10 Life Lessons From CEOs

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- The average person may never have to appease shareholders, appear before a congressional panel or pull the trigger on massive layoffs.

But how CEOs handle success, adversity and all manner of corporate curveballs does offer some insight for the working men and women who may never be household names.

The following are 10 chief executives and the lessons their leadership can offer the average business owner, employee or entrepreneur:

Larry Page
CEO, Google
Lesson: Know your limitations; keep your ego in check.
Silicon Valley is filled with companies that suffered because their brain trust failed to realize that being a technology genius doesn't necessarily equate with business savvy.

When Larry Page and Sergey Brin started Google(GOOG) , the two had the foresight to realize their skill set was not necessarily in line with the value a top-notch CEO could bring. So they brought in tech veteran Eric Schmidt to provide the "adult supervision" needed to make Google the corporate powerhouse it is today.

In January, Schmidt tweeted that his supervision "was no longer needed" and that Page would reassume the top post. All involved, as well as the company itself, are better off for these ego-suppressing decisions -- including the possibility Schmidt was made to recognize his own limitations after a series of public gaffes started creeping people out a bit.

Mark Zuckerberg
CEO, Facebook
Lesson: Think long term, not immediate gratification.
Despite what we just wrote about the bouncing of the CEO mantle between Google's Page and Schmidt, Facebook is an example where the founder has made some risky decisions that paid off.

The jury may be out as to whether Zuckerberg is a brilliant, forward-thinking mastermind or a petulant punk who got lucky, but this much is clear -- in resisting the temptation for quick cash, he, the company and everyone around him has prospered.