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The Bowen Theory
of Executive Advancement
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"An incredibly large
proportion of the U.S. business leaders have very unusual first names. In fact,
men with unusual names seem to rise to the front ranks of management out of all
proportion to their numbers."
So Stephen N. Bowen (or S. Newton
Bowen) said in 1973. His title was Director of Corporate Public Relations for
TRW Inc., one of the nation's largest corporations.
Suppose, he said, that William
Brown and T. Armstrong Ashburton are vying for a vice-presidency. "What
will you bet that nine times out of ten Ashburton gets the nod? Obviously, he
has an edge, a distinctive handle that separates him from the pack."
Bowen admitted that an occasional
George, Bill, Bob, or Dick gets to the top - in General Motors, for instance.
But in company after company, he said, top executives had less common names. (He
looked at rosters of 1,000 companies.)
Cessna Aircraft - Dwayne,
Delbert, Virgil, Pierre, Derby,
and Max.
Brown Foreman Distillers Corp. -
Robinson, Rodman,
Peyton, Mason, and Owsley Frazier and Owsley Brown II
Officers of various financial
institutions - Gaylord, Freeman,
Montgomery, Dorsey, Marriner Eccles, Pope Brook, True
Davis
An initial instead of a first
name is often effective, too. Bowen referred to O. Pendleton Thomas, I. John
Billera, and J. Paul Getty. Repetition of the same initial isn't bad, either:
W.W. Keller, H. H. Wetzel, and "R. R....does wonders for President Smith of
Smith's Transfer Corp. But for ringing redundancy, my favorite is the chairman
of Norman, Craig, and Kummel: Norman B. Norman."
The use of Junior or even Jr. is
questionable, maybe even when a son is expected to inherit a company or a
presidency.
Suppose that you are about to
choose a name for a son (Bowen didn't consider daughters), and that family
background suggests that he is likely to go into business. What should you name
him?
Bowen suggested that you look at
a list of forenames of the sort often appended to desk dictionaries. "Try
names like Basil, Derek, Garth, Royal, Sterling, Yale, or even Zane. Each of
those has a commanding aura to it almost guaranteed to make personnel managers
snap to attention."
Bowen didn't mention what is
sometimes another excellent choice for a first or middle name: the mother's
maiden name. In all likelihood Armstrong in T. Armstrong Ashburton was little
Tommy's mother's name. (By the way, what's a nickname for Armstrong? Army?)
Hook, J. N. The Book of Names,
A Celebration of Mainly American Names: People, Places, and Things. Franklin
Watts, 1983.
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