What are three words you’d use to describe me? If you didn’t already know what I do for a living, what would you guess? I’m trying to go from X to Y; what steps would you suggest for me? Who are some people who have some of the qualities I should be trying to build? What are my blind spots? (Location 220)
suggests identifying up to twenty people who exemplify the interests, skills, and values you admire—preferably a geographically diverse assortment of men and women in different fields—to get the broadest perspective possible. (Location 227)
Mary’s Greatest Gifts Are . . . I Could See Mary . . . The World Would Be a Better Place If Mary . . . I Will Help Mary by . . . (Location 298)
“My interpretation of that is that I can be very intellectual, and maybe there should be more of a balance with creativity.” (Location 307)
“technical competence was more heavily weighted in men’s numerical ratings,” (Location 366)
taken it as far as possible before talking with the person,” and urges people to consider the “highest and best use” of the person they’re interviewing. In other words, if you can find out certain information online or through books, don’t waste a professional’s time with (Location 442)
Write down your one-sentence positioning statement that you can share with others. (Location 500)
Getting the most from your experience means going into it with an open mind and a sense of possibility. (Location 756)
I’m not a snob about work, and if what needs to happen now is we’re all going to fold letters and stuff them into envelopes, you do it.” (Location 761)
It’s your demonstrated expertise—not your academic credentials—that counts in the business world. (Location 887)
He developed a “Hire Dave Cutler” website and began actively using a variety of social channels. Finally, he entered a weeklong “Mini-MBA” program at Rutgers. (Location 904)
Another important question you can ask is what skills or abilities you possess that are in short supply in your new field. (Location 1183)
“I try to keep myself out of the minutiae, to make sure there’s enough distance so I have some perspective,” he says. “You have to know how to do the mechanics, but you also want to think about it in a new way. (Location 1221)
halfway between being an expert and being a total novice. It’s knowing enough to know what’s going to make a difference and be helpful, but you’re still able to think outside the box.” (Location 1223)
he still tries to maintain an outsider’s perspective, looking for innovations from other industries. (Location 1226)
It’s certainly easier to break in if you fit the mold—the preppy, white, hedge fund guy; the vaguely dorky IT genius; or the sexy blonde saleswoman. (Location 1268)
Make a list of the things about yourself that most surprise people when you tell them at cocktail parties (you (Location 1288)
Well-known author Tim Ferriss’s experience is an example of a related strategy: extending your product line. (Location 1378)
Ferriss was a guy always looking for shortcuts. (Location 1379)
Everyone has passions and things they’d love to do. It’s nice to be fulfilled, but it’s also nice to be an adult and pay your mortgage. (Location 1423)
“The only reason I succeeded in academia was the autonomy; there was no time clock, and I could set my schedule,” (Location 1430)
Sometimes, your narrative reveals a linear transition (Toby going from leading soldiers to leading executives, or Libby using the power of language, first in poetry and then in management consulting). (Location 1453)
But the hardest part of making a transition can be bridging the gap between how others used to perceive you (and how you used to perceive yourself) and how you’d like to be seen moving forward. (Location 1553)
he told me. “If I think you’re good in one domain, I think you’re going to be good in other domains, as well. There’s the presumption that talented people have this set of generalized abilities.” (Location 1604)
“Mostly I got respect,” she recalls. “Wine is made to be sold, and you need to talk about it, be articulate, and be a self-starter, and it was clear that’s what I was. Most people thought I had a lot of courage for making the choice I’d made.” (Location 1614)
all the wonderful insight and self-awareness you’re getting, all the great ideas aren’t affecting us. So it takes a lot to break through the noise, and you need to be hyperaware of what you’re doing and make sure you’re signaling explicitly to the outside world what you’re trying to build.” (Location 1624)
When it comes to making connections, Dan says, “the biggest change is my default answer used to be no, and now my default answer is yes. I’ve focused on reasons to say yes.” (Location 1670)
Make a list of three actions you can take in the next month to enhance your brand reintroduction (secure your own domain name, sign on to help with a major project, upgrade your work clothes, read more industry journals to (Location 1697)
on). (Location 1699)
This could take the form of him talking you up to colleagues, making juicy introductions at networking events (“You have to meet my friend Dorie; she has a new book out you’d love!”), or bringing up conversational topics where you excel. (Location 1705)
Your job, then, is to figure out what currency you can traffic in, that matters to the people you need to influence. (Location 1758)
he developed the cornerstone of his management philosophy, which focused on creating an environment that allowed employees to feel comfortable and be themselves. (Location 1769)
“If I can be honest, vulnerable, and authentic in my way of presenting myself inside my company and outside,” he told me, “that’s a helpful tool for others to understand that everybody goes through difficult times (Location 1771)
“Our mission statement is creating the opportunity to celebrate the joy of life, and that’s what we were doing there.” (Location 1782)
He became a serial entrepreneur, building three offline businesses, but promoting them using the internet. (Location 1843)
Blogging is one of the best ways to start getting your intellectual property out into the wider world. It’s virtually free (you can pay for your domain name and hosting fees with Starbucks money) (Location 1854)
So start making your list: who do you want to connect with in your industry? If you’re a designer, for instance, how can you make friends with the dean of Stanford University’s much-vaunted Institute of Design (aka “the d.school”) or the head of IDEO? (Location 1917)
Posting content to your own blog is worthwhile, but it can be hard to attract a readership (most blogs are read by your mom, your best friend, and two people in Pakistan). (Location 1923)
find that I have about six bloggable ideas a day. I also find that writing twice as long a post doesn’t increase communication, it usually decreases (Location 1975)
The other strategy that’s saved me from madness is scheduling tweets in advance using a service like TweetDeck or Hootsuite. (Location 1981)
is to get involved with your field’s professional association. It helps you make connections with other practitioners (Location 2030)
The visibility naturally accrues to you, and even though you don’t seek it out, people come to you for interviews and advice. Your visibility grows and your brand grows.” (Location 2035)
The secret, which most people don’t realize, is that they should aggressively seek out a leadership role. “My advice to people today,” says Weiss, “is if you’re going to join a trade or professional association—any volunteer association—it’s ‘in for a dime, in for a dollar.’ (Location 2036)
While most of your peers are halfheartedly attending meetings or trading business cards at the back of the room, you can become a connector and power broker—knowing everyone, and at the center of the action. (Location 2039)
Second, your credibility is enhanced from the get-go by the implicit endorsement of the host organization. The Chamber of Commerce or local Rotary or the Southwestern Association of Cattle Ranchers wouldn’t bring you in to address their members if they didn’t think you had something worthwhile to say. (Location 2071)