The same skills and strategies can propel an aspiring executive to the top of any organization, be it the Podunk High School Student Council, the Acme Xylophone Corporation, or the government of the United States of America. The student council president may be an unpaid volunteer, and the Acme CEO may bark out orders in an office that is rectangular, not oval. But the paths that lead to those positions are remarkably similar to the trail that ends so gloriously at the front door of the White House. Author G. Scott Thomas spent two years examining the lives of nearly two hundred presidential candidates-winners and losers, the famous and the obscure-with an eye for the tactics and qualities that served their careers well or damaged them beyond repair. He has distilled their experiences into a comprehensive guide to success, Advice from the Presidents.

Thomas’s book offers a wealth of advice, quotations, and anecdotes that are pertinent to any up-and-coming young man or woman. Which strategies for advancement are effective and which are doomed to fail? Which personal traits should be emulated and which are detrimental? Presidential candidates have learned the answers the hard way, earning the education of a lifetime in the gritty, cutthroat arena of national politics, a field as competitive as any to be found in corporate America. And now, for the first time, their valuable knowledge will be made available to ambitious executives and eager students across the country. Readers will learn the seven time-tested steps that can transform a would-be chief executive or U.S. President into the real thing: Decide upon your long-term goal. Develop your skills and interests. Polish your image and your people skills. Organize a network of mentors and helpers. Control your inner demons and your opponents. Maneuver to improve your position. Succeed with grace and serenity.

In this book, readers will follow the career paths of famous American politicians. There have been smart presidents and unintelligent ones, honest and dishonest ones, diligent and lazy ones. But all of these master politicians have remarkably different skills and personalities but had one thing in common. They all followed the same seven-step career plan detailed in Advice from the Presidents. And so can any ambitious person in any walk of life.