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Lesson 1 of 6: Reinventing You After Age 50 Case Study – Michael Ovitz Proves Status Can Be Taken With You

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Mother of Reinvention

Career Reinvention After Age 50 Is Possible

IMPORTANT NOTE: This case study series is a self-initiated interpretation and analysis by me, the blog author.  Dorie Clark and Michael Ovitz were neither consulted nor involved in how I developed the following analysis.

 

Reinventing You Book Image

Reinventing You by Dorie Clark

Do YOU Think You’re Too Old To Reinvent Yourself After Age 50?


Author and frequent Harvard Business Review and Forbes contributor, Dorie Clark would say you’re wrong.  And, she’s right on the money.

I agree we’re never too old to continuously shape our professional reputations (and portfolios).

Dorie Clark’s book, Reinventing You is one of my favorite MUST-READ business books of 2013.  Reinventing You is a GREAT investment for your professional career.  Dorie’s book is a personal and professional development GIFT.

Reinventing You After Age 50 Case Study: Michael Ovitz

Instead of a traditional book review, I’m applying Dorie’s thoughtful teachings to a successful real-world, high-profile career reinvention after age 50: Michael Ovitz, Owner of Broad Beach Ventures LLC.

Before There was Ari Gold and Klout, There was Michael Ovitz.  Mr. Ovitz personified and defined Hollywood business clout and influence.  For younger Social Media ReInvention Community Members, Michael Ovitz as the co-founder and leader of Creative Arts Agency (CAA) became Hollywood’s most powerful talent agent. Mr. Ovitz was THE Hollywood powerbroker — ask David Letterman.

CAA’s stellar client list and and Ovitz’s unique skills and strategic vision in “packaging” actors, directors, screenwriters, and other CAA talent as “solution offerings” (similar to how management consulting firms position their service capabilities) differentiated CAA and propelled his Hollywood influence.

Today, Mr. Ovitz No Longer Plays Hollywood Power Broker.  From 1995 through 2002, he publicly experienced high-profile, professional setbacks.  To say his detractors and former competitors delighted in these failures is an understatement.

I Admire and Respect Mr. Ovitz’s Resilience in Reinventing Himself.  For the past 11 years, he’s shifted and focused his unique talents, assets, and energy to the technology world. According to David A. Kaplan’s October 2013 Fortune Magazine article, Ovitz Does Silicon Valley, Mr. Ovitz methodically reinvented himself as a top advisor to Silicon Valley technology companies.


Still Think You’re Too Old to Reinvent Yourself After Age 50? 

This post is first in a series of six (6) about successful career reinvention after age 50.

The aforementioned Kaplan-Fortune article provides examples of Michael Ovitz’s latest career.  In this post (and the next five), I will talk about linkages I see from Mr. Ovitz’s reinvention after age 50 to six (6) of Dorie Clark’s Reinventing You principles from Chapter 9: Reintroduce Yourself and Chapter 10: Prove Your Worth.

The bullet point highlighted in blue is the Reinventing You principle analyzed in this post:

  • Status — You Can Take It With You 
  • Shift Your Behavior
  • Develop Validators
  • Leverage Symbolic Actions
  • Go Where The Action Is
  • Building Your Portfolio

 

Lesson 1: Status — You Can Take It With You

 

Halo Effect

The Halo Effect

Maximize the Halo Effect of Your Unique Competive Advantage. In Reinventing You’s Chapter 9, Reintroduce Yourself, Dorie writes about the “halo effect” (as described by Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of Power: Why Some People Have It–And Others Don’t):

“It’s a psychological phenomenon known as the ‘halo effect.” “If I think you’re good in one domain, I think you’re going to be good in other domains, as well. There’s the presumption that talented people have this set of generalized abilities.”

That ‘durability of reputation’–across both time and situations–makes it essential for you to be strategic about how you’re perceived from day one.  “You need to do something to build a very good reputation, a personal brand, and that will help you not only in your current place but in other places, as well.”

The secret, then is to leverage both your past experiences and the confidence that you’ve derived from your accomplishments.  After all, other people take their cues from you, so when you’re introducing your new brand, assume that others will welcome your contribution.

 

Golden Key

Key to the C-Suite

Michael Ovitz’s Unique, “Halo Effect” Competitive Advantage: CEO and Executive Chairman Level Access Across Multiple Industries.  The Kaplan-Fortune Article describes two examples of how Mr. Ovitz leverages his lifelong business connections and maximizes his former Hollywood mogul / dealmaker / powerbroker status to open C-Suite doors previously closed to young, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

 

 

  1. Peter Szulczewski, CEO of Wish.com:  The October 2013 Fortune article describes how Mr. Ovitz assisted Szulczewski when he ran into problems with initially securing the company’s domain name.

The company had an uninspired name, ContextLogic, and its beta website was the forgetable wishwall.me.  Wish.com wasn’t available.

Ovitz saw immediately that the domain name was critical.  “I can help with that!” he (Ovitz) told Szulczewski, and, with his big swinging Rolodex, within weeks tracked down the owner of wish.com.  It was a French subsidiary of Barry Diller’s IAC. Szulczewski handled the actual negotiation — he won’t disclose the price — but Ovitz war-gamed tactics beforehand.

  1. Peter Thiel, Venture Capitalist, PayPal co-founder, and Chairman of Palantir Techologies on the breadth and power of the the Michael Ovitz business network (also from the Kaplan-Fortune article):

“Michael can get us in to see any CEO in the U.S.,” Thiel says. “The Valley has this excessive insularity. But he has cross-sector relationships in New York, L.A., and other places.”  Thiel says Ovitz has a preternatural ability to ‘learn things quickly and then communicate them to the outside world.”

Since the dotcom implosion of the late 1990s, he (Thiel) says, too many new companies in the Valley have ‘retrenched,’ de-emphasizing relationships with other businesses and institutions.  Consulting Ovitz, whose network Thiel calls ‘second to none,’ has been a way to overcome that inclination.

 

Closing Thoughts

More Than a Decade Before Reinventing You’s Publication, Mr. Ovitz Successfully Applied the Book’s Valuable Principles.  His focus, street smart savvy, and resilience are why Michael Ovitz successfully continues “working his magic” after age 50.

