by dlavieri
I n t r o d u c tI o n
As an executive coach, I know the path to professional success isn’t what it
used to be. In many ways that’s good. Today, there are more professional
opportunities available than ever before. But in order to reap the rewards and enjoyment from a successful career, you must know how to acquire the skills
you’ll need for your journey, how to manage yourself in unexpected circum-
stances, and how to roll with the punches.
For decades I’ve worked closely with high-achieving professionals and I’ve
learned that you can’t predict where your career path will take you. But you
can prepare for it. You can learn smart workplace tactics and, at the same time, gradually build qualities that will bring you success.
For much of the 20th century, success seemed to be a matter of climb-
ing onto the right organizational ladder and hanging on. Professionals were
expected to be loyal and conform to institutional values. In exchange for loyalty, big organizations offered the promise of lifetime employment.
Now, the idea of spending your whole career in one place, keeping your
head down, and continuing to do pretty much the same type of work seems
quaint. Careers flow through many phases, involving numerous relationships,
shifting skill sets, and startling change.
Your career is likely to include many jobs. Perhaps some will be full time
and long lasting, whereas others could be short-term, freelance gigs. There
may be times when you juggle several jobs or businesses at once. Sometimes
your career may not involve paid work, but your professional growth will con-
tinue as you go back to school, volunteer, or take on a fellowship as a way to 13
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Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO
explore new directions. You’ll be in charge of your career. Nobody else will
guide it.
And as you move from place to place, you may find that workplace cul-
tures vary widely, making navigating on the job more confusing than ever.
For example, you may find yourself in a situation where dress is casual, hours are flexible, and the hierarchy is loose. But although things look informal at first glance, you soon have to decipher complex relationships and meet productivity expectations that are extraordinarily high but never actually defined.
The whole concept of “career” is different than it was in the last cen-
tury. When I talk about your “career,” I’m not just thinking of what you do
at the office. Your career is no longer distinct from the rest of your life. It includes everything you do to stay in shape—physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially—in order to do your best work. Your career encompasses your
learning experiences, from the books you read to your circle of friends, vacation pursuits, and community activity.
“Professional” is another word that has shifted meaning. The traditional
professions included doctors, lawyers, architects, and other special y educated, licensed, and relatively wel -paid experts. But now the definition includes anybody who is seriously engaged in meaningful, chal enging work. Today’s pro-
fessionals are committed to building their skil s and expertise, and maintaining quality and ethical standards, in myriad fields from IT to the culinary arts.
And whereas modern professionals still want to be compensated, they
expect more from their work—they want to find meaning and fun on the job,
and at the same time enjoy a richer, broader life.
To get what they wanted from their professional life, your parents needed
to demonstrate loyalty. But what you’ll need for your varied career is to be adaptable and resilient.
Professionals who are “adaptable” are able to put aside assumptions about
their tasks, bosses, or clients, and try new strategies to achieve what they want.
They are willing to be flexible, sometimes experimenting a bit as they tweak
their performance or build stronger relationships with colleagues.
Career resilience means being able to anticipate risks and feel comfortable
with change. Resilience involves limiting damage during turbulent times. It
means knowing how to absorb hard knocks, to regroup, and to bounce back
when the worst happens. It’s the ability to start feeling better and bolster your confidence after a setback. It’s remaining engaged in the midst of shifting
challenges. Resilience brings security in a constantly changing world.
Introduction
15
My observation from watching hundreds of adaptable, resilient careerists
is that, regardless of where they work, most tend to be entrepreneurial thinkers. They are curious, open-minded, and skilled at spotting trends and turning them into opportunities. They resist the urge to be defensive or get bogged
down in the past. Instead, they handle each challenge as it comes along and
then quickly refocus on the future. They keep learning and building their
social networks. And they are open to new ideas, agile in tumultuous situ-
ations, and willing to keep building social, technical, and managerial skills.
In addition, over the long haul, the most successful professionals act like
savvy chief executive officers. They are quick to take responsibility and are always planning ahead. They share the praise and turn quickly to problem
solving when things go wrong. They know their own value system and they
organize themselves to live within it. And they listen to other people and are typically eager to support their success.
