167,280. The average salary overall nationwide? $43,460, or about a quarter of what you could be making as the top boss.

In addition, people who prep themselves by learning a wide variety of skills are more valuable. Sure, not everyone can be an executive, but everyone still needs a job. If you have more skills to offer, you can look at a wider range of potential positions with more companies and pave your own road to success.

If that's not enough, consider that learning the kinds of team-building and diplomacy skills needed to coordinate between different people in different positions will make your life easier from day one. Show your face and people will recognize it. Help out in a different department and you may make a friend, a paycheck, or both.


 Author Bio : Alex Sviridovsky is a professional translator for the Army. He, his wife and daughter live near Savannah, GA, where he runs the hobbyist blog cognoramus.com.