How America’s Chief Executive Officers Use Language To Achieve Success

By and large, I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Of course, that’s a maxim that’s often heard when a person doesn’t get the job that moves them up in the company. However, when it comes to heading up a Fortune 500 company, it’s more about what you know for those who are Chief Executive Officers (CEOs).

With that in mind, the folks at Preply.com decided to rate the intelligence of America’s top CEOs. Along with their smarts, they are also ranking these top executives on how influential and likeable they are. How did they do this? Basically, they determine their rankings based on an executive’s language. They watched hours of YouTube presentations to find out which top execs “showcase remarkable intelligence through their words.”

So, which of America’s top CEO’s does Preply.com rank as the most intelligent? They specifically analyzed language and dialogue from these folks for “vocabular sophistication, critical thinking, and more.”  Here are the top five:

Preply.com also points out that intelligence alone does not guarantee success. Additionally, there are other leadership qualities that are important for top execs. For example: dedication to their company, flexibility in their strategies, experience, and the ability to lead through tough times.

This extensive report also ranks America’s top CEO’s based on their emotional intelligence. Basically, they check the use of “I” language from these executives. For instance, “instead of saying: 'Your idea won’t work,' say 'I have some concerns about this idea.'” Matt Zajechowski’s article goes on to explain this type of language helps with problem-solving and improving work relationships. Here are their top five CEO’s in this category:

Furthermore, when it comes to the positivity of America’s top executives, they rank leaders by their frequent use of encouraging words such as “fantastic” and “excellent.” Here are the top five according to Preply.com:

Obviously, these titans of industry in the U.S.A. must have incredible focus. But how much do they focus on team building? Furthermore, how much do they focus on their customers? Preply.com analyzed language traits of these top execs based on their use of the word “we” to get the top five most team focused:

Finally, Zajechowski’s article lists the top 5 chief executive officers according to their frequent use of the word “customer(s).”  Here are the top five CEO’s who put the most focus on their customers:

With this in mind, isn’t it interesting which two famous CEO’s did not make the top five in any category? I guess we’ll let Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk fight it out for top CEO in a different arena.

If you’d like to see the full report and article, click here.

If you became one of America’s billionaires, where would you choose to live? Would you stay here in Las Vegas and live in a mansion? Would you buy a ranch up in northern Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, or Montana? Conversely, do you think you’d prefer to live in a big penthouse in a major city? Or instead, would you choose to live on the beach of a tropical paradise? It sure is fun to think about.

With these questions in mind, project management experts at TheDigitalProjectManager.com began a study to determine where the top 100 billionaires in America reside. First, they recorded the total populations for each state. Second, these experts analyzed data and found out which states are home to these highly successful people.

As you might expect, states with the largest populations are home to the most billionaires. For example, California is home to 21 of the top 100 rich list. Likewise, New York has 14 billionaires residing in that state. However, neither of these states top the list of most super rich people per 1 million residents. In this manner, they evened the playing field.

Before we review the states in America in which there are more billionaires per million residents, here are some interesting notes in the study. For instance, the state of Washington ranks 10^th for being home to super successful people. However, of the top 10 states in the rankings, the average worth of Washington’s billionaires is huge. I’m sure Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are the main reasons why the super-rich in Washington have an average net worth of over $94 billion dollars!

Of course, since we’re about to find out if Nevada ranks in the top seven in this study, we should tell you which states are ranked at the bottom of the list. Michigan, New Jersey, and Tennessee have the fewest billionaires per million in our country.

Now, without further ado, here are the top seven states that America’s billionaires love to call home.

"The Natural State" is home to .66 billionaires per 1 million people and ranks seventh in this survey. The average worth of these successful Americans is $57.3 billion dollars. According to Wikipedia.org, Arkansas is home to six Fortune 500 companies: Walmart, Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt, Dillard's, Windstream, and Murphy USA.

Residents in "The Empire State" can also call Wall Street home. New York City is one of the economic capitals of the world. In fact, according to Wikipedia.org, if New York were an independent nation, it would rank as the 11th largest economy in the world. The New York City gross domestic product is by far the largest in the U.S.A., and ranks 9th among the nations of the world. In this particular survey, the state of New York ranks sixth with .69 billionaires per million people. Their net worth averages nearly $22 billion dollars.

This New England state ranks fifth in this survey with .73 billionaires per 1 million people. The billionaires in "The Granite State" average $7.6 billion dollars in net worth. Per Wikipedia.org, the average per capita income ranked fourth in the entire nation, including Washington, D.C. Interestingly, New Hampshire not only has no personal state income tax like Nevada, but it also has no general sales tax. Maybe that's why billionaires choose to reside there, even with their cold winters.

The residents of "The Sooner State" rank fourth in this survey with .76 billionaires per 1 million people. The average net worth of the Oklahoma billionaire is approximately $16.2 billion bucks. This state produces a great deal of natural gas, wheat, and aircraft. Oklahoma is also home to four Fortune 500 companies, including Love's Travel Stops and Hobby Lobby.

Believe it or not, Nevada ranks third in this survey with 1.29 billionaires per 1 million people. As one of the least populated states in the nation, it kind of makes sense. Plus, there sure is lots of money rolling through the casinos in "The Silver State." The average net worth of Nevada's richest people is close to $13 billion dollars. Where are the most successful Nevadans making their cash? Well, tourism and entertainment, of course. Plus, there's a great deal of mining and cattle ranching in our state.

Well, it's no mystery why America's richest people would want to reside in "The Paradise of the Pacific." The state of Hawaii ranks second in this survey with 2.06 billionaires per 1 million people. The rich residents of "The Aloha State" average a whopping $39.7 billion dollars of net worth. Lots of Americans would love to live in Hawaii, and maybe that's why the median home value there is the highest of all 50 states, including California. You almost have to be rich to live there.

Were you as shocked as I was that Wyoming ranks first in this survey. But, when I stopped to think about it, I figured since it is the least populated state in the nation, then a billionaire who doesn't want to be bothered could purchase a huge ranch and remain isolated. I didn't know this, but according to Wikipedia.org, nearly half of the land in Wyoming is owned by the federal government. That includes Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. "The Cowboy State" averages 3.47 billionaires per 1 million people, with an average net worth of $23.5 billion dollars.

Larry Martino is the long-time afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.

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