If CEOs were graded on a curve, the mean on the test would be 22 out of 100. This kind of mean can be psychologically challenging for a straight A student. It is particularly challenging, because nobody tells you that the mean is 22.

Everybody learns to be a CEO by being a CEO. No training as a manager, general manager or any other job actually prepares you to run a company.

Under stress, CEOs make one of two mistakes: they take things too personally, or they don't take things personally enough. Ideally, the CEO will be urgent yet not insane — moving aggressively and decisively without feeling emotionally culpable.

It's so common that there is an acronym for it: WFIO, which stands for We're F#%ked, It's Over (pronounced whiff-ee-yo). Every company goes through at least two and up to five of these episodes. In all cases, WFIOs feel much worse than they are — especially for the CEO.

When they train racecar drivers, one of the first lessons is when you are going around a curve at 200 MPH, do not focus on the wall; focus on the road. Running a company is like that. Focus on where you are going rather than on what you hope to avoid.

Whenever I meet a successful CEO, I ask them how they did it. Mediocre CEOs point to their brilliant strategic moves or their intuitive business sense. The great CEOs tend to be remarkably consistent in their answers. They all say: "I didn't quit."