During this reinvention period and today, Mr. Ovitz shuns his critics and naysayers.  Tenacity and mental toughness are critical to a successful career reinvention (at any age).

Professional Reinvention After 50 is ABSOLUTELY Possible.  Michael Ovitz proves it. Dorie Clark’s Reinventing You shows us how to do it.

Our Turn.  Here’s a link to the landing page for Dorie’s free, Professional Reinvention Self Assessment.  Let’s take inventory of ourselves and ask:

  • What are our unique competitive advantages?
  • What makes us different from others in our current field (and the new domain we want to break into)?
  • How can we help others, what doors can we open, and who are the unique connections in our business networks so we can maximize our individual halo effects?

Those unique competitive advantages can help us “work our magic.”

Just like Michael Ovitz …

Please stay tuned for the next post in this series on Reinventing You After Age 50. Lesson 2: Shift Your Behavior is scheduled for a Friday, January 17, 2014 publication.

 

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3 Career Management Lessons for a Social Media Age I Learned From My Dad

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Happy New Year!

 

 

I made a 2014 resolution to publish an eBook / presentation.

This presentation / eBook describes three (3) career management lessons I've learned from my Dad and applied to my own career:  

1) Learn From the Best  

2) Get Published  

3) Get Back Up — Fast!  

My Dad inspired me to apply each of these lessons in a digital marketing and social media context (e.g., blogging, participating in Twitter, reading books of marketing strategy thought leaders, connecting directly with marketing strategy thought leaders, etc.).  

These lessons describe the opportunity for online self-publishing, personal brand / personal reputation management, and the teachings of different marketing strategy authors.   The marketing strategy authors (and their books and blogs) that have inspired me include Seth Godin, Ann Handley, Mitch Joel, Tom Peters, and David Meerman Scott.  

It's my way of showing my Dad how much I admire and respect his individual achievements (and the obstacles he overcame).  

Thank you and I hope you enjoy and benefit from reading it. If you find the content helpful, please feel free to share this presentation with others. 

Have an Amazing and Blessed 2014!

 
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino  or circle him on Google+.

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A Visual Metaphor for Mitch Joel’s Reboot: You from CTRL ALT DELETE

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Members of the Social Media ReInvention Blog Community know I'm a HUGE Mitch Joel Fan.  I'm currently studying his latest book, CTRL ALT DELETE.  I love this book because it's typical Mitch Joel:

  • Visionary / Forward Thinking
  • Entertaining / Great Writing
  • Thought-Provoking / Cites Tons of Other Great Books I Need to Read

I still need to finish Part 1 of the book describing five (5) current/future business drivers. As soon as I get the "story structure" better organized, I'll ship and publish the full book review. Until then, here's a glimpse of what I've learned from studying CTRL ALT DELETE:

CTRL ALT DELETE'S Seven (7) Reboot: You Triggers 


1. A Digital First Posture (as defined by Mitch Joel, page 124 of CTRL ALT DELETE).  "A digital-first posture means that the first place your consumers go when making a business decision is to their computers, smartphones, and/or tablets.  This should be your default posture as well.

2. The Long and Squiggly Road (e.g., Embrace the Squiggle)  Career paths are forever-changing because the "career escalator is jammed up" especially in large, Fortune 500 companies. Careers no longer follow a linear trajectory. If you want to continue developing valuable and marketable skills, you have to embrace the squiggle and adapt to pursuing multiple careers (not just multiple jobs) during your lifetime.  It's permanent beta personafied.

3. The New Way We/You Work.  The key to the survival and career success now is "standing out," "being differentiating," and "making yourself indispensable." You want to be THE MAN | THE WOMAN that everyone in your organization views as "The Linchpin." And, that process begins with making a conscious choice to pick yourself and ship your art.

4. The Marketing of You.  Beef up your skills in pitching, selling, storytelling, and thinking critically.  Why? Because Corporate America has already started shifting to resources to a free agent / freelancer nation. And, that trend won't stop — we're in Generation Flux (whether we like it or not). Start building the skills that will help you adapt in the ever-increasing Gig Economy.

5. Your Life in Start-Up Mode / The Start-Up of YOU.  You were born an entrepreneur. Actively manage your career like you're a lean start-up.

6. Work the Space.  We are mobile workers and can work anywhere.  All we need are:

  • A laptop / tablet
  • A smartphone
  • High-speed internet connectivity 

7. Embracing the Next.  Longevity in a productive, rewarding career requires a continuous ability to adapt, iterate, and spot game-changing trends.  Mitch lists and describes six (6) of these trends in this chapter.  If you want to learn what they are, buy his book.

 

Please click here for my full book review of Mitch Joel's CTRL ALT Delete.

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+. 

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57 Resources to Help College Graduates Land that First Marketing Job
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Part One: 4 Gurus with Books Helping New College Graduates Build a Professional Online Presence

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Big Banner Asking What Are You Reading?

What Books Are You Reading to Land a Job After College?

 

How Confident are You in Finding a Job After Graduation?  


There are no guarantees of employment for new college graduates or current students in today's brutal economy.  A college diploma is now a minimum requirement.  This November 2011 New York Times direct quote describes the current situation:


"A bachelor's degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence or capability." 

A Professional Online Presence Provides Differentiation Among a Sea of College Graduates

A Resume and Diploma are NOT Enough.  Recent graduates (and current undergraduates) need more to catch a company recruiter's attention.  LinkedIn Grad Guide Video #2: Building Your Professional Brand revolves around this concept.   Here's a key fact about how company recruiters now evaluate future employees (particularly college graduates and current students):


"It's no longer enough to simply have a resume. Students now need a professional  online presence."    – Holly Paul, former US Recruiting Leader, PriceWaterHouse Coopers (now Chief Human Resources Officer, Vocus).

 
Do You have a Professional Online Presence?   Is Your Professional Online Presence Differentiating?  If you said no to either of these questions, I hope you'll continue reading a little longer.  Developing a professional brand / presence requires work, time, patience, and discipline.  If you make the commitment, this investment increases the probability a company recruiter (or your first boss) will:

  1. Find you online
  2. Select you for that crucial first interview  

Seeking a Job in Marketing, Public Relations, or Communications?  Majoring in these Fields)?  If you nodded "yes," the authors / books described in this two-part post are MUST READ content.  These gurus are driving the future landscape of digital marketing, public relations, and communications.  

