What CEOs Say You Need to Get Ahead

Betty Liu is an award-winning journalist and host of Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." Here is an excerpt from her book "Work Smarts," published by John Wiley & Sons.

I interview people who are at the top of their careers: CEOs, economists, policy makers, entrepreneurs. Inevitably, I began to wonder: How did they get there and what made them successful while others failed? Why can’t we get beyond the "follow your passion" advice and really find out what it takes to forge a career that maximizes all your interests and skills? What holds people back? What gets them ahead?

If you're looking for real-world advice about how to get started in your career, how to succeed and how to pick yourself up when you've fallen, my book is for you. But you know what? It's also for me. Before I head into the boss's office to pitch an idea, I fret about it. How do I say it right? Surely, I think, others go through this too.