3 New Books By CEO Authors Reveal The ‘Myths Of Success’ And Other Leadership Secrets

If you aspire to be a CEO or leader of your regional area, department or team, who better to learn from than former CEOs? Three new books by CEO authors share advice on how to stand out in your career, build strong teams and businesses, and achieve professional success:

1. The Myths of Success: A Woman of Color’s Guide to Leadership by Analiza Wolf, former CEO of Neighborhood Charter Schools;
2. The Perfect 10: 10 Leadership Principles to Achieve True Independence, Extreme Wealth, and Huge Success by Dave Liniger, co-founder of RE/MAX, with Laura Morton;
3. Red Helicopter by James Rhee, former CEO of Ashley Stewart

The Myths of Success: A Woman of Color’s Guide to Leadership by Analiza Wolf, former CEO of Neighborhood Charter Schools

Analiza Wolf was CEO at Neighborhood Charter Schools from 2019-2021 and has also been a captain in the US Air Force and a brand manager at Colgate Palmolive. In addition to sharing her own strategies and tips that enabled her to successfully pivot her career multiple times, Wolf pulls lessons from interviews with 53 women of color executives and business owners. Companies range across industries, including for-profit, startups, nonprofit and education (full disclosure: Wolf interviewed me on her podcast and included some of that conversation in this book).

Each chapter of the book is dedicated to a myth of success that Wolf debunks, using examples from her career and the other leaders profiled. Readers have real-life examples to glean actionable steps to take, as well as inspiration that these obstacles are surmountable. For example, Wolf emphasizes the importance of self-promotion and strong networks:

“The reality is that people aren’t hired because of their resume. They are hired because they were recommended to the people doing the hiring.” – Analiza Wolf in The Myths of Success: A Woman of Color’s Guide to Leadership

The advice in The Myths of Success is relevant, not just to women of color, but to any professional who might be struggling with feeling undervalued, having low self-confidence or lacking visibility in their current role or workplace. The book covers 10 myths, including:

1. The workplace is a meritocracy
2. We’re not worthy
3. Women are too emotional to be good leaders
4. Be humble. Our work will speak for itself
5. Women who negotiate are greedy
6. Networking is an exhausting and fake way to make connections
7. Women need to act like men to be successful in leadership
8. We can have it all
9. There is one path to success
10. We will get the workplaces we want through incremental change led by DEI officers

The Perfect 10 : 10 Leadership Principles to Achieve True Independence, Extreme Wealth, and Huge Success by Dave Liniger, co-founder of RE/MAX, with Laura Morton

Dave Liniger, not only co-founded and led RE/MAX, but he also ran a variety of other businesses, including oil drilling, a golf course and champion horse breeding! In this teaching memoir, Liniger shares his life lessons and best advice from the 1970s to today. Reflective questions in each chapter help keep you on track and also prompt you to act on the lesson.

“To be a great leader, be willing to bet on yourself.” – Dave Liniger in The Perfect 10 : 10 Leadership Principles to Achieve True Independence, Extreme Wealth, and Huge Success

Liniger covers a lot of ground, from starting a business to growing it to pivoting when circumstances change. The book also covers individual skills to develop, such as negotiation and resilience. The book provides how-to advice, as well as inspiration from the variety and scale of what Liniger has accomplished in his lifetime.

Red Helicopter by James Rhee, former CEO of Ashley Stewart

A Korean-American private equity partner takes over as CEO of Ashley Stewart, fashion retailer for plus-size, low- to middle-income Black women, and leads the chain from near bankruptcy to profitability three years later (the equivalent of a 160% IRR per year after the three- year turnaround). Alongside the business-building and leadership advice, Rhee candidly shares how he comes to terms with his own outsider story.

The breezy pace of Red Helicopter reads like a fictional movie, but it’s a true story and a must-read. (Netflix should option this — with Stephen Yeun playing Rhee, it could be the perfect follow-up to Beef!) Rhee attributes the outsized company performance to math, as well as kindness:

"Kindness distributes the joy of problem- solving to everyone. It creates a safe environment that unleashes innovation, especially the unselfish kind. And it turns perceived liabilities into assets, which, as any financial accountant will tell you, mathematically has to result in the creation of real equity value in every meaning of the word...." - James Rhee in Red Helicopter

If you’re at a company in the midst of a crisis, restructuring or turnaround, Rhee’s focus on listening and collaborating with staff at all levels gives a useful model to emulate. The book also includes specific marketing, operations and people strategies that helped power the turnaround at Ashley Stewart.

What are you reading?

Business books, especially ones that include real-life examples like the three above, are an excellent investment in your career. Whether you’re looking to advance, plan your next move or figure out how to work more effectively and sustainably, learning from what others have already done can shortcut your own trial and error. You can also get motivated by seeing how others have faced challenges you’re currently experiencing and come out successfully on the other side.