Both business libraries and general-interest collections will find it a funny, compelling title. -- California Bookwatch, June 2007

If you're looking for help on losing the CEO Dad-itude before you lose your family, then pick up a copy of "CEO Dad" and carefully read between the lines. There really is a lesson here. -- Finance and Commerce, August 22, 2007

That realistic accounting is good for everyone, not just execs. We all need people who help "keep it real." -- The Kansis City Star, May 6, 2007

When you are a dyslexic, hyper-active adolescent--and the son of a powerful CEO--what are the chances of becoming anything but a narcissistic, control-freak CEO yourself? A sure bet--unless you take the "cure" laid out with sardonic humor and razor-sharp wit in CEO DAD.

From the outrageous world of Tom Stern comes this cautionary tale of one powerful CEO's struggle to break free from the chains binding him to the ladder-climbing rat race that defines business success. Growing up in the shadows of a super-successful CEO Dad himself, Stern delivers a humorous business book packed with dozens of spot-on cartoons--taken from his syndicated CEO Dad comic strip--that offer a light-hearted yet serious look into the real-life conflicts business executives have with the people they love.

Inspired by Stern's own journey, CEO DAD is a harrowing account of denial, therapy, and redemption that digs into the sordid details: power-grabbing, bullying, and idiotic antics that alienate employees and clients, treating his children like business proteges, being abandoned by his therapist, and, ultimately, fired by his family on reality TV. The road to recovery is filled with bumps, ego-bruising messes, and a 10-1/2-step program as CEO DAD chronicles a wild ride through the turbulent waters of work-life balance.

With penetrating insight and comedic timing, CEO DAD offers life-transforming lessons for CEO Dads and Moms everywhere who are ready to adjust their "I think, therefore I'm right" mindset--the cornerstone of the "CEO Dad-itude" that leaves its own toxic legacy.

"Tom Stern manages to put the 'fun' into 'dysfunctional' in this hilarious account of his transformation from an aggressive, self-absorbed, work-obsessed smart-aleck into a kinder, somewhat gentler wiseacre--emphasis on wise. If you or a CEO Dad need help prioritizing, make this book a priority." Ann Pleshette Murphy, parenting contributor to Good Morning America; author of "The 7 Stages of Motherhood"

"Tom Stern's genius is his ability to show the funny side of a very real problem afflicting America: how to succeed in business without screwing up your family. And while many of the situations he describes are breathtakingly dysfunctional, if not downright improbably, they will seem very real to the families to today's overachievers." Charles S. Dubow, director of new products, Business Week Online

"I have always held that the world of work is endlessly ripe for satire, ridicule, and laughter. What we have lacked is someone willing to make this a full-time job--a kind of 'court jester' who delights in telling the king the truth, week in and week out. But now, at long last, we have found this person in Tom Stern, for whom yesterday's king is today's CEO Dad. Bravo, Tom! Bravo, Bravo! May you live a very long life." Dick Bolles, best-selling author, "What Color Is Your Parachute? 2007"

"CEO DAD is the Microsoft of business comic strips!" Jim Impoco, former business editor, New York Times Sunday

"Relentlessly laugh-out-loud funny, Tom Stern has written a very wise book. As with all great humorists, Stern has something important to say: what is really meaningful often gets obscured by ego and avarice. Brilliantly conceived and delivered." Greg Feldman, chairman and CEO, Wellspring Capital

Did your pre-nuptial agreement have a non-compete clause? Have you seriously considered naming your children "Standard" and "Poors?" No matter how busy you get, do you still find time to ignore the people you love most? If you answered "yes" to (or even laughed knowingly at) any of these questions, you may have that not-so-rare condition called "CEO Dad-ism." Left unchecked, this syndrome can result in permanent "CEO Dad-itude" and leave you blissfully unaware of how much your loving family may actually be taking steps to downsize your sorry butt.

Of course, the odyssey of CEO DAD, the protagonist of my new book and subject of my syndicated comic strip, is writ very, very large. He treats his family like a corporation and so must suffer the debilitating ordeal of being a lab rat for pseudo-science, a desperate near-criminal, and, finally, getting fired by his family on national television.

How does CEO DAD make it through the pain and become a better person? By, I hope, making you laugh all the way to work-life balance. In reality, it took some extremely painful and even life-threatening moments for me, Tom Stern, to wake up to how I had gotten my priorities all wrong. The fact that I can laugh at it now is a gift, and one that I take great pleasure in sharing with you, my readers, whose inner CEO DAD will no doubt relate to, laugh at, and learn from the fictional creation in this book.

Enjoy,

Tom Stern

If your idea of encouragement for your second child is promising her a promotion to firstborn if her grades improve, you need this book more than you know. CEO DAD and its life-transforming lessons will teach you how to laugh your way to work-life sanity--and not a moment too soon.

In this charmingly witty cautionary tale, Tom Stern tells the story of one powerful CEO's struggle to break free of--and eventual free fall from--the corporate ladder. Mining the rich experiences of his own life, entrepreneur and business humorist Stern regales readers with a harrowing saga of alienating employees and potential clients, treating his children like business proteges, and being dumped by his fmaily on reality TV before finally learning how to turn his life around. The road to recovery is rife with bumps, ego-bruising mishaps, a 10 1/2-step program, and dozens of spot-on cartoons that take a lighthearted yet serious look at the real-life conflicts today's business executives have with the people they love.

Learn to laugh all the way to work-life sanity!

"I hereby certify that CEO DAD is fresh, funny, entertaining, and market ready. It's time for Dilbert to move over and make room for CEO DAD." Jerry Seinfield

"J.R. Ewing? Gordon Gecko? Dagwood? CEO DAD owes nothing to them. Entirely fresh, entirely new, he steps from his creator's brain as innocent and salty as Botticelli's Venus--that is, if Venus were a fatuous, blustering U.S. executive with an emotional intelligence of zero. I feel grateful that Tom Stern first brought him to me four years ago, and that Forbes was first to publish him. Hail to thee, CEO DAD!" Alan Farnham, Senior Editor, Forbes

"Thanks a lot for CEO DAD. I really enjoyed it, very clever idea. Hope to see more of it in the future." Jay Leno

"Tom Stern helps us laugh our way to the revolution--and revelation--that dads can be just as loving and nurturing as moms; indeed, that men who try it live longer and don't get fired by their families. For any man suffering from corporate testosterone poisoning in general, and the syndrome in particular, prescribe this dose of learning-through-laughter." Gloria Steinem

Tom Stern is a successful executive recruiter, creator of the syndicated comic strip CEO Dad, syndicated national radio talk-show host of "Opportunity Knocks," and frequent contributing humorist to NPR's Marketplace. Formerly a comedy writer for HBO and president of a division of Spotlight Enterprises whose clients include Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, and Dennis Miller, he first explored his comedic side doing stand-up in New York. His peers consider him a leader, his clients a visionary, and his CEO father says, "Is that the best you can do?"