The CEO Next Door, by Elena L. Botelho and Kim R. Powell, calls to mind the title of Thomas J. Stanley's book, The Millionaire Next Door, so I was expecting it to be a little bit more of the same, possibly even in connection with the Millionaire series. I find myself enjoying The CEO Next Door more, because it focuses more on the habits and choices of the people who form the basis of the book. Where The Millionaire Next Door focuses more on specific attributes, and slightly unhelpful data about the consumption habits of millionaires, The CEO Next Door is somewhat more akin to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in that it is more principle-based.
I can almost imagine The CEO Next Door being presented in a business meeting; it has a clear, concise format, with main points, summaries, and even a flow chart of sorts. Each set of habits is stated in a concise way, followed by anecdotal and empirical evidence to support the assertion.
I guess I could argue that I'm co-CEO of my household, but the fact is, I haven't been "gainfully employed" for almost 10 years now, so this might seem like an odd choice of book for me to read. However, I selected it in part because my husband is in a managerial position at work, and I was curious about whether the book would have any good advice for him in his work, even though neither he nor I have CEO aspirations. The other reason I selected the book was to see if it had any helpful advice for me. After all, running a household does have some parallels to running a business.
I'm planning on having my husband read the book later, because I found it understandably more applicable to the workplace, but I did find value in the book for myself. I felt like it was a good read, and did not consider my time to have been wasted reading it.
