I have chosen Career Warfare as my first professional book to review. it is a thought provoking and interesting read. The book is written by David F. D’Alessandro. He came to prominence when he served as the chairman, chief executive officer, and president of John Hancock Financial Services from 2001 to 2004. The book contains many excellent practical tips with vivid examples.
My review will focus on the first three chapters in the book. If you want to be successful you must understand the lessons identified here. I provide several key points in bullet format from the book verbatim. The author provides excellent examples to support each observation. I will also speak to some of the key personal lessons I have taken from the book.
Chapter 1:
Your personal brand will determine your success. Guard it and promote it.
- Know how other people see you.
- Know what you don’t know.
- Leadership is about people not theory
I agree that leadership is about people not theory. It’s fair to point out though that people and theory are not mutually exclusive as some people seem to think. It never ceases to amaze me how often some people will dismiss an idea because it has come from book. I have read many books on management. Some are better then others. They have certainly helped me be more effective in my role. Even though this book has 10 chapters if you only read the first 3 and REALLY live the lessons the author suggests you will recoup your investment many times over.
If you want to get ahead you need 5 key qualities
- Make things happen in the organization (He says make money)
- Tell the truth
- Be discreet
- Keep your promises
- Make people want to work with you
When I evaluate my progress against these 5 I think I have matured a lot as a manager within the last year or so. I have a reputation for being impatient. I bring a sense of urgency to whatever I do. This is often a good thing. Some colleagues would like me to be more of a team player. In my desire to resolve the problems I have often overlooked the politics of the situation. The problem gets addressed but many people are unhappy. I have worked hard to improve my performance in this area with considerable success. I certainly have more work to do here though.
Until a year ago or so I was always eager to hear the office “gossip”\speculation on impending re-orgs etc at Sage. I got myself in BIG trouble by”‘connecting the dots” and trying to figure out what would happen next. What a waste of time and energy. My life has been a lot simpler ever since I stopped doing this. I am reasonably confident that many of my previous and current reports would recommend me as a boss. I believe this is because I am committed to their success and am very candid with them.
Chapter 2:
Your boss is the co-author of your brand.
Bosses want 3 things:
- Loyalty
- Good Advice
- To have their personal brands polished.
What you need from your boss:
- Trust
- A fair exchange
I am fortunate in this regard with my current boss. I have the freedom to say what I like behind closed doors with Ken. Bosses who claim they are open minded but really want you to be an order taker are stifling to work for. As long as I disagree before the decision but commit to it afterwards Ken is fine. The author says experience is more important then money early in your career. I had no background in R&D before I started to work for him. I have enjoyed a lot of autonomy to add value as a project manager and functional QA manager. I get to leverage my strengths and demonstrate my ability to take on new and complex work. In return I have excelled in every role he has given me. To the author’s point my work and support has been an important factor in Ken’s success.
Chapter 3
Put your boss on the couch. (Figure out what type of boss you have)
- Good mentors make sure your reputation rises in tandem with theirs.
- Good mentors understand that your brand has to change as you gain experience.
- Be tolerant of your bosses weaknesses if they give you an opportunity to build your brand.
- Get out from a boss who is only interested in using you.
I think the author is exactly right here. The real challenge is how do you know what your boss is saying about you with other senior colleagues? My guess is Ken does try to promote my interests. I don’t and can’t really know for sure though. There are very few players with REAL power to promote people in the organization I work for. My suggestion is that you need to find out who these people are in your organization. Make sure your accomplishments are visible to them without undermining your boss.
Rest of the book
The rest of the book while interesting did not capture my imagination the way the first three chapters did. I don’t agree with several of the author’s recommendations. For example, he says that it is a bad idea to work for an entrepreneuer in Chapter 5 if you want to build your own brand. I can’t say that I have worked for an entrepreneur but the advice seems a little bizarre and way too general. Management authors such as Marcus Buckingham share my opinion on this. There is bad bosses in every walk of professional life.
In conclusion, I highly recommend this book. You DO need more then success and a strong work ethic to be successful. You will learn some very practical lessons to be a more accomplished professional if you take the time to read “Career Warfare”. I hope this post encourages you to read the book.
If anyone has any comments or feedback I would love to hear them.
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