Your Career Is An Extreme Sport: Focus, Drive, Excel [Paperback]

Eileen P. Gunn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2006

This guide shows readers how to apply the principles of extreme sports, such as drive, stamina, flexibility and guts, to achieve success in their chosen careers. Today's workplace demands a bungee cord, not a parachute. Forget the old rules of joining a company, plodding along, collecting an annual four percent raise and the occasional promotion. Today's workers are free agents on a fast track, if they want a gold Rolex they'll buy it themselves, not wait for it as a retirement present. It is an adrenalin-charged anecdote to methodical, touchy-feely career books.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eileen Gunn bunjee-jumped into her freelance writing career in 1999, and has since spent her time honing the focus, creativity, quick thinking, and determination any extremely good reporter needs. She's written for the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Worth, Business 2.0, Self and Glamour, among many other publications. Before going solo, she was a reporter for Fortune magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (August 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593376111
• ISBN-13: 978-1593376116
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,857,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grabbing the big air while not breaking your career's neck., August 3, 2007

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Your Career Is An Extreme Sport: Focus, Drive, Excel (Paperback)

This book is aimed at people under 35 and the earlier in their career the better. It is written in a multimedia style and has the graphic style of a packet of information given to an extreme athlete at a competition. That is the metaphor for the book.

The idea is that the single company, climbing the corporate ladder of your parents and grandparents is over. Young people today will be switching jobs on a regular basis. To get the most out of a job to advance your career for the next job you land you need to treat your present job as a competition to get you some recognition that will get you noticed for the next gig. Grab the big air now.

Eileen Gunn uses anecdotes from the careers of people who have been successful in business and as extreme athletes. She shows us how they used a series of jobs to end up in the good places they are now and relates that to what they do as an extreme athlete.

Probably the most valuable service she offers in the book is showing how extreme athletes mitigate as much risk as they can through planning, training, gathering intelligence, and then letting go and relying on their preparation.

She also points out a style of teamwork and leadership she calls kinetic leadership and recommends that to the younger generation of workers. That is, be a part of a team and contribute all you can, but don't hog the sunshine. Lead when your skills warrant it, but support others when they have the most to offer. These trade-offs help everyone.

Not so relevant to me, but it might be very helpful for someone a generation younger.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read on Career Climbing!, March 27, 2007

By 

Gloria (Sherman, Ct.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Career Is An Extreme Sport: Focus, Drive, Excel (Paperback)

I had intended to quickly glance through this book and ended up reading it attentively. Though I am past thinking of my career as an exciting 'climb, the way the author uses the metaphor works well for life in general, and therefore made for an informative read, whether you are near the summit or have already peaked. But if you are in your 20's or 30's, this is a must read (my daughter will receive her gift next week). It is a 'how to' book that passes along alot of information without sounding like preaching. And it is well written. I hope the author considers doing a sequel: a 'how to' reppel into retirement!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This metaphor leads to a new way of thinking, January 19, 2007

By 

Kevin Coyle "Cosmic Burghermeister" (Greenville, SC, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Your Career Is An Extreme Sport: Focus, Drive, Excel (Paperback)

If you're looking to advance up the corporate ladder, practice tackling risk as a rock climber. Sports lingo is commonly used as metaphor for the work world--"Be a team player" and all that. This books teaches a new set of lingo drawn from extreme sports that more accurately reflects the realities of today's job market. It's packed with examples of business tycoons who've learned all their important lessons "grabbing big air" on a snowboard. A must for members of Generation X/Y who want to be noticed by the big decision-makers.