Note: I am not an Amazon Affiliate Program Member.  I tremendously respect the following authors because of their invaluable guidance in developing a professional online presence.

Turn Your Non-Working Time Into a Competitive Advantage

Read. Read. Read.  The following suggested authors / books are not "cookie cutter" or "10 easy steps on how-to land your first job out of college / summer internship in a lousy economy" resources.  

These authors share creative ideas to show a potential employer "you're more than a resume and the grades on a college transcript".  Their teachings provide suggestions in maximizing the Internet's global reach and leveraging search engines to your advantage.
 
Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha

Hoffmanreid_thestartupofyou

Read The Start-Up of YOU First.  

Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha wrote The Start-Up of You with the following principles in mind:  

1. You were born an entrepreneur.

2. Succeding professionally in today's economy means people of all ages need to adopt the same strategies of successful entrepreneurs.  

Why?  Successful entrepreneurs excel at:

  • Adapting all the time (e.g., permanent beta and pivoting)
  • Dealing with uncertainty and information gaps
  • Understanding their competitive advantage(s) (plus identifying quickly what is not)
  • Building and nurturing lifelong networks and relationships (both personal and professional)
  • Asking their lifelong networks and relationships for advice when confronting problems
  • Managing risks intelligently

Why The Start-Up of YOU Matters

So what does entrepreneurship have to do with building a professional presence (and ultimately in landing that first job out of college)?  Here are some direct quotes referencing Ronald Brownstein's NationalJournal.com article, "Children of the Great Recession:"

"For the last sixty or so years, the job market for educated workers worked like an escalator.  So long as you played nice and well, you moved steadily up the escalator, and each step brought with it more power, income, and job security."

"But now the escalator is jammed at every level.  Many young people even the most highly educated, are stuck at the bottom, underemployed, or jobless."

The Start-Up of YOU's principles describe the entrepreneurial strategies and career tactics traditional liberal arts undergraduate classes overlook.  Understanding and applying these entrepreneurial strategies and career tactics can guide you in the current job market.  

I published a series on The Start-Up of YOU when the book rolled out last year.  The second post, Start-Up of YOU Book Review, Part 2: Five Game Changers in Career Competitive Advantage highlights several key takeaways.   

Here are a few more helpful links to The Start-Up of YOU Resources Page to get started:

If you have difficulty with these links, please email me at tony[dot]faustino[at]gmail[dot]com, and I'll send you the PDFs.

The Start-Up of YOU Resources Page also contains this SlideShare presentation: Start-Up of YOU Visual Summary:

  

Dan Schawbel

Me 2.0 CoverDan Schawbel wrote Me 2.0 and Promote Yourself.  The New York Post selected Me 2.0 as 2009's Number 1 career book.  Promote Yourself (his latest book) is a current New York Times bestseller.  Dan's also the Managing Partner of Millenial Branding, a Gen Y research and consulting firm.  He is the personal branding authority for millenials.

Great Insights Relevant to All Professional Ages.  In my opinion, Dan's professional branding teachings apply to ALL professionals and job seekers.  I studied the 2009 first edition in my early-forties. 


Why Me 2.0 Matters  

Me 2.0 provides easy-to-understand suggestions for creating a professional brand online by:

  • Evaluating blog hosting options (if I could go back, I would select WordPress)
  • Starting, writing, and marketing a personal blog 
  • Participating wisely in social networks
  • Developing relationships with influential bloggers in your targeted industries
  • Understanding search engine optimization's (SEO) impact on your professional career

Dan published this free PDF presentation, Blogging Your Brand: A Complete Guide to Your Success, to support the book's launch.  It's a great primer for seriously publishing a personal blog and creating a professional brand.

Stay tuned for a future review of Promote Yourself (it's on my reading to-do list).  Here's Dan's blog post, Promote Yourself Excerpt – Chapter 10: Start Your Own Business While on the Job, if you'd like to learn more.
 


Mitch Joel

Six Pixels CoverI am a HUGE Mitch Joel Fan.  Mitch is President of Twist Image – one of the largest independent Digital Marketing Agencies in North America. When Google educates the top global brands about digital marketing, they call Mitch to speak at the Googleplex.

Why Six Pixels of Separation Matters


Chapter 7: You Are Media and Chapter 10: From Mass Media to "Me" Media.  These Six Pixels of Separation chapters, along with Tom Peters' classic Fast Company article, The Brand Called YOU, explain best why cultivating a professional online presence should be a career priority.

Key content generously shared in these chapters include: 

  • A Personal Brand Questionnaire (for evaluating your personal brand and how well you are digitally communicating it)
  • The Essential Components in Building a 3D Personal Brand: Giving Abundantly, Helping Others, and Building Relationships
  • A Personal Brand Audit of Online Tools (such as a personal blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Search, and Google Alerts)
  • Building and Targeting a Niche for Your Professional Online Presence

A Bonafide Visionary.  Here's a direct quote from Mitch Joel in Six Pixels of Separation "predicting" why a professional online presence matters more than ever for new college graduates (this was in 2009).  

Mitch framed his insight within the context of the following quote cited in Six Pixels of Separation from Michael S. Malone's May 2008 Wall Street Journal article, "The Next American Frontier:"

 "The most compelling statistic of all?  Half of all new college graduates now believe that self-employment is more secure than a full-time job.  Today, 80% of the colleges and universities in the U.S. now offer courses on entrepreneurship; 60% of Gen Y business owners consider themselves to be serial entrepreneurs, according to Inc. magazine.  Tellingly, 18 to 24-year-olds are starting companies at a faster rate than 35 to 44-year-olds.  And 70% of today's high schoolers intend to start their own company, according to a Gallup poll."

(from Mitch a few paragraphs later):  

"Here's what he's really saying (e.g., Mr. Malone): Without noticing it, we have once again discovered, and then raced off to settle, a new frontier. Not land, not innovation, but ourselves and a growing control over our own lives and careers.

