The CEO Next Door book club questions

1. 1.

   Botelho and Powell say the most successful CEOs decide with speed and conviction rather than with complete information. Is there a decision you're currently delaying that would benefit from a faster call?

2. 2.

   The book argues charisma is overrated and reliability underrated. Think of the most effective leader you've worked with closely. Which mattered more in practice?

3. 3.

   The 'catapult' pattern shows that setbacks and failures, processed well, predict leadership success. What has been your most significant professional failure, and what did you do with it?

4. 4.

   Engaging for impact is about alignment and execution, not presence. Where in your current work are you relying on presence or relationship when you need to focus on alignment?

5. 5.

   The data shows elite credentials don't predict CEO performance. Does that match your experience of who actually leads well in organizations you know?

6. 6.

   Adapting boldly means updating your mental model when conditions change. Is there something you currently believe about your market, your team, or your strategy that you haven't seriously questioned recently?

7. 7.

   Reliability builds trust. Think of the last commitment you made that you didn't keep. What was the trust cost of that, and how did you rebuild it?

8. 8.

   The book profiles many CEOs who succeeded despite introversion, unconventional backgrounds, or significant gaps in their resume. What assumptions about who can be an effective executive does that challenge for you?

9. 9.

   If someone assessed your career on the four CEO behaviors — speed and conviction, engaging for impact, reliability, and bold adaptation — which would be your weakest? What's one specific situation where that weakness has cost you?

10. 10.

    The authors say most executives are held back by one or two specific behaviors that undermine them under pressure. What would your board, your peers, or your direct reports say yours are?

11. 11.

    How do organizations accidentally select for the wrong qualities in their CEO and leadership succession processes? What would a better selection process look like?

12. 12.

    The book is based on large-scale data. What do you think a data set of 17,000 executive assessments might systematically miss about what makes someone an effective leader?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.