Benton Bio
Debra Benton has consulted with and spoken in front of hundreds of the most successful executives this generation has seen come into power. Her clientele list spans over seventeen countries and includes companies such as NASA, Pepsi, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Nabisco. She is an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, a highly recognized one-on-one executive consultant and a best-selling author. Debra's work has been written about in Time magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, as well as featured on CNN, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and CBS News with Diane Sawyer. Debra has coached people to meet and work with Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton; be interviewed by Donald Trump; to present at the Academy Awards; to testify before Congressional committee meetings and Senate hearings; to give expert witness testimony in court; to compete successfully for positions inside and outside of a company; and to develop profitable professional practices. Reviews by Robert Morris of two of her books (Executive Charisma and Secrets of a CEO Coach) are now featured on the ACCE Web site.

Morris Bio
Since February of 2001, Robert Morris has been reviewing business books for ACCE as well as for about 25 other Web sites which include Amazon.com and borders.com (which now rank him #9 among their Top 100 Reviewers), HR.com, National Association of Manufacturers, and Business and Professional Women/USA. Based in Dallas, Morris heads a management consulting firm which specializes in executive development within corporations and professional associations. He also conducts interviews of best-selling authors for Chamber Executive.

Benton Interview

Morris: Based on your extensive experience working with executives in all manner of organizations, what seems to be the most common misconception about CEOs?

Benton: That they are good and special and always right simply because they ARE the CEO. Obviously, that is frequently not true. However, it is important to remember that most CEOs are not only talented, energetic, and ambitious; they are also principled people who try very hard to do what is ethically right.

Morris: Few become a CEO. Why is it so important for other executives to think and -- more to the point -- act like one?

Benton: You may not want to be a CEO yourself but if you understand how the most effective CEOs think, what they want for themselves and others, you'll get along better, have more job security, enjoy your work more, and maybe even become a CEO or an least get promoted.

Morris: How does a "business mentor" differ from a "business coach"?

Benton: A coach is probably more organized in the relationship and charges more for time together. Revealingly, almost all of the most effective senior-level executives are mentors.

Morris: To what extent (if any) can and should a supervisor be both a mentor and coach?

Benton: They can mentor and coach but an objective beyond their own self-interests is also desirable because it's too tempting to give advice based on what the boss wants/needs or the company wants/needs vs. what you want/need.

Morris: How can anyone be her or his own mentor and coach?

Benton: You definitely can by committing to being both, to organizing yourself, reading, researching, selecting behaviors to change, and then having the discipline to do it.

Morris: Much has been said and written about ³the glass ceiling.² Has it been shattered, raised, replaced, or eliminated by recent laws, social pressure, and corporate policies?

Benton: The glass ceiling is still there although many young women wrongly believe it isn't because they have 50/50 men and women in college classes, therefore concluding that it's 50/50 in the business world....it isn't and won't be for generations, if ever. Not when women are opting out of their careers in huge numbers today to return to their homes and raising children. The glass ceiling is partially male sponsored and partially female sponsored. Blame must be shared. However, the workplace is changing. Schedules are becoming more flexible and work is becoming (finally!) less gender-specific.

Morris: Rakesh Khuranan in Search for a Corporate Savior: The Irrational Quest for Corporate CEOs and Jim Collins in Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't both suggest that the importance of executive charisma is greatly exaggerated. Apparently you don¹t agree.

Benton: Charisma as celebrity, I agree. Charisma is the ability to gain effective responses from others by using aware actions and considerate civility in order to get useful tasks done. That style of leadership is not and will never will be out of fashion.

Morris: Howard Gardner has conducted extensive research on the subject of multiple intelligences. In Daniel Goleman¹s opinion, the most important of these is emotional intelligence. Do you agree?

Benton: 100%. I call it emotional energy. In your work life you start out needing physical energy, then intellectual energy, before needing emotional energy. Most workers stop at the intellectual, however, and that's what prevents them from achieving significant professional and personal success.

Morris: Many people seem to have a much greater fear of public speaking than they do of death. Why is that so?

Benton: They have a negative mind set that intimidates them. "I'm speaking to a group of 50 or 500." They tell me they do well one-on-one but not when speaking to a group. I urge them to think of a group of 50 or 500 as lots of one- on-one conversations going on simultaneously.. Just change your mind set. And of course, relax.

Morris: Local chambers of commerce tend to have limited resources while being expected to provide a full-range of services to their members. Do you have any suggestions as to how chamber executives can do more with less?

Benton: Be a charismatic executive as I describe....then be honest, fight for your people. Be creative and resourceful, ask questions, be nice, be humorous, be gutsy, smile, listen, and meanwhile tenacious to bring out the best in others.

Morris: Given the numerous scandals involving senior-level executives in companies such as Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, Arthur Andersen, and Merrill Lynch, what do you consider to be the most valuable lessons to be learned from those scandals?

Benton: That if you commit such crimes, you will to jail, ruin your reputation, embarrass your parents, alienate and disillusion your children, and have disgrace the rest of your life. None of that is worth it no matter how much money you make. Apparently some think so, however, as they sit on their boat in Cabo San Lucas, plotting new schemes to harm others.

Morris: To those now preparing for a career in business or who have only recently embarked on one, any advice?

Benton: Never think you are the exception to the rule of proven effective behavior. Never compromise your integrity. For example, getting away with stealing a paper clip today, a pen tomorrow, and then exaggerating on the expense account. Eventually for many, Enron-type behavior. It's a slippery slope once you start so don't! Also, don't assume all CEOs are evil. Only a few are which is also true of priests and soldiers who harm others. They just get the press coverage. Ethical people seldom do. Go back to the list above: be nice, be tenacious, etc. Read my book How to Think Like A CEO. And along the way, say a few prayers.

Morris: Thank you, Debra, for agreeing to this interview for Chamber Executive and especially for your thoughtful and thought-provoking responses. All of us eagerly await your next book.