Carly Fiorina
The lesson: Ask for a promotion
Carly Fiorina’s tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard was rocky, but her rise to the position is legendary. She reportedly cornered an HP board member in a Chicago airport in 1999, persuading him by saying, “You can’t tell me there’s a better person for the job.” Her overtures paid off (for Fiorina, if not for the company), and she became the first non-family member to lead the firm, and the first woman to head a Fortune 100 company. Studies have shown that men are more than twice as likely to ask for a promotion or a raise at work, which results in higher pay and more career success.
