About the Author - Walter Vieira is the President of Marketing Advisory Services Group, which he founded in 1975. Prior to that, he spent 14 years working with various corporations - Glaxo, Warner Lambert and the boots Company.

Vieira has authored ten books of which three were written jointly with C Northcote Parkinson and M K Rustomji. His most recent books include The Winning Manager and Successful Selling.

The book is a sequel to the authors' earlier book - The Winning Manager which covered the period of an exec's life from being a trainee to the middle management. But the real challenge is when senior mangers clamber to rise up the corporate ladder and try to ssmake it perhaps to the CEO's post.

Vieira points out that there are greater conflicts, greater competition as the tapering of the corporate pyramid is taking place. A Darwinian process of selection where only the fittest will survive. And sometimes not the most efficient but the most ruthless climb up the ladder making it all seem very unfair.

So, how should senior execs prepare themselves to survive in this quirky corporate world? Manager to CEO is the intelligent manager's guide to understanding and surviving in the real corporate environment. It gives a professional and comprehensive overview of the 21st century workplace, as well as discusses at length the wide range of issues that senior managers face in organizations.

The first chapter, Power Politics and Work, the author sets the pace of the book. The author points out that reaching to the top is all about understanding of the concept of power and politics in companies. It's definitely not just about what you can do or what you are efficiently do. So, how does one handle office politics. The author goes on to touch various issues like handling the boss, understanding the company culture, acquiring discretion & tact and most importantly understanding yourself.

Overall an insightful, practical book which is a must read for all execs. The author also touches upon various lighter issues as romance at the workplace, ethic and human values, cooperation and networking and most importantly what to do when you're down and out.