Friday 27 January 2012

Most business leaders get up early


This trait was common to 17 CEOs surveyed by Jim Citrin at Yahoo! Finance a few years ago. And it's a trait we expect from CEOs.
They are go-getters who want to start the day before their peers and competitors, who want to work long hours and have enough time for their personal life too.
Many function unbelievably well on little sleep. Others may not function well but are driven by the stress of running a company to get up anyway.
We identified a bunch of successful people who get up early. Let us know who we missed.

General Motors' CEO Dan Akerson


General Motors' CEO Dan Akerson
Akerson told the AP he will "rarely sleep past 4:30 or 5," waking up so he can talk to GM Asia before it gets too late. He calls it the best job he's ever had: "It's complex and interesting and exciting."
Sadly, he also describes having "a lot of sleepless nights.
" At least they aren't long sleepless nights.






Virgin America CEO David Cush

Virgin America CEO David Cush
Getty Images
Cush described his morning routine to the AP: Wakes up 
at 4:15 a.m., sends emails, calls business associates on 
the East Coast, and that's before listening to Dallas sports
radio, reading the paper and hitting the bike at the gym.




Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook
Cook is known for getting up and sending out company emails 
at 4:30 in the morning, according to Gawker's Ryan Tate. By 5 AM 
he can be found in the gym.
 And he works late too, priding himself on being the first in the 
office and the last out.


Disney CEO Robert Iger

Disney CEO Robert Iger
Business Insider
Iger told the New York Times he gets up at "4:30 every morning.
" He takes the quiet time to do a number of things, claiming to 
read the papers, exercise, listen to music, look at email and 
watch TV all at once. Even though it's quiet time, he's "already
 multitasking."


Hain Celestial Group CEO Irwin Simon

Hain Celestial Group CEO Irwin Simon
AP Images
Simon accomplishes more before 9 a.m. than most people 
do all day. 

He wakes up 5 a.m., going through emails and calling 
operations in Europe and Asia. He also prays, walks
 the dog and exercises before his kids wake up. He arrives at his office in Long Island usually
 after squeezing in a breakfast meeting in Manhattan as well.

Former Peugeot GM Jean-Martin Folz

Former Peugeot GM Jean-Martin Folz

Now headed to the board of Eutelsat Communications,
 the formerhead of Peugeot was said to catch the 4 a.m.
 train from Dijon to Paris, and would finish up a briefing 
paper within minutes of arriving to his office at 7 a.m. 
According to The Observer, Folz also had
 his Renault Espace converted into an office so he could work while commuting.


Former Oxygen Channel CEO Gerry Laybourne


Former Oxygen Channel CEO Gerry Laybourne
The founder of Oxygen is awake by 6 a.m. and out of the
 house a half hour later.
 If you get up early enough she might even take you under 
her wing, she tells 
Yahoo! Finance:
"Once or twice a week, I go for a walk in Central Park with 
a young person 
seeking my advice. This is my way of helping bring along the next generation.
 And if someone is up early in the morning then they are serious about life. I can't take time
 at the office to do this, but doing it in the morning allows me to get exercise and stay 
connected with young people at the same time."

Aurora Fashions CEO Mike Shearwood

Aurora Fashions CEO Mike Shearwood

As head of one of the UK's trendiest fashion companies, 
Shearwood's daynstarts early. Shearwood wakes up at 
5 a.m. in order to travel from Nottingham to London in 
time for a 7:45 arrival. He loves the long commute 
both ways: 

"I catch up on emails and work, as well as speaking to teams on the phone."


Christie's CEO Steve Murphy

Christie's CEO Steve Murphy

The former head of publishing company Rodale 
turns to poet William Blake
 for inspiration on how to start his day: "'Think in
 the morning, act in the fternoon noon, read in the 
evening, and sleep at night.' 

This has made a huge difference in my life."

Thinking and planning in the morning makes Murphy — in his words — strategic 
and proactive, rather than reactive.

New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark


New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark
The youngest CEO in the NBA told SellingPower 
that he gets up at 3:30 in the morning in order to 
get to the office by 4:30.From there, he works out
 and sends motivational emails to his team.

He takes it easy on the weekends, arriving at the 
office by 7 a.m. instead.

