Read the right edition of a major magazine like Forbes or U.S. News and an interesting detail pops out - climbing the ladder all the way to the top is not the automatic byproduct of going to the right school. If people take a more comprehensive view of how Fortune 500 CEOs build their careers, they may realize that there are a number of worthwhile skills and experiences that can be had far away from ivy-covered walls. We look at what it actually takes to get to the top in business. (These 10 entrepreneurs' names will live on long into the future. Check out The 10 Greatest Entrepreneurs.)
Ivy Only Goes So Far
At an undergraduate level, less than 20% of Fortune 500 CEOs get their degrees from Ivy League schools (including Ivy League-caliber schools like Stanford). While those numbers go up when graduate degrees are added into the mix (roughly 12% of CEOs have some degree from Harvard alone), the reality is that the University of Wisconsin produces just as many CEOs at the undergraduate level as Harvard.
Of course these comparisons are crude; Wisconsin is far larger than Harvard. The point, though, is that quality can rise to the top in places other than the most highly-regarded universities in the United States. What's more, the Ivy League graduates more than 10,000 people each year, and clearly the vast majority of them will not go on to lead a Fortune 500 company. So it's not just the degree that leads to the executive suite, there is more that goes into the making of a CEO.
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http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0411/What-It-Really-Takes-To-Succeed-In-Business.aspx
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