The CEO, a contemporary novel by Michael Whitworth, is a small book with a big message.
Adam Cole, 22, about to graduate from college, is weighing his options for future employment. He has two offers to consider. The offer from Fyre, Inc. seems two good to pass up. The impressive sparkling glass building, a tower, really, is in the heart of the city. The CEO promises a generous salary, great benefits including a trendy car, an eventual corner office, and a fast track to the top. Adam is impressed with the offer, and flattered that he is being seriously considered, even wooed by the president of the company.
The other offer is definitely not as glamorous. Light Co. is modest, especially in comparison with Fyre. The unpretentious building is a converted factory outside of town. It has a nice setting with gardens surrounding the building. The interview goes well, the people seem friendly. There isn’t nearly the intensity Adam experienced at Fyre— employees seem much more relaxed as they go about their duties. Light isn’t nearly as upscale as Fyre, nor are the benefits as good. Adam is taken aback when Joshua, the CEO, asks him: “What do you want your life to be about?” Further, Joshua tells him that even if he takes another job, the offer to work there would remain open. What kind of businessman would make that kind of offer?
Adam can’t resist the glamor of Fyre, Inc. He’s immediately swept away with the intensity of the employees, the pressures to meet expectations. Late hours, even working weekends, are the norm. His private life is almost non-existent. The pressure is intense, but he does manage to climb the corporate ladder, even working himself into a coveted corner office. But Adam’s private life is shredding away; he loses everything that really matters. He’s under intense stress. His life isn’t really his own. Two years have passed, two years of choosing the most lucrative path for Fyre, of making decisions for profit at the price of integrity.
What would happen if Adam took the leap to the job at Light? Was Joshua serious when he said the offer would remain open?
The CEO is a parable about grace and redemption. The author backs up the theory of salvation quoting from the New Testament when the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus. The CEO is a little book chock-full of inspiration and truth. It would be worthwhile reading for anyone, but especially for college students making plans for their future.