The haloed CEO role is a rarefied position which takes a special combination of the right mindset, skillset and tools to succeed, our business writer Ian Garner delved into Ben Renshaw's book to find out more.


How to Be a CEO is a learning tool which claims to be aimed at people thinking about becoming a CEO, accelerating their path to CEO, or supporting others to become a CEO.


I personally don’t fit any of these categories but instead fall into the category of someone who never became a CEO (spoiler alert: in my case, I think I already knew I wasn’t destined to be a CEO!).

Ben Renshaw is a speaker, executive coach, and author, working with 'leading organisations', senior executives, and entrepreneurs. Bens’ clients include Allen & Overy, BT, Diageo, Heathrow, Heinz, Imperial Business School, IHG, KPMG, National Highways, P&G, Sainsbury’s, Sky, Transport for London, UBS, and Unilever.

The book is full of insights from a multitude of business leaders and CEOs, such as law firm Allen & Overy, retailers like Burberry, Macy's, and Kingfisher, and other businesses like Heathrow and healthcare cash plan SimplyHealth.

One contributor, Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School, distils the requirements to be a great CEO: to demonstrate ‘Humility’ and ‘Determination’ together.

Ben Renshaw describes three pivotal stages, which he calls the three 'Ps': Purpose, People and Performance.

In the book’s epilogue chapter, he lists 21 steps as a pathway, and if you are someone who reads the last few pages of a book first (my wife does, and I never understand why, especially with a thriller novel), you will find out Ben’s secret recipe before you read the wealth of information gleaned from the mass of stories that are at the heart of the book.

My take on these helpful stories is clear: there isn’t a secret sauce, and the demands on a successful CEO depend on the challenges and opportunities facing the organisation at any specific time.

Having explored the stories in the detail that Ben Renshaw has catalogued from his years of coaching CEOs, I would suggest a couple of extra ‘Ps’, being ‘Preparation’ and ‘Planning’ and possibly one more, ‘Persistence’.

The book is a fascinating read, and in addition to the anecdotes and stories from people who have “been there and done that,” there are a wealth of tables, charts, and diagrams to make the examples and concepts more visual.

Ben Renshaw describes the capacities required to thrive as a successful CEO in a pyramid, with the base being ‘Physical’, another P by the way, and the following steps being 'Emotional', 'Mental', and ‘Spiritual’ at the peak, with spiritual referring to Purpose, Vision, and Values.

One quote from Sneh Khemka, former CEO of Simplyhealth, caught my eye, partly because I worked with Sneh when we were both at Bupa, but mainly for its insight. Sneh explained that being CEO was the most stressful and enjoyable job he’d had, and he went on to explain that CEOs need a thick skin as they are constantly monitored. He summarised that being a CEO is a lifestyle, not a job.

A clear lesson from the entirety of the book is that you need to aspire to CEO only if you have physical and mental strength, in addition to the obvious characteristics so brilliantly exposed throughout this book.

Being a CEO is clearly not for the fainthearted; the rewards, both financial and fulfilment, come at a great challenge to your wellbeing, and the trials, such as work-life balance, are not to be underestimated.

I enjoyed reading this book. It helped me come to terms with the fact that I had never achieved this level of business leadership. I knew from an early stage of my career that I wouldn’t be cut out for such a role, and this book convinced me that my destiny did not reach the CEO level and helped me come to terms with that.

It’s a pleasurable study for aspiring leaders or just for people who would like to understand the trials and tribulations of the role.

CEOs are generally very well rewarded for their work and can be the make or break of a business. Stakeholders like investors, employees, customers, and local communities depend on successful leadership, and this book demonstrates what a successful CEO looks like and helps them understand the scale of that challenge.

I think it’s worth a look if you’re interested in business at the highest level or just curious.

How to Be a CEO is written by Ben Renshaw and published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing.