Ch ap t er 7 The Mindset of Succe ss fu l Ma n a ge r s 139 Their attitude or outlook toward the people and setting around them Their views and pattern of thinking My experience is that highly successful managers have a differ- ent way of thinking than average managers--which accounts for their strong success. I often have found that the way of thinking employed by subpar or even average managers actually undermines or sabotages their performance. The following nine ways of thinking are essential to the success of any top-performing manager. Number 1: It's Not about Me In the first chapter of this book, "Why Managers Struggle," we dis- cussed managers who get caught up in their own self-importance. I offered the example of how some managers become victims of what I like to call the "all-about-me syndrome." Further, I showed how these managers often get hung up on their own self-importance. Let's face it: being a manager can be a heady position. As a man- ager, you can tell people what to do because you are the boss. You may get to fly to far-off places, ride in limousines, and stay in nice hotels, or get invited to present a speech, talk with news reporters, and maybe even appear on television. Given all these benefits of your position, it would be easy to become absorbed with yourself. On any given day, you might think it really is "all about me." But I'm afraid that is not the mindset of a top performer. When I became president of Ameritech's cellular subsidiary, Ameritech Mobile, the chairman of Ameritech told me something that has stayed with me ever since. He said I would be managing an entire company, and as the company's most senior manager, I should always