The host of the hit reality show The Apprentice presents an invaluable collection of grounded, hard-hitting advice on business success, from people who have made it to the boss's chair at some of America's most thriving companies.

How can you find the way to the top?

Ask people who are already there.

Because you can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide-ranging your business experience, there's simply no way to acquire all the wisdom you need to make your business flourish. You need to learn from those who have blazed a trail before you.

Donald Trump has asked many of the brightest, most successful businesspeople he knows-and some he doesn't know-to answer this question: What's the best business advice you ever received? The result is a compelling resource of wisdom and wit that reveals how some of the most accomplished people conduct their personal and business affairs, giving an inside look into the secrets of corporate success. But the advice doesn't only come from the upper echelons of the Fortune 500. Thoughts poured in from executives at thriving companies large and small, ranging from well-known icons such as Staples, American Airlines, Lillian Vernon, and Boeing to family-run operations like Orleans Homebuilders and Carlson Companies.

The Way to the Top brings together the core ideas that have guided more than 150 of today's top businesspeople, offering a range of inspiring and practical advice on making good decisions, conducting yourself appropriately, developing your career, communicating with others, leading a team effectively, and much more. Some of the entries are simple entreaties, some portray intriguing vignettes, and others outline lists of guiding principles; all are illuminating, instructive, and insightful.

A telling to-do list for the aspiring professional, The Way to the Top belongs on every business bookshelf.


From the Hardcover edition.