CEO Ready: What You Need to Know to Earn the Job — and Keep the Job
Mark Thompson and Byron Loflin
Business Review Press (November 2025)
How do you measure up as an executive? Do you know?
The last time I checked, the average tenure of a CEO has decreased to about 5-7 years while the value of a co-called “golden parachute” for a CEO has increased substantially. The position seems to be an “endangered species.” It’s true: Not everyone aspires to be a CEO or a C-level executive. But for those who do….
The title of one of Marshall Goldsmith’s books asserts that “what got you here won’t get you there.” I agree and take it a step further: What got you here won’t even allow you to remain here, however and wherever you define “here” and “there.”
In the Foreword to CEO Ready, Goldsmith makes several key points. Here are two:
“Becoming CEO is not about achieving [begin italics] your [end italics] definition of the most qualified candidate. It’s about building the confidence of the decision-makers based on [begin italics] their [end italics] criteria, not yours.”
Goldxsxmigh then suggests that Mark Thompson and Byron Loflin have created “a playbook that is more than just a guide to becoming CEO; it is a comprehensive resource for anyone aspiring to get promoted. With Mark and Byron’s combined expertise, you are in the best possible hands to prepare for and succeed in the biggest job of your life.”
Here specifically is some of the most valuable material that Thompson and Loflin provide in CEO Ready:
A Self-Assessment Exercise (Pages 183-184)
1. Are you reading the signals in your employee data to energize your team and build your reputation as a credible, inspiring leader?
2. How well do you understand your customers as they face times of uncertainty?
3. Are you anchored enough to honor the people and culture that got you here?
4. Can you reinvent what must change while preserving what works?
5. Do you know which cultural elements to protect and which ones must evolve?
6. Do you know the fewest, most powerful forces that will drive change?
7. Are you ready for the spotlight? The scrutiny?
Commonly Used Diagnostic Tools and Approaches (205-208)
o Competency assessments
o 360-degree feedback assessments
o In-depth behavioral interviews
o Case studies and simulations
o Leadership assessment centers
o Reference and background checks
o Specific-diagnostic tools
o Psycvhometric testing
Assessment Frameworks (209-215)
Four categories
1. Leadership style and effectiveness
2. Personality and behavioral insights
3. Conflict and change management
4. Team dynamics
Recruitment Firm Assessments (217-231)
o Egon Zehnder
o Spencer Stuart
o Korn Ferry
Mark Thompson and Byron Loflin discuss each of these tools and approaches, assessment frameworks, recruiting firm assessments, and self-assessment questions so that you will be well-prepared to seek and then keep whatever the given job may be.
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It’s true: Not everyone aspires to be a CEO or a C-level executive but CEO Ready is nonetheless a must-read for both female and male executives — at any level of almost any organization — if they want to accelerate their personal growth (e.g. nourishing empathy) and professional development (e.g. AI collaboration skills).
CEO Ready is a brilliant achievement. Bravo!