Adaptable, resilient people may not
start out that way
Resilient people aren’t necessarily born with a unique ability to be flex-
ible, bounce back, or forge ahead. Often, they are ordinary folks who
gradually learn behaviors, attitudes, and work patterns that allow them
to adapt as needed.
I’m a good example of someone who started out as a risk-averse worrier,
but through the years became more flexible. At the age of 20 I was looking
for a secure job track. But as it’s turned out, I’ve reinvented my career again and again.
As an undergraduate at Ohio University, I studied journalism and planned
to become a reporter. Then I was sidetracked by student activism to promote
equality for women. That led to work in the university’s administration and,
at the same time, I became the first woman in Ohio University’s MBA pro-
gram. Eventually, I was called upon to take a fresh look at the university’s
employment practices and create its first affirmative action program.
From there I went to Georgetown University Law Center, thinking I’d
settle down on a secure career track as an attorney. After a brief stint at the Securities and Exchange Commission, I went to a series of Washington law
firms where I discovered that, in private practice, lawyers must be entrepre-
neurs. It was particularly tough for women to develop a client base and step
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Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO
into firm leadership, and during my years as a young lawyer I had some tough
lessons about bouncing back and forging ahead.
Eventually, I was hired by my biggest client, Consolidated Natural Gas
Company, to take charge of public affairs and policy. The leaders of that
Fortune 500 Company had great integrity and were good managers. I enjoyed
my work and found satisfaction in fighting for issues like the development of alternative power projects.
I tho
ught I was at CNG for life, but then a corporate merger changed
my plans. My job suddenly disappeared. But I was fine. As a corporate officer I was well compensated with a severance package and I discovered that I’d
finally outgrown the need for a job that seemed secure. I decided to create a new career built around the activities I enjoy the most.
I realized that throughout my various jobs I was always fascinated by men-
toring younger colleagues and helping guide them into leadership. So I went
back to school, including to Georgetown University’s wonderful Leadership
Coaching program. And now for more than a dozen years I’ve been working
as an executive coach, consultant, and speaker. I’ve worked with thousands of people, ranging from graduate students and young professionals to leaders at
the highest levels of government, academia, and corporate life.
I’ve had an opportunity to help clients become more adept careerists
without having to learn all their lessons the hard way. I can watch close up
as they practice thinking like entrepreneurs and acting like effective CEOs.
And I’ve seen how it is possible for people to become increasingly comfortable with change while mastering strategies for a flourishing work life and professional success.
What would it take for you to think like an
entrepreneur and act like a CEO?
You may think you don’t have the power, direction, or energy to create your
dream career. And maybe you’ve never found change to be easy. But when,
challenge by challenge, you learn how to deploy a broader range of workplace
strategies, you’ll get better at entrepreneurial thinking and acting like a leader.
As you maneuver and succeed in surprising circumstances, your confidence
will grow, and so will your resilience.
This book is a practical guide to help you become more nimble in the
workplace. It will teach you how to build career resilience by overcoming
Introduction
17
common predicaments and by capturing opportunities, one by one. Though it
draws on recent research and the advice of experts, the book isn’t a theoretical treatise or an academic study. And although I talk about my experiences and
those of friends and clients, the book is really about you.
Every chapter offers you simple, actionable tactics for tackling a career
question that may be keeping you awake at night. The detailed strategies will show you how to:
→ Handle specific workplace challenges. One by one, the 50
chapters will show you how to navigate tricky career situa-
tions. You’ll find practical answers for questions such as how
to respond gracefully to praise from the boss, how to get over
it when you don’t get that promotion, and how to soften the
letdown that comes after you finish a big project. As you master
challenges like these, one puzzle at a time, you’ll expand your
set of career survival skills. You’ll become more skillful at shift-
ing gears and forging ahead. And with time, your resilience will
grow.
→ Create your own go-to change process. A key to being more
adaptable is having a comfortable way to get started when it’s
time to make a career shift, particularly if you find change to
be difficult. The chapters will also help you to develop your
own approach for analyzing work-related questions and find-
ing ways to move forward. They will encourage you to think
about how success might look in the future. And they’ll show
you how to create an action plan that can move you toward that
vision of success. When you have mastered simple and reliable
approaches to sorting out problems and making a change, you
can face almost any career challenge.