Mitch Joel's Latest Book is Ctrl Alt Delete.  My biggest personal mistakes/regrets in understanding and building a professional online presence are:

  1. Not publishing this personal blog at least 10 years earlier.
  2. Not reading Six Pixels of Separation upon its initial release.

Mitch recently published Ctrl Alt Delete.  I'm studying it now (and I love it).  The lifelong career advice is invaluable.  To preview Ctrl Alt Delete, please watch this thoughtful conversation between Jonathan Fields and the humble maestro: 


 

Closing Thoughts

This concludes post three on helping recent college graduates and current undergraduates build a professonal online presence.  I hope you'll return for post four (e.g., Part 2) sharing six (6) more authors and their respective books.  Post 4 should be published in two weeks. 

Your Turn: Have you read any of these books?  If so, how useful do you think they are to recent college graduates and current undergraduates.  Are there other books you think would be helpful? Please let me know in the comments.


Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.  

 

Note: This is post three in a series sharing resources to help new college graduates and current students land full-time jobs or internships.  If interested, here are links to other posts in this series:

 



Photo Credit: by Pop Culture Geek via flickr

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Part 2, Book Review: 3 Memorable Themes from Hugh MacLeod’s Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear

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Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear Cartoon
Note: Part 1 of this two-part series can be found in Part 1: 10 Reasons Why Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear.  That post describes what blogging means to me.

I finished reading Hugh MacLeod's latest book, Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear.  It's his love letter to blogging describing how this influential medium changed the trajectory of his personal and professional life.

Highlighting a few key quotes:

"My blog gave me everything."

"My blog gave me my freedom."

I subscribe to Hugh's blog, gapingvoid.com, which is how I learned the book was released this past week.  Here's his video describing why he wrote the book:

 

I Love This Book.  I'm also going to order Hugh's previous books, Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity and Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination.  That's how much I enjoy studying his work.

Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear is filled with Hugh's motivational, irreverent,and rebellious point-of-view.  It's his call-to-arms "to create stuff" by using the Internet to transform and reinvent our personal and professional lives.  Because of the Internet, laptops, and broadband access, he reminds us we live in a world where "cheap, easy global media is here to stay."

The Book's Governing Question.  So, why not use this global phenomenon to our advantage?  It's the book's governing question linking personal and professional reinvention to blogging:

"So in my typical way, I'll ask you, are you a beacon?  If not, don't you think you should be."

So without further delay, here are the Three (3) Themes I enjoyed most from Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear.

 

1.  "Crofting" Is the New World of Work 

A Croft Is a Smallholding.  It's our digital identity (direct quote):

"Thanks to the Internet, we all have a little electronic "croft" — an electronic smallholding — to call our own: what is commonly referred to as our own digital identity, which we can cultivate, like a small farm, however we see fit."

It's Why Blogging Matters (More Than Ever).  It's why YOUR personal blog matters.  It's why YOUR personal blog can drive and enable career reinvention.  It's why maintaining a separate digital identity beyond your current job description extends your personal brand (take note if you work for a corporation). 

It's individual opportunity.

2.  Bring New Light to What Life Might Be

Our Individual Points-of-View ARE the New Light.  And, that fundamental theme cuts through all the typical how-to advice on developing a credible blog (i.e., post length, number of internal links versus external links, starting with a question, ending with a question, etc.).  

There's nothing wrong with being influenced and informed by:

But, trying to be a carbon copy or an imitator highlights how you're a pretender.  Those folks acheived their blogosphere status by bringing (and continuing to bring) new light. 

Our blogs can bring new light to what life might be by:

  • Writing about what individually moves us (what makes us want to write at 5 AM)
  • Recognizing there's room for all of us to cultivate and lead our own tribes
  • Having the courage to initiate and participate in digital conversations (blogging, commenting, tweeting, sharing, etc.)

Blogging Is a Conscious Choice.  You can't be a player unless in you're in the game. Hugh says it best on page 54:

"Not everybody believes this.  Not everybody acts on this.  That's fine; it's their life, their choice.  However, if you DO have that capacity within yourself and you DON'T act upon it, then everything around turns to desert."

 
3. The Internet Eats the "Ignorance Premium" for Breakfast

If You Can Google It, You Can Find It.  There's so much published online that we can use to our competitive advantage (both personally and professionally).  Hugh describes this concept as the end of The Ignorance Premium (direct quotes from pages 66 and 67):

"The Internet makes it harder for us to know more than the other guy."

"The Internet erodes the "Ignorance Premium."

"Because knowledge is now so much easier to share with the Internet, you're in trouble if the only reason you can make a living is because somebeody is too lazy to easily find out what you know with just a quick click of a mouse."

Our Opportunity With Blogging Is Promoting Our Individual "Intelligence Premium."  The Internet and blogging makes it easier than ever to self-publish "what you know."  Google makes it easier than ever for someone to find you.  That sounds like opportunity to me.

Why not turn this unique opportunity into a career advantage? 

My Take on The Internet's Ignorance Premium: Make Your Blog Your Intelligence Premium.  A personal blog demonstrates your individual, "Intelligence Premium" (e.g., what you bring to the table) by showcasing:

  • Your knowledge about a particular subject or industry
  • Your creativity in storytelling through multiple media (i.e., text, audio, images, video, etc.)
  • Your personal narrative about what makes you different
  • Your understanding of digital media's role in marketing, branding, and public relations strategy

Then, Why Don't More People Self-Publish a Blog?   Here are four reasons:

  1. Because it's hard (creating is not easy — at least, not for me)
  2. Because it's a long-term commitment
  3. Because building an audience and a credible reputation is a slow process (it's what Mitch Joel refers to as "in praise of slow")
  4. Because it requires putting yourself out there

Concluding Thoughts

It's Time To Find Our Freedom.  Those (4) aforementioned reasons are why blogging is more important than ever.  They're why blogging represents individual opportunity. 

That's the freedom blogging brings.  Whether we do it in our underwear (or while wearing something else).

It's a freedom Hugh summarizes better than I can:

"The Freedom to be who were born to be — the artist within us all."

 

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.   

 

Link to Photo Credit via Hugh MacLeod

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Part 1: 10 Reasons on Why Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear

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Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear 1
Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear When You …

1. Can't Wait to Wake Up at 5 AM to Write.  It's your moment of zen.  It's your time to express what you love, hate, makes you laugh, admire, respect, wish you could be, and continue striving to become.  It's SACRED TIME. 

2. Know You're Steering the Ship.  Sitting behind a keyboard means complete control.  The published words on your personal blog are yours (not somebody else's spin).  No watered-down mess requiring  corporate approval or a committee's sign-off.  

3. Pick Yourself.  You didn't seek the approval of Random House or another member of the New York City publishing dynasty.  You write. You publish. You promote.  The daily, weekly, and monthly results are there to measure and interpret.  And, the immediate audience feedback (or lack thereof) is a constant lesson in humility.

4. Press "Publish" Even When You Fear Your Content Sucks.  Blogging teaches you how to address and deal with personal fear.  Notice, I didn't say overcome it.  The "F" in Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear stands for "Fear."  

Rejection looms close by when you're a blogger.  But, so does opportunity.

You learn over time that subscribers and readers who believe in your art stick with you. These audience members who vote with their precious time know you won't hit a home run with every-at-bat. 

But, they expect you to consistently publish. Your subscribers expect you to show up. That's part of the deal.  That's part of the mutual bond.

It's why I can't wait to repeat Reason #1 for as long as I humanly can.

5. Want To Hug Your Blog Subscribers (But, Not Necessarily in My Underwear, Or Theirs).  The Social Media ReInvention Blog Community and subscriber base continues growing.  I want to hug you and thank you for teaching and reinforcing how trust is earned one-person-at-a-time.  

You've sent me emails with praise (especially at times when I really needed it), tweeted my posts on Twitter, "liked" them on Facebook, shared them on LinkedIn, and linked my posts to your respective blogs.  It means so much to me — Thank You From the Bottom of My Heart!

6. Can Continuously Iterate and Experiment.  21st century self-publishing means everything is "a working draft."  You can keep shaping, condensing, adding, or deleting. It's taken me three years to realize perfection is not the goal.  

It's about continuously building, measuring, and learning with a minimal viable product (MVP).  It's about permanent beta.  Even though you don't live in Silicon Valley, you can practice the principles of the Reid Hoffman's, the Ben Casnocha's, the Mark Zuckerberg's, the Amazon's, and the Google's.  It's not life or death (although it feels like it at times — see Reason #4).  

That's an invaluable life lesson.

7. Trust Yourself to Write With Your Heart (Versus Type With Your Brain). Writing doesn't come naturally to me.  I work at it every day (which I was I love it).  I'm still learning when/how to write and structure my position in traditional, MBA-analysis mode (and when to just let'er rip and flow).  

This is what the blogging community refers to as "finding your voice."  I'm still searching. And, this self-discovery journey is empowering. 

8. Realize There Are No Rules — There Are Only Guidelines.  Great blog posts can be less than 140 characters or as long as 4,000+ words.  You can use text, audio, video, and images (or a combination of all four).  What makes a blog post great is in the eye of the beholder.  It's art.  Coloring outside-the-lines is encouraged.

9. Love Something So Much You Do It for Free (Sort of).  I receive zero financial compensation for blogging.  But, I consider blogging a valuable and significant time investment  

It's not about getting paid.  It's the joy and challenge of telling a story.  It's about sharing.  It's about saying thank you. It's about reminding yourself why you love it so much even on the days when you're struggling personally and/or professionally.  It's about Reasons #1 through Reasons #10.

10. See and Embrace The Like-Minded.  Google the phrase "blogging is dead" (without the quotation marks).  You'll receive close to 57 million search results.  

When I see that number and the different search headlines, here's what I see:

* I see opportunity.  

* I see people who give didn't give up on their blogging / writing in the first six or seven months of launch.  

* I see people who voraciously read books, periodicals, blog posts, newsletters, and all content in-between to learn ideas and insights they can deliver to and share with their subscribers.  

* I see people who acknowledge this is a difficult and long-term endeavor.

* I see people proudly displaying, reading, and investing in this book:

Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear Cover 3

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.    

Link to Photo Credit by Hugh Macleod

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Start-Up of You Book Review, Part 4: A Note to the Critics

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The Start-up of You Book CoverNote: This is the third post in a series reviewing The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha

Post #1 introduces why the principles and values shared in The Start-Up of You are important in today's ambiguous and uncertain economy.

Post #2 dives deep into my five (5) favorite career management and leadership principles shared in the book.

Post #3 highlights five (5) very smart people I've met throught The Start-Up of You LinkedIn Discussion Group.

I'm concluding this series with my perspectives on the common criticisms of the book:

* The book is a 270+ page LinkedIn advertisement

* Too many success stories about Silicon Valley technology entrepreneurs (versus examples from other professions)

* Really! Another Sheryl Sandberg Success Story 

The Start-Up of You Reveals How To Use LinkedIn for Personal Competitive Advantage

A Far Different Value Proposition Than an Advertisement.  Wade Roush published this review in Xconomy, LinkedIn: The Missing Manual Worth Reading.  He describes The Start-Up of You as:


"a guide to the mindset you need to adopt if you want to make successful use of LinkedIn."

That's a Fair Statement.  The Start-Up of You bridges the gap for customizing and optimizing your LinkedIn usage beyond copying/pasting your resume into the profile template.  

A 100% complete LinkedIn Profile is the bare bones minimum for competing in today's job market. 

On The Start-Up of You website, Hoffman and Casnocha provide free content on advanced tips for using LinkedIn.  Here are a few of these helpful suggestions:

  • Adding descriptive tags to your connections so it's easier to identify people with specific expertise
  • Benchmarking your personal skills by reviewing the profiles of your connections at other companies
  • Studying LinkedIn Company Pages to understand the skills of their new hires

LinkedIn Novices Versus Power Users.  Deep Nishar, LinkedIn's Senior Vice President of Product, described the difference between LinkedIn's Novice Users and Power Users in a December 2011 Fast Company article:


"The novice users of LinkedIn use it to find a job. The power users of LinkedIn use it to manage their careers."

Here are a few ways to differentiate your LinkedIn profile or manage your career using key features:

12 Examples of Non-Technology, Non-Silicon Valley Success Stories From The Start-Up of You

Each of these examples provides several pages or a few sentences to explain a key principle.  Either way, they demonstrate how the book's principles extend beyond Silicon Valley and the technology industry.

