When Linda told me that she was publishing her second book and asked if I’d be willing to write the foreword, I didn’t hesitate. Linda and I worked together for four years, and she was a truly trusted business partner. She represented me and my role as CEO extraordinarily well, without abusing or improperly leveraging the “power of the office.”
Linda is smart and empathetic with a mindset of “organization first” without selfish objectives. I could always count on her to be available and not intrusive. She was trusted by me, my executive staff, our board of directors, and her peers, and amazed me with how well she anticipated and managed details without coming across as a micromanager.
The culture of the company was very important to me. Linda learned and incorporated my style and helped us develop the right “tone at the top.”
Another quality that I appreciated about Linda was her ability to keep her composure. Not only was she amazingly calm in chaos, she helped me as well. During my multiyear commute from Orange County to Silicon Valley, she greatly helped me integrate my professional and personal life.
Linda has a great appreciation for her profession, and this book is another avenue for her to pay forward. She is truly a wizard, and I found The Wizard behind the CEO a wonderful and insightful book full of challenges, successes, and yes, failures, of a rich career.
This book is a great way to learn from a role model and hopefully employ great insight and avoid the potential pitfalls we all face in our hectic business and personal lives. Each chapter contains stories that are not only delightful to read but each is followed by some excellent suggestions dubbed the WAND (What Assistants Need Daily). This magical advice frankly is relevant for not just assistants but their managers and indeed professionals in general who need to work together to accomplish goals.
I highly recommend this book for not only all assistants but also leaders who want to leverage their capabilities by working in close partnership with their assistant.
Linda has magically found ways to adapt to the CEOs she has supported over the years to achieve respect and success in her career. Truly magical.
~ Jeff Rodek, former Chairman and CEO, Hyperion