I Didn't See It Coming: The Only Book You'll Ever Need to Avoid Being Blindsided in Business [Hardcover]

Nancy C. Widmann (Author), Elaine J. Eisenman (Author), Amy Dorn Kopelan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470116455 | ISBN-13: 978-0470116456 | Publication Date: April 20, 2007 | Edition: 1

Praise For I Didn't See It Coming

"In the fiercely competitive world of business, these authors learned how to play the game with skill and competence. They are uniquely qualified to teach others the rules of the workplace."
—PETER A. LUND, former president and chief executive officer, CBS, Inc.

"I Didn't See It Coming could change the way you think about your career and redefine your strategy to succeed in a corporation."
—ROBERT T. CORNELL, Managing Director, Lehman Brothers Inc.

"Candid and savvy, this book is the ultimate corporate politics rulebook. It provides clear and shrewd strategies to reach the corner office. Keep this book at your side at all times!"
—LYNNE DOMINICK, former publisher, Everyday Food magazine

"I Didn't See It Coming should be the bible for those climbing the corporate ladder. Every chapter gives me more and more critical strategies for reading the room and maneuvering through internal corporate politics."
—JASON JORDAN, Senior Sales Representative, T-Mobile

"In today's incredibly complex world, even the best leaders can make mistakes that prove fatal. In our work, we see it time and time again through our clients and executives. This book provides a very useful way to be better prepared to avoid those simple yet fatal mistakes."
—JERRY NOONAN, Partner, Spencer Stuart

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Managers have been under siege for the past ten years. They have been forced to downsize, restructure, merge, combine jobs, and inflate profits. They got on board and did what the boss asked. Then, in came a new boss, or consultant, and out went those same managers who had been willing to play the game.

Those managers might still have jobs if they had been able to spot the red flags that signal trouble. In fact, the most dedicated and driven professionals are often the employees least likely to notice the office threats and pitfalls around them; they're too busy working!

I Didn't See It Coming provides savvy advice and strategic insights for recognizing and dealing with the situations that can threaten your career. This book will help you develop the skills you need to read the room, correctly assess what is happening around you, and control your career destiny. It shows you why you need an exit strategy, how to navigate the political terrain, how (and why) to differentiate between colleagues, and why it's important to follow the money. Everyone can benefit from understanding how office politics works and what you can do to enhance your position. For anyone in a dicey situation—even if you don't know it yet—this is the ultimate guidebook for office survival. When it comes to your career, don't take chances! Take charge and make sure you see it coming.

The authors of this utterly unique career guide are three high-powered former executives from major corporations. Each has been on the firing line, faced situations where she didn't see it coming, and emerged more knowledgeable and successful. Not only do the authors know how to spot dangers and wage a clever campaign of corporate politics, they each have worked with and interviewed hundreds of executives whose stories reveal all the different ways and reasons people get blindsided.

From the Back Cover

Praise For I Didn't See It Coming

"In the fiercely competitive world of business, these authors learned how to play the game with skill and competence. They are uniquely qualified to teach others the rules of the workplace."
—PETER A. LUND, former president and chief executive officer, CBS, Inc.

"I Didn't See It Coming could change the way you think about your career and redefine your strategy to succeed in a corporation."
—ROBERT T. CORNELL, Managing Director, Lehman Brothers Inc.

"Candid and savvy, this book is the ultimate corporate politics rulebook. It provides clear and shrewd strategies to reach the corner office. Keep this book at your side at all times!"
—LYNNE DOMINICK, former publisher, Everyday Food magazine

"I Didn't See It Coming should be the bible for those climbing the corporate ladder. Every chapter gives me more and more critical strategies for reading the room and maneuvering through internal corporate politics."
—JASON JORDAN, Senior Sales Representative, T-Mobile

"In today's incredibly complex world, even the best leaders can make mistakes that prove fatal. In our work, we see it time and time again through our clients and executives. This book provides a very useful way to be better prepared to avoid those simple yet fatal mistakes."
—JERRY NOONAN, Partner, Spencer Stuart

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470116455
• ISBN-13: 978-0470116456
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #926,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for Anyone with a Job, August 15, 2007

By 

DeepDishChicago - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Didn't See It Coming: The Only Book You'll Ever Need to Avoid Being Blindsided in Business (Hardcover)

This book came into my life at just the right moment. As my company thrashes through a period of reinvention, understanding what to do to take best advantage of change has been a key part of helping manage the stress of the situation. I have recommended it to every colleague who will listen and handed my copy to my division President the day after I finished reading it.

The workplace is such a fluid environment, and in the world of mergers, downsizing, reorganization and change, it is important to remember for whom you work. It is for yourself and your family first, your colleagues second, your clients third, and fourth it is for the company at the top of your embossed business card. So you had better have a plan, not just for the day when you return from lunch and there is a HR lackey standing at your desk with a pink slip and a bankers' box, but a plan for the arc of your professional career.

Companies are not people, they are run and managed by people. Understanding your position and power in your company's community is critical to being able to make the right decisions about your job. "I Didn't See It Coming" will help you to sense change before it happens and to prepare to take best advantage as the ground moves and the color of the sky goes from blue to red.

Read this book in times of quite, and re-read it when things are up in the air. I hope that the three high powered women who wrote this book are already at work on the sequel.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't take things for granted!, February 11, 2008

By 

Charles Decker (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Didn't See It Coming: The Only Book You'll Ever Need to Avoid Being Blindsided in Business (Hardcover)

It's happened to all of us -- even the most successful. The job we thought was secure wasn't. The company is reorganized and we are assigned to a boss who manages [badly] by e-mail and motivates by threats. The company is sold and merges with its former competitor who we've bad-mouthed for years. This book offers really practical strategies for reading the warning signs of all these major changes that can impact us for years and prevent us from recovering and even thriving in a new environment. With change often comes opportunity, but only if we can embrace it and not feel blindsided.