The Fearless Executive, AMACOM Books, 2000.

Successful leaders share one (and only one) common factor: They discover their own unique blend of talents and trust it completely.

Executive success is really just that simple, according to Alan Downs, author of the incisive Corporate Executions. So what stops businesspeople from trusting and maximizing their talents? The enemy is fear--the kind of crippling fear that insists we must be something more than what we are and persuades us to abandon our core strengths.

This masterful book explains how to conquer such fear in all its guises, see reality clearly, and free untapped potential. THE FEARLESS EXECUTIVE explores seven universal fears that choke off growth: * Rejection ("What if I don't make it to the inner circle?") * Inadequacy ("What if I fail?") * Scarcity ("What if someone steals my piece of the action?") * Reality ("Isn't there a quick fix?") * The Unknown ("What is lurking out there?") * Aging ("What if I'm obsolete?") * Authority ("What if I break the rules?")

Rich in real-life vignettes and on-the-job management applications, this is a practical and compassionate guide. It will inspire readers to face their daily demons and live the fearless life--on the job and beyond.

Praise for the author's previous books: "An important and insightful work." --Library Journal (on Beyond the Looking Glass) "Should be required reading for CEOs across the land." --Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Corporate Executions)