Brooklyn Industries CEO Lexy Funk

Brooklyn Industries CEO Lexy Funk
Brooklyn Industries
The artistic co-founder of the Brooklyn-based clothing 
and bag shop told the Huffington Post that her routine 
early: "I usually wake up around 4 a.m.

" From there, the dilemma of whether to read and bore
 herself back to sleep or get on her BlackBerry begins. Once online, she's answering emails
 and talking to people from Brooklyn Industries.

Cedar Fair Entertainment CEO Matt Ouimet

Cedar Fair Entertainment CEO Matt Ouimet

The former president of Starwood Hotels and CFO 
of Disney just became the CEO of a company that 
runs amusement parks. Referring to work as "game
 time," 

according to Yahoo Finance, Ouimet likes to get to the office early, waking up
 at 5:30 in order to get out of the house by 6 a.m.


Saban Capital CEO Haim Saban

Saban Capital  CEO Haim Saban

As head of the Saban Capital Group, this 
Egyptian-born Israeli-American billionaire has
 his first cup of coffee at 6:02 a.m. and begins
 work from there. He works for an hour before 
exercising for 75 minutes to really start his day, 
according to Yahoo Finance.


Unilever CEO Paul Polman

Unilever CEO Paul Polman

In order to stay competitive mentally and physically,
 the Dutch-born Polman gets up at 6 a.m. so he can 
run on the treadmill in his office. This also gives him 
 to "reflect on the work day ahead," which is probably
 pretty hectic at a multinational food and detergent company.


Cisco CTO Padmasree Warrior

Cisco CTO Padmasree Warrior

Although she doesn't run right to the office upon waking 
up at 4:30 a.m., Warrior spends an hour on email, reads
 the news, works out and gets her son ready for 
school. And she is still in the office by 8:30 at the latest, 
according to Yahoo Finance.  

She was formerly the CTO of Motorola, and has been one of the most highly 
acclaimed women in business over the course of her career.

Former PepsiCo CEO Steve Reinemund


Former PepsiCo CEO Steve Reinemund

Now the dean of Schools of Business at Wake Forest 
University, the long-time head of Pepsi told Yahoo 
Finance that he would be out of bed at 5:30, already
 reading the papers. He would go through The New 
York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and 
The Dallas Morning News before heading to work.




Avon Products CEO Andrea Jung
Avon Products CEO Andrea Jung

Jung wakes up at 5 in the morning and goes to the gym 
before getting to her esk at 8, says Forbes.




Former Goldman Sachs and MF Global CEO Jon Corzine

Former Goldman Sachs and MF Global CEO Jon Corzine

Colleagues recalled to The New York Times that he would 
be in the office by 6 a.m., even after taking a five mile 
run in the morning. Yet he was still the last person to
 leave in the evenings.


Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Robert Holmgren
Schultz starts his day with a workout, which is usually
 a bike ride with his wife, but still gets to the office by 6 a.m., 
according to Portfolio.com.

There must be something about Starbucks that makes
 people want to do this, as president Michelle Gass wakes up at 4:30 every morning to go 
running, and has done so for 15 years. Must be all the coffee.

Former presidents George HW Bush and George W Bush


Former presidents George HW Bush and George W Bush

The first Bush would get up at 4 a.m., go running, be 
in the office by 6 a.m. and stay up until 2 a.m. "He was
 a horror," said a former White House nurse who 
had to try to keep up with him.

The second Bush kept a similar schedule, 
going to the office by 6:45 a.m. and often holding meetings at this ripe hour, according 
to The NYT.

So did W. Bush's cabinet. Colin Powell put in "perfectly appalling" hours, arriving 
to the office at 6 a.m.,and not leaving until after 7 p.m., according to his former students. 
Condoleeza Rice woke up every day at 4:30 in the morning in order to get to 
the gym before work.

Benjamin Franklin


Benjamin Franklin
A major figure of the American Enlightenment 
and a Founding Father of the United States, Franklin
 is credited with the saying that perhaps 
started this whole trend in the first place:
 "Early to bed and early to rise,
 makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." 

He planned his routine around waking up at 5 a.m. and asking himself 
"What good shall I do this day?"

Credit to: Business Insider










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