  1. James R. Gaines (Chapter 3: When to Pivot – To Pursue Upside or Avoid Downside)
  2. Mary Sue Milliken (Chapter 4: Professional Allies)
  3. Susan Feniger (Chapter 4: Professional Allies)
  4. Benjamin Franklin (Chapter 5: Connect to Human Networks – Groups and Associations of People)
  5. Paul Harris (Chapter 5: Connect to Human Networks – Groups and Associations of People)
  6. "Iris Wong" (Chapter 7: How to Pull Intelligence From Your Network)
  7. Eric Barker (Chapter 5: Do The Hustle – Be Resilient: When the Naysayers are Loud Turn Up the Music)
  8. Joi Ito (Chapter 2: Your Assets)
  9. Howard Schultz (Chapter 2: The Market Realities)
  10. Tony Blair (Chapter 3: Adaptive Careers, Adaptive Start-Ups)
  11. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (Chapter 4: Professional Allies)
  12. George Clooney (Chapter 5: Introductory Section of Pursue Breakout Opportunities)

There's No Such Thing As Too Much Sheryl Sandberg

I'm The Father of Two Daughters.  And, I think Sheryl Sandberg's a tremendous role model for young women.  She's an influential Silicon Valley power player and important business leader.  I love her personal mission to convince more women to pursue technology careers, target the C-Suite, and adopt the attitude to:

  1. Sit at The Table (e.g., the Executive Table)
  2. Make Your Partner a Real Partner 
  3. Don't Leave Before You Leave (e.g., starting a family doesn't equal ending your professional career)



 

What Father Wouldn't Want His Daughter(s) To Professionally Succeed?  I admire how Sandberg "picked herself" to bring more attention to advancing women in business leadership. That takes guts because she's received criticism for taking on this role (see articles below).  

But, she sticks with it.  And, I crave to see more.  Here's more inspiration about the brains, resourcefulness, and chutzpah of Sheryl Sandberg:

* (Money.CNN.com) Facebook COO: Men Run The World – Sheryl Sandberg's May 2011 Barnard Commencement Speech


 


* (New Yorker Article by Ken Auletta) A Woman's Place: Can Sheryl Sandberg Upend Silicon Valley's Male -Dominated Culture

* (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Why Facebook Needs Sheryl Sandberg

Closing Thoughts

This concludes my blog post series on why The Start-Up of You is an important book in career management and leadership.

Buy This Book.  Don't miss out on a great personal and professional opportunity.  

The global economy will continue to challenge and influence our respective professional prospects and choices for several years.  

And, the timely advice to invest in yourself, invest in your network, and invest in society couldn't come at a better time.

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.   

 

Your Turn

Please let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts in the comments. I would love to hear from you. I’m here to read, listen, and learn from YOUR PERSPECTIVE.   Comments are open. So let’er rip!

 

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Start-Up of You Book Review, Part 2: Five Game Changers in Career Competitive Advantage

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The Start-up of You Book CoverNote: This is the second post in a series reviewing The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha

Post #1 introduces why the principles and values shared in The Start-Up of You are important in today's ambiguous and uncertain economy.

I'm a HUGE FAN of the career management concepts shared in this book. Its teachings and lessons will influence and impact my professional and career management choices forever.  

I read / studied The Start-Up of You from cover-to-cover.  If I could do it again, I would prioritize reading these five (5) chapters and their related concepts first (in the following suggested order):

* Chapter 6: Take Intelligent Risks — The Volatility Paradox: Small Fires Prevent the Big Burn

* Chapter 7: Who You Know is What You Know — Synthesize Information Into Actionable Intelligence

* Chapter 1: All Humans Are Entrepreneurs — The Start-Up of You Mindset: Permanent Beta

* Chapter 5: Pursue Breakout Opportunities — Court Serendipity and Good Randomness

* Chapter 3: Plan To Adapt — Maintain an Identity Separate from Specific Employers

Reid and Ben provide great insights throughout the book.  Here's a beautiful visual from Ogilvy Notes of all of the valuable lessons from The Start-Up of You: 

Start-Up of You Visual Notes

You Might Want To Grab Some Coffee.  The following chapters and their verbatim quotes are the concepts I found most inspiring.  Sometimes, I provide only the quotes because the words alone inspired me.  In other sections, I include my point-of-view.  

Buy and Read This Book.  Most of all, I hope sharing these five (5) game changer concepts from the book will motivate you to buy and read it.

If you're still here, I suggest grabbing that cup of coffee (or maybe two).  

 
1. Chapter 6: Take Intelligent Risks

Read This Chapter First.  Beginning with Chapter 6 is the only thing I would have done differently.  I suggest starting with the section of the book titled, The Volatility Paradox: Small Fires Prevent the Big Burn.  

These passages represent my "eureka moment."


"Without frequent, contained risk taking, you are setting yourself up for a major dislocation at some point in the future.  Inoculating yourself to big risks is like inoculating yourself to big risks is like inoculating yourself against the flu virus.  By injecting a small bit of flu into your body in the form of a vaccination, you make a big flu outbreak survivable.  By introducing regular volatility into your career, you make surprise survivable.  You gain the ability to absorb shocks gracefully."
"Opportunity and risk are two sides of the same coin, after all:  join and create groups, be in motion, take on side projects, hustle.  In a phrase, say 'yes' more."
"Pretending you can avoid risk causes you to miss opportunities that can change your life.  It also lulls you into a dangerously fragile life pattern, leaving you exposed to a huge blow-up in the future."
"When you're resilient, you can play for big opportunities with less worry about the possible consequences of unanticipated hiccups.  For the start-up of you, the only long-term answer to risk is resilience."
"Remember: If you don't find risk, risk will find you."

Companies and Individuals Who Don't Take Intelligent Risks Marginalize Themselves Over Time.  Here's a video of Reid discussing the importance of intelligent risk taking:



 

 

Previously, I Said "No" More.  I said no to additional career-related opportunities because of the additional time commitments.  I'm not talking about the "traditional" internal company, career-related opportunities (i.e., accepting high profile internal projects to increase exposure to senior management, etc.).

I'm referring to externally focused opportunities beyond the significant time already devoted to this personal blog.  These opportunities will consume additional time next to an already consuming and stressful full-time job and family duties.

Focus On The Upside.  But, Chapter 6 convinced me to start focusing on the upside. These are investments in my "soft assets" (i.e., cultivating new contacts, learning new skills, expanding the reach of my network intelligence, acquiring actionable knowledge).  Dwelling on the potential downside is counter-productive (e.g., the time demands).

A Counter-Intuitive Approach.  For someone in their mid-forties balancing demands of a young family and a full-time job involving travel, "taking on more" seems counter-intuitive.  But, The Start-Up of You makes the case for constant investment in activities building our "soft assets."   

Investing in yourself requires significant time and commitment.  Plus, it's especially important to make those investments while gainfully employed.

Safe is Risky.  Seth Godin says it best and simply from his classic book, Purple Cow: 


(page 30) "My goal in Purple Cow is to make it clear that it's safer to be risky–to fortify your desire to do truly amazing things."
(page 64) "Safe is risky."

 

 

2. Chapter 7: Who You Know Is What You Know

Synthesize Information Into Actionable Intelligence.  It's not enough to have great connections with a diverse set of skills, industries, and professions.  Your network must inform your decision making with excellent data.  But, "what do I do next with that data" is a determining factor in driving your success:

Here are my favorite book passages describing the importance of synthesizing information or "connecting the dots:"


"So far we've talked about the first step — pulling information from multiple people from multiple people in your network. Once you have gathered information, the next step is to analze the validity, helpfulness, and relevance of what each person has said.  Remember, that everyone has biases — even your parents or best friend.  It's not that they are trying to manipulate you.  It's just the nature of being a human with personal experiences and self-interests.  Bias can be obvious or nonobvious."
"As you pull information and advice from various sources, think about how the person's personal goals, ambitions, and experience might have colored their position.  Bias is not reason to dismiss information or advice altogether; just account for it in your analysis."
"Synthesis is the important final step.  If you don't step back and take in the big picture of all you've learned, it will feel like you're worming your way through a cocktail party hearing bits and pieces of several different conversations but not able to make out anything of substance."
"Synthesizing what you learn involves reconciling contradictory advice and information (which is inevitable if you're pulling multiple streams from diverse people), ignoring information you believe is completely off base, and weighing each person's information differently.  This is a complex cognitive process."
"For now, we'll just say that when it comes to intelligence, good synthesis is what makes the whole worth more than the sum of the parts."
"Network intelligence is the advanced game: if you do it well, it'll give you a competitive edge."
"IWe means your network can help you decide on a direction and then help you move quickly, but only YOU can drive the process forward."

Connect the Dots, Commit to a Personal Strategy, and Have the Courage to Ship: Connect. Commit.  Ship.  Any action answers "what do I do next."  That's why I altered the final quote to emphasize YOU.  

 As Seth Godin would say, Poke the Box:

  • Don't listen to your lizard brain (e.g., don't give into the fear of failure)
  • Start something (e.g., commit to your decision)
  • Pick yourself (e.g., be the initiator)
  • Ship (e.g., get it out the door, finish)



 

3. Chapter 1: All Humans Are Entrepreneurs

The Start-Up of You Mind-set: Permanent Beta.  Permanent beta is a lifelong commitment to continuous personal growth.  This concept is analogous to how technology companies keep iterating and testing software after the official launch so the software can be continuously improved.

Our careers are much the same way:

"For entrepreneurs, finished is an F-word.  They know that great companies are always evolving."
"Finished ought to be an F-word for all of us.  We are all works in progress.  Each day presents an opportunity to learn more, do more, be more, grow more in our lives and careers.  
"Keeping your career in permanent beta forces you to acknowledge that you have bugs, that there's new development to do on yourself, that you will need to adapt and evolve."
"But, it's still a mind-set brimming with optimism because it celebrates the fact that you have the power to improve yourself and, as important, improve the world around you."


Reid Describes Permanent Beta and Learning To Improve Every Month.  In the first video, he explains the concept of permanent beta.  In the second video, he talks about when he interviews people.  During those interviews, he wants to understand how people grow their capabilities on a monthly basis.



 



 

4. Chapter 5: Pursue Breakout Opportunities

Court Serendipity and Good Randomness.  What I enjoy most about this concept is "proactively making our own luck."  And, the best way to achieve serendipity (e.g., accidental good fortune) is to be doing something.  You have to be in motion.


"Serendipity involves being alert to potential opportunity and acting on it."
"You won't encounter accidental good fortune–you won't stumble upon opportunities that rocket career forward–if you're lying in bed.  When you do something, you stir the pot and introduce the possibility that random ideas, people, and places will collide and form new combinations and opportunities." 
"By being in motion, you are spinning a web as wide and tall as possible in order to catch any interesting opportunities that come your way."
"As entrepreneur Bo Peabody says, "The best way to ensure that lucky things happen is to make sure a lot of things happen."  Make things happen, and in the long run, you'll design your own serendipity, and make your own opportunities."


You Have to Be Playing in the Game.  You can't make your own luck or court serendipity and good randomness while sitting on the couch watching tv.  Here's a short video with Reid talking about how sitting on the sidelines means missing out on breakout opportunities:



 

5. Chapter 3: Plan to Adapt

Maintain an Identity Separate from Specific Employers.  This book section focuses on personal branding.  Here are some important direct quotes:


"Establish an identity independent of your employer, city, and industry.  For example, make the headline of your LinkedIn profile not a specific job title (e.g., "VP of Marketing at Company X") but personal-brand or asset-focused (e.g., "Entrepreneur. Product Strategist. Investor.")"
"Start a personal blog and begin developing a public reputation and public portfolio of work that's not tied to your employer.  This way you'll have a professional identity that you can carry with you as you shift jobs."
"You own yourself.  It's the start-up of you."

 
Your Personal Blog = Your Personal Competitive Advantage.  A personal blog and other self-published content give you a differentiating competitive advantage by:

1. Showing how you think
2. Demonstrating your individual creativity
3. Making it easy for a potential employer / great connection to find you (e.g., SEO benefits)
4. Giving you practice in an important and portable business skill set — writing
5. Proving you're technology and Internet savvy 
6. Informing people first-hand how you're driven to learn new skills

Seth Godin and Tom Peters Says A Personal Blog Matters.   In this video, they both discuss how a personal blog is the best personal marketing tool.  



 

 

And, Remember The Brand of You is Just One Part of the Start-Up of You.  Here's Reid Hoffman's take on personal branding.  Pay close attention to his point that a brand must be backed by substance if you want it to be relevant.


 


Closing Thoughts

What Were Your Favorite Concepts From The Start-Up of You?  Have you read this important book?  Take time to invest in yourself by reading it.  

Reading The Start-Up of You will make a significant difference in your life.  It's already changed mine.

And, it will have a lasting personal impact and influence for many future years.

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.   

 

Your Turn

Please let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts in the comments. I would love to hear from you. I’m here to read, listen, and learn from YOUR PERSPECTIVE.   Comments are open. So let’er rip!

 

If You Enjoyed This Post, Please Share It and Subscribe to My Blog

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The Start-Up of You, Part 1: Invest in Yourself, Invest in Your Network, AND Invest in Society

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The Start-up of You Book CoverI finished reading The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha last weekend.  

It's a special book that will have a lasting influence on how I manage and approach my professional career AND personal choices FOREVER. 

You Were Born an Entrepreneur.  This is the book's stated mantra and working hypothesis.  But, the book seeks to fulfill a higher mission (more on that later).

I think I've been relatively savvy in managing my professional career.  But, the book identified multple gaps in my approach I must address NOW.  

The book does reinforce and validates the activities driving my personal reinvention process (which started around three years ago):

1. Immersing myself in all things relevant to digital and social media

2. Participating actively and building relationships via digital and social technologies

3. Starting, writing, and sticking with this personal blog 

4. Re-discovering a love for reading and building knowledge

5. Remembering how "giving is better than receiving"

And, the book points out the importance of constantly iterating and improving ourselves by being in "permanent beta" (e.g., adopting a continuous innovation attitude to adapt to a dynamicly changing workplace).

An Inspiring Message of Opportunity in Today's Ambiguous and Uncertain Economy

Invest In Yourself, Invest in Your Network, and Invest in Society.  There are many important Start-Up of You concepts which I'll share in this post.  In my next post, I will explore in greater detail specific ideas from the book.  

This book is special because it delivers more than pragmatic career management advice.  

"What that something special is" can be found in these inspiring direct quotes from the book's Conclusion:


"For Ben and me, this book is one our gifts back to society.  We think the tools in this book can improve both your life and society.  Sometimes giving back can be simply spreading ideas that matter."
"Invest in yourself, invest in your network, and invest in society.  When you invest in all three, you have the best shot at reaching your highest professional potential.  As important, you also have the best shot at changing the world."

Critics Say Those Statements are Presumptuous, Arrogant, and Idealistic  

A Quick Note To Critics of The Start-Up of You.  The book's critics believe that.  In addition, they dismiss this book as nothing more than "mass-targeted content supplying fluff we've all heard before."  Or, "it's nothing more than a 250+ page LinkedIn advertisement."

Those critics are flat-out wrong.  

The book's mission, principles, and message to "invest in all three" are timely and important.

Timing Is Everything.  Or paraphrasing Reid and Ben: "there's a way to court serendipity and good randomness."  When I read the following articles from reputable and credible sources, it strengthens my resolve that The Start-Up of You's principles and values matter:
 

A Four-Post Blog Series on The Start-Up of You Book and The LinkedIn Start-Up of You Community

This book's mission, pragmatic career management content, and thriving LinkedIn community are why I've decided to publish this review as a multiple-post series.  This book and its growing movement are that important.  

Here are the working themes: 

  1. Part 1, Invest in Yourself, Invest in Your Network, AND Invest in Society
  2. Part 2, Five Game Changers in Career Competitive Advantage
  3. Part 3, Theme: The Start-Up of You LinkedIn Community (The People and Ideas They Share)
  4. Part 4, My Response to Critics of The Start-Up of You

 

Want To Start Learning About The Book's Principles and Begin Participating in The Community NOW?

The Book's Executive Summary.  This link allows you to download a free Executive Summary PDF of The Start-Up of You.   If you have difficulty receiving it, please notify me in the comments.  I'll email you the PDF.

Also, here are some cool visual book notes by Sacha Chua:

Start-Up of You Visual Book Notes
 
The LinkedIn Start-Up of You LinkedIn Community.  This is a SPECIAL LinkedIn Group.  What differentiates it?

* People Genuinely Do and Want to Help Each Other.  This group epitomizes how "giving is better than receiving."

* No Blog Pimping. This unwritten code is enforced by the group and its managers. How? Those who've tried posting links to their posts without giving something to the group INSTANTLY LOSE CREDIBLITY.  Their submitted discussion posts are ignored and buried in the stream.  

Start-Up of You Community Members are smart and discerning.  They know and identify self-serving BS quickly.

* The Group Practices the IWe (I to the We) Principle (direct quotes): 

"The nuanced version of the story of success is that both the individual and team matter.  "I" vs. "We" is a false choice.  It's both.  Your career success depends on both your individual capabilities and your network's ability to magnify them."
"Think of it as IWe.  An individual's power is raised exponentially with the help of a team (a network).  But just as zero to the one hundredth power is still zero, there's no team without the individual."
"This book is titled The Start-Up of You.  Really, the "you" is at once singular and plural."

 

Closing Thoughts

Thank you for reading this far!  I hope you'll stick with me for a little longer …

Have You Read The Start-Up of You?  What did you think of it?  How will this book influence your career management approach?  Please let me know with your comments.  

I'd love to hear from you.

 

Tony Faustino writes about how the Internet is reinventing marketing strategy for companies and individuals.  He tweets at @tonyfaustino. 

 

Your Turn

Please let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts in the comments. I would love to hear from you. I’m here to read, listen, and learn from YOUR PERSPECTIVE.   Comments are open. So let’er rip!

 

If You Enjoyed This Post, Please Share It and Subscribe to My Blog

Subscribe to Social Media ReInvention

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Ideas that spread win. You can unsubscribe any time you like.

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