Through the years I’ve shared these strategies with countless clients, so
I know they work. Each chapter will help you coach yourself through an
immediate quandary while creating the skills and awareness that will make
you unstoppable. My hope is that—whether you read the book from cover to
cover, or pick and choose chapters as you need them—you’ll find lessons for a career that takes you where you want to go.
Throughout the book you’ll find true stories about real people. Sometimes,
particularly when I talk about a client, I have changed personal details to pre-serve confidentiality. In that case, the person will be given just a first name,
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Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO
with an asterisk to serve as a reminder that the name and personal facts have been changed.
I know from long experience that you can create the kind of career you want, and I’ve written this book to help you succeed in the kind of work that you enjoy and find satisfying.
1
to launch something
new, You need
a good Plan
Your long and varied career is likely to include a series of new jobs and
other fresh starts. In 2014, the median time workers had been with
their current employer was 4.6 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. And even if you defy the odds and stay with the same employer for much of your work life, your positions will change; you’ll take on new projects, clients, or assignments; and your entire organization could be repeatedly transformed.
What I learned from my worst first day at work
My worst first day was 30 years ago, but it remains a vivid memory. I was a few years out of law school and shifting to a new firm in the nation’s capital. The title on my business card read “partner” instead of “associate,” in recognition of the clients I was able to bring along with me.
19
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Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO
On my first day, I arrived in a new suit, with an empty briefcase, eager to
make a good impression in the Washington office of this Virginia firm. But
the attorneys who had interviewed me were all out of the office that day, and nobody else seemed pleased to meet me.
I found my way to the most senior Washington partner and introduced
myself. He was curt: “At the interviews they all thought you were so great, but frankly I don’t see it. You’re going to have to prove yourself before anybody here gives you work.”
The first friendly word was from the kind firm administrator who took
me to lunch and warned me about a few things. She told me that there had
been controversy over my title. And she hinted that in this male-dominated
firm, both attorneys and support staff would need some time to get used to
the idea of working with a woman lawyer.
The cool welcome was a challenge, but the most uncomfortable part of
the day was that I had absolutely nothing to do. Well in advance, I had caught up with work for the clients I was bringing with me. This was back before
there was a Web to surf, and I struggled to look busy. Instead of hustling over the weekend to finish my client work, I should have prepared a long list of
things to do.
That night, I called my father, holding back tears. To cheer me up, he
described his experience with new jobs: “The first day is always the worst day.
The first week is always the worst week. The first month is the worst month.
And the first year is the worst year.”
I don’t buy into the pessimism embedded in Dad’s view of new jobs. But
in that case he was prophetic. Within days the partners who had hired me
&n
bsp; returned to the office and greeted me with enthusiasm. And in successive
weeks, months, and years I found my niche in the firm and eventually felt
fully accepted.
My immediate anxieties were eased when I connected with colleagues
who were more welcoming than the ones I encountered on that first day. But
my time at the firm improved largely because I learned a critical lesson on Day One: nobody else was in charge of making me successful. That was my job. I
went to work on my second day with the beginnings of a plan for how I would
keep busy, take care of my clients, find new ones, and market my services to
other lawyers in the firm. I never again assumed that the leadership would
carry the responsibility for my success.
to launch something new, You need a good Plan
21
How to get off to a great start
These days it’s hard to imagine that any established business would make
so little effort on employee orientation. Often, in a process human resource
experts call “onboarding,” organizations develop elaborate plans to ensure
that a new hire can quickly get to know key insiders and stakeholders, learn
about performance expectations, and become familiar with the internal cul-
ture. Leaders may work hard to help recruits get a feel for the environment
and develop realistic expectations about their roles.
But even when you’re supported by onboarding pros and a welcoming
boss, you’re wise to have your own plan for starting your new job or assign-
ment. Whether you are joining a different company, changing slots in the
same outfit, or launching a new project, consider these tips as you lay out
your plan:
→ Learn what your boss wants. Initially, your manager may be
vague about what she wants you to do. Of course, you should
ask about your expected deliverables and the best way to report
on your progress. But don’t count on clear, complete answers.
Be prepared to do some detective work. Observe how your boss
interacts with her other direct reports, what she typically wants
to know, