Customer Reviews

Portable Executive: Building Your Own Job Security - From Corporate Dependence to Self-Direction

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Written during a time of significant downsizing, the Portable Executive comes across as a confused attempt to make sense of the situation. "Open-Book Management" by John Case does a far better job of properly identifying the causes and consequences of recent economic changes. To name just a few of the many glaring contradictions in this book:

1. The book claims that many jobs are being lost and that there are ample temporary opportunities but if you do the math replacing 2 permanent jobs with 1 contract job does not leave enough contracts for everyone.
2. The book claims companies save money by using contract employees and then also claims that portable executives can make more by contacting than they could as employees.
3. For most executives, relationships with the staffs they lead and peers they must work with is key. Working for multiple companies on a contract basis would thus limit their effectiveness.
4. With all these contract opportunities, the book never discusses who originates these contracts (permanent employees, no doubt).

Contradictions aside, this book does mention some true points, but they are lost in the confused attempts to explain the bigger picture.