If you have none of these skills, the corporate world may be all that's left. Then you have no other choice but to make the best of the situation that confronts you. I counsel you to avoid the traditional approach of striving to become a chief executive officer. The position has become much more perilous than it used to be. Once upon a time chief executives could feel secure. They were elected by a Board of Directors, many of whom they had personally invited to sit on the Board. Their shareholders would overwhelmingly support management's recommendations on any matters brought before the shareholders' annual meeting. The annual meeting was a necessary pagan ritual in which all that mattered was acted on favorably in a matter of minutes and the bulk of the time was taken up on proposals put forward by corporate gadflies with no chance of passing. Now the shareholder list can change 100% overnight and even the CEO's old friends on the Board are not unmindful of their directors' liability when the company is faced with an offer to sell out at a premium over market. Even in a group like The Business Council where the screening process would be considered severe by comparative standards, 20% of a recent incoming class didn't survive their first five years in the chief executive office. So I say to you, if you can't lick 'em, join 'em. Don't be a CEO! Be a corporate raider] It's almost as good as being a Los Angeles Raider and much easier than becoming a Bohemian. There are no entry barriers - no discrimination by reason of age, color, religion, sex, or sexual preference. No prior experience 3.