A CEO for All Seasons

From McKinsey & Company senior partners and the minds behind the New York Times bestseller CEO Excellence comes a compact, insight-packed guide to navigating the four distinct phases of leadership that every CEO must pass through on their way to mastery.

In the high-stakes world of corporate leadership, becoming a Fortune 500 CEO is an Everest-like ascent—with only the savviest managing to avoid falling off the mountain. In A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership, you’ll find an essential climbing route that will take you through every stage. Featured in this tip-dense guide is wisdom from some of the world’s most iconic leaders, including Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell, Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman, Chevron’s Mike Wirth, Merck’s Ken Frazier, Nasdaq’s Adena Friedman, ASML’s Peter Wennink, and Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman.

Unique in applying a number of sophisticated metrics to isolate the world’s top 200 CEOs, reduce them to a representative sample, and then reap their wisdom, the McKinsey team, in A CEO for All Seasons, spotlights the specific stage-based hurdles that CEOs face. From preparing for the role (stepping up) to leading with impact (starting strong) to sustaining momentum (staying ahead) to fortifying a lasting legacy (sending it forward), the book leaves no segment of the journey unmapped. Along the way, it offers proven strategies for maintaining forward progress and, crucially, alerts readers to common blind spots, as revealed by a detailed survey of thousands of executives.

Whether you’re an aspiring leader or a new-to-the-job CEO—or even a board member wanting to better steward your company’s performance—this is the compact, hands-on guide you’ve needed. Its compendium of pressure-tested tips is a must-have game changer for leaders at all levels.

Product Details

Authors:

Publisher: Scribner / Simon & Schuster
(October 7, 2025)

Hardcover: 224 pages

ISBN13: 9781668098349

Item weight: 11.3 ounces

Language: English

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A CEO for All Seasons

by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Vikram (Vik) Malhotra, Kurt Strovink

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The Authors

Carolyn Dewar

Carolyn Dewar, a coauthor of the New York Times bestselling CEO Excellence, is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company. She has published over 30 articles in the Harvard Business Review and the McKinsey Quarterly and is a frequent keynote speaker.

Scott Keller

Scott Keller is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company. He is the author or coauthor of seven books, including CEO Excellence and Beyond Performance: How Great Organizations Create Ultimate Competitive Advantage.

Vikram Malhotra

Vikram (Vik) Malhotra, a coauthor of CEO Excellence, is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company where he has worked since 1986. He has served on McKinsey’s Board of Directors and as McKinsey’s Managing Partner of the Americas.

Kurt Strovink

Kurt Strovink is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and leads the firm’s global CEO Initiative. He coauthored the national bestseller The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Lead from the Inside Out.

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