Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Young people mostly get their career advice from friends (who usually don't have any more experience or knowledge than they do) and family (who base their ideas on what worked three decades ago). Either way, you get off track pretty easily.

There's plenty of good career advice in books and articles, but most young people wouldn't sit still long enough to read those sources. A Whole New Mind author, Dan Pink, comes up with a great solution: Create a career advice book in the form of manga.

Most career writers when they want to simplify a message use a fable, with a few illustrations that show the key perspectives. The fable is clearly secondary to the details.

In The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, the story is more interesting than the advice. Having read a lot of Mr. Pink's writing, I thought I knew what he would probably advise. But I didn't realize that he would make the story so interesting, and that the manga format would add so much power to the story telling. Nice work!

What's the advice? Let me rephrase to make it clearer to you:

1. Don't be rigid about planning out each step well in advance . . . it's not possible to do.

2. Build on what you're good at (Peter Drucker originated that one) and avoid relying on what you aren't good at.

3. Focus on what you can do for others (start with the boss) rather than what's in it for you (you can read more about this in How to Be a Star at Work).

4. Keep at it. Practice makes perfect.

5. Take on big challenges and learn from them.

6. Make a difference.

I like this advice. I hope my youngsters will read this book and apply it. I know they probably wouldn't if it came from dear old Dad.

If I could add one piece of advice, it would be to:

Set some written goals about how you want to spend your life. Those goals will help you keep focused.

Well done, Dan Pink and Rob Ten Pas!

Being quite the fan of Daniel Pink, I was excited to see that a new work of his had appeared. The book is a quick and easy read, the illustrations are fun, and it definitely contains a number of important career gems. HOWEVER, it falls far short of being "The last career guide you'll ever need". The book explores *what* to do, but says nothing about *how* to do it, which is just as important. Perhaps that would be more difficult to communicate in a short manga work.

All in all, this is probably worthwhile. Calibrate your expections appropriately, and you won't be disappointed. But don't expect to read this and have all your career problems melt away - there is a LOT that needs to be covered that isn't touched on here.

Having read all of Daniel Pink's other books, I was excited to see this on the shelf. I started with Free Agent Nation a few years ago, which gave me a totally new perspective on the whole concept of work in the 21st century. I then worked my way into A Whole New Mind, which gave me--a mostly right-brained technology worker--hope for the future in a previously left-brain dominated world. It's neat to see not only the world itself shifting from left-brain to right-brain, but also to see this author's presentation jump into an obviously quirky/fun style. I loved the other books, but then again I love to read. I was a little concerned about the Manga style at first, but I didn't pick it up because of the style or the graphics: Mr. Pink's books are all extremely thought-provoking, and have pointed me in the right direction many times (not just job searches and career moves). So, yes, I bought the book simply because of the author's name on the side, but when I flipped through it in the bookstore, I realized it had a lot of substance. Like any good parable, it's an entertaining story about a fictional character who is just like a lot of us at work. I love the fact that the author's eating his own dog food here, by presenting this book in a fun way that draws you in (he talks about content -> design -> story in his previous book). I read this book once all the way through too fast...and then went back and re-read it when I had more time, and picked up a lot of things I had missed the first time around. It resonated so much with me that I let my girlfriend read it (she loved it) and I'm thinking of loaning it to other friends who seem bored with their jobs/lives. I've been reading a lot of books lately that have given me back far more than I've put into them monetarily. My only concern is that people might overlook or dismiss this useful book simply because of the Manga presentation. Once you start reading, the characters come to life (especially Johnny, for anyone who's done the same job over and over again without really finding joy in it), and you start to see ways of improving your own situation. If you enjoy reading this book (I know I sound like Amazon or whatever making recommendations), go back and take a look at Free Agent Nation (although it is a few years old, it has good advice and entertaining stories) and A Whole New Mind (more recent, and pulls the author's thoughts together into a more detail-rich and current book than the first). This book certainly stands alone, but you might enjoy rounding this parable out with the full-scale novels of his other two books. To summarize: unless you're totally, 100% happy with your current job or life situation, you should read Johnny Bunko to see if there aren't a few things you might be missing. Warning: side effects may include increased cravings for Asian food eaten with chopsticks!

I gave the book to a 22 year old and he sat down and immediately READ the whole thing. The graphic novel format is genius. Heck, I am well past my 20's and I enjoyed it. I am a big fan of Daniel Pink and especially Whole New Mind. If you can't get a college age or younger to read Whole New Mind this book just might lure them into it. Great information presented in a way that appeals to the audience who most needs it. A great gift to give!! I will be buying more copies to give.

What a treasure! Johnny Bunko is a book that I will recommend, along with A Whole New Mind, to anyone I know. Dan Pink has a knack for putting his visionary ideas in to words that everyone knows and expressing his ideas in a way that everyone can understand. He goes one step further and tells you how you can implement positive change. The impressive artwork and fun story in Johnny Bunko make it an experience more than a book.

Whether you want to learn, grow, or just have fun; Dan's books are easy to pick up, hard to put down, and exactly what everyone should have the opportunity hear.

The title is appealing... the last career guide I'll ever need? That's a strong proclamation but after reading such rave reviews about it, I decided to give it a shot. Besides, I'm a total sucker for the innovation of a manga career guide. Even though I'm not a hardcore manga fan (I've only read one trilogy before this book) I thought the fact the author thought of the twist was enough to encourage the belief that there might be something else new and exciting I haven't read elsewhere before.

Wrong. It's just the same generic advice is a different format. The story follows someone who already has a job who gets a lucky break to prove himself. It's not really practical for people who have no idea what they're looking for or what's realistic. It certainly doesn't take in consideration the slow economy or how to move from point A to point B.

Maybe my background would help you decide if my review is fair.... skip this paragraph if you'd like as it has nothing to do with the product. I was a honor roll high school student whose parents wouldn't sign the FAFSA so I couldn't get financial aid to go to college. (My parents said I didn't deserve it.) In order to get financial aid without a parental signature on the FAFSA you must be one of the following (or at least it used to be this way): 24 years old, married, have a child, be emancipated, be in the military or be a military veteran. Since none of these applied, I worked in call centers to support myself while I paid for community college out of pocket. When I married, I transfered to a state university where I received a BA in English. I'm now finishing my MFA in Creative Writing. It's a terminal degree so technically I'll have the credentials to teach creative writing at a college or university. Unfortunately, as many alumni and career counselors have informed me, people with PhDs are having a hard time finding work as professors of creative writing. It's not really inspiring to spend the thousands of dollars to be in the same boat: struggling to find work. I could probably find something if I moved (Portland is really hurting economically and has never been a huge education metropolis) but that would mean leaving the city I was born and raised in, my friends, my family and even my husband who's finishing an apprenticeship program in Portland. Last year, after seven years in call centers, my mind and body finally broke down from the verbal abuse. I know I can't go back to that without panic attacks, IBS, ulcers and other horrible repercussions. (Both getting death threats and working for greedy corporations is apparently too much for me to handle. Kudos to those of you who are stronger than I am.) So, I'm looking for ideas and options of what else can I do where I'm making a positive difference in the world and not killing myself to make a living. This book did not provide that.

This book is a very simple, quick read. It took me 45 minutes to finish and I was taking my time reading it by stopping to google people/things it referenced and take notes.This is really nothing more than an entertaining pep talk.

This animated career guide has some of the best advice I've ever read in such a condensed, easy to read format. The story line shares six important rules that can not only be applied to one's career, but to one's entire life. The only reason it loses a star is because it's too short; definitely a one-sit read.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need by Daniel Pink, art by Rob Ten Pas, Penguin Books, 2008

I wasn't looking for a career guide and I didn't expect to buy a manga-style comic book about business but, since The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is by Daniel Pink, I grabbed it right away. Pink is the author of A Whole New Mind which highlights the ever-increasing importance of right-brain thinking for the success of today's workers. In Johnny Bunko, Pink uses right-brain elements like design, story, emotion, and metaphor to talk about six lessons for career success. After a lucky "break," character Johnny Bunko combines the teachings of a flighty guru with his own experiences to learn the six lessons:
There is no plan.
Think strengths, not weaknesses.
It's not about you.
Persistence trumps talent.
Make excellent mistakes.
Leave an imprint.
What's appealing about these lessons, besides their simplicity, is their applicability to more than just one's career aspirations. Personal relationships, family life, and community participation can all benefit from focusing on people's strengths or a desire to leave a positive imprint, for example.

And the book is appealing too. The manga illustrations evoke both mood and motion - qualities absent from the business publishing world. The book becomes accessible to anyone and invites a quick re-read whenever there is a spare moment. Not a bad quality considering it could take a whole career to master these six lessons! For that reason alone, it's this year's graduation present for everyone on my list.

For more information: www.thefirefly.org

I'll keep my review short, since this is a short book. I was scared that I was not getting value for my money but boy was I wrong. The books is comprised of six career principles and some other pearls of wisdom but the use of anime, allows the examples to be so clear and concise that it is not necessary to include anymore details and so at the end, I did not feel cheated. The book is really designed like a manga. It is good that the writer didn't keep the dialogue childish and the artist was able to convey a wide range of emotions. The story is a universal one in that, anyone can relate. It deals with destiny, failure, selflessness, perseverance and leaving a legacy. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Looking for a book to give your child who is about to graduate college and enter the workforce? Look no further. Johnny Bunko, written in the manga style of Japanese comics, is the answer. Author Dan (A Whole New Mind) Pink provides six life lessons, packaged in a humorous and readable comic strip book, perfectly executed for the Gen Y reader.