Review of: Executive Warfare: 10 Rules of Engagement for Winning your War for Success, by David F. D’Alessandro

Corporate America has often been described as a jungle. If that is true, then David F. D’Alessandro’s new book aims to be its survival guide. It’s sad to think that the American dream of the 1950s and 60s is an era that no longer exists, but for those of you who live in such a business culture, large or small, you may cling to this book as one would a life preserver in the middle of a churning ocean.

The book presupposes that hard work, accomplishments, and loyalty are not enough to sustain one’s leadership position at a certain level in business. D’Alessandro points out that in plenty of organizations, when one starts a new job or role, there are others on the executive team that are already plotting and scheming to make the new guy look bad in the genuine hope that the new hire will not succeed, which would then yield an opportunity to take his or her place. “I didn’t understand that just because I’d now have an office fit for a prince, that didn’t mean that few offices over, there weren’t half a dozen other princes and princesses thinking very hard about how to block me, use me, or kill me,” D’Alessandro writes.

The author certainly has some great credentials. He began his career in the 1970s working in advertising and public relations, and eventually moved over to John Hancock Financial Services where he worked his way up to become Chairman and CEO. D’Alessandro uses poignant examples from his experience of how to identify your allies, and protect yourself from dangerous peers, toxic rivals ,and malignant gossipers, as well as how to leverage outside influencers. D’Alessandro is extremely candid in this book, laying out the good, the bad and the ugly of being an executive in 21st-century corporate America.

D’Alessandro provides great wisdom on how to navigate the difficulties of the employee/boss relationship so that the savvy executive can maintain the balance of being the boss’ right hand while getting the recognition and accolades from the board so he or she can advance in the event of the boss losing a position with the company.

“The trick is to ride a bunch of horses without running into conflict,” he writes, encouraging the executive to “carry information, be a go-between—be discreet about it—and you’ll win the loyalty of a lot of potential risers.” D’Alessandro also illustrates how most mentor relationships end in train wrecks, as the mentor may become insecure. “If your boss fears you are moving up on him, he may well decide to diminish your role or do you in. In such a case, you must act quickly,” he advises.

Even more poignant is the section on dealing with peers, where he suggests how to identify and build a network of trusted “consigliore” that can work together to advance respective agendas. He also hands out advice on how to handle peers that become your enemies for one reason or another—usually because they’re backing one of your rivals for the next job. “The most dangerous enemies among your peers are not the ones who would prefer somebody else as their boss, but the ones who just don’t want you,” he writes. In this section he provides great examples of how to handle the typical tactics that these enemies employ to harm your reputation within the organization. Similarly other sections on rivals, company culture, motivating your own team and dealing with new bosses are just as valuable.

After reading this book, one could conclude that American business culture has now redefined the very word of “team” to a term that perhaps means a “loose affiliation of corporate warriors that are supposedly united in an effort to maximize corporate profits but put their own interests ahead of everything else.”

Considering the current economic conditions and recent corporate management scandals, it is no wonder why this book has easily ended up on the New York Times Bestseller List. But I think there is a different message here for today’s executive; it’s one of protection, if not survival for the ethical executive (those that still exist). D’Alessandro himself discourages executives from being underhanded, excessively political, and heartless. After all, the real job of an executive is to inspire those that work for him or her to achieve the objective.