Customer Reviews

On the High Wire: How to Survive Being Promoted

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There seem to be two things that business people don't understand: people in general, and themselves in particular. It's not that business people are dumb or insensitive -- the problem is that the modern corporation simply wasn't created to address the human dimension. The knowledge and systems aren't in place. Given the intensity of the environment these days, and the premium placed on great decisions, innovation, collaboration, talent, and intellectual capital, there's an urgent need for some simple, practical guidelines to the human aspect of business: how to help people reach their potential, how to get the most out of yourself.
In my experience, most touchy-feely business books are worthless. This one gets to the core of what makes people grounded, flexible, and creative. Most of all it gets to the most important question: how is it that people get "in the zone" with access to all the good stuff they've got inside -- and how to stay there. This book is the real thing. And it's short!

So focused are we on scrambling up to the next rung of the corporate ladder, that we expend too little effort figuring out what we need to do when we get there. This nifty book examines the issues faced by real-life managers navigating the challenging landscape of a promotion and provides viable - and actionable - solutions. It guides the reader to discovery of the attitudes and behaviors required to be successful in a new, elevated role. This book offers excellent strategies for everyone, from senior managers to college graduates just starting a career. Engagingly written and a quick read, it will leave an indelible impression on how you conduct your business - and your life.

How I wish I'd found this book years ago. I discovered it when it was very favorably reviewed in the Portland Press Herald.
It has boxes showing the "Conventional" approach by a manager and then the "Step Up" approach. Too often as a manager, we revert to our gut instincts and they may not always be the best. This book tells how to move up to a higher level of functioning in management.

This book is about a critically important topic to many professionals.
I basically like the structure of the book as outlined in the Introduction (pp. 7-8, hardcover edition). These points are not dramatically new, yet neatly outline three key precepts to embrace when stepping up to a higher position. And throughout the book are boxed lines of text that define terms or give tips in a usable sound-bite.
Still, this is where my compliments stop for this particular book. Why? Most of the writing over-simplifies the disparity between the "conventional" and the "step-up" behavior options that it introduces, as if we are either one or the other. Vague recommendations don't get fleshed out and hints that sound more like platitudes take center stage.
As a reader, I was left with the impression that these authors are seeing the real-world as a black-and-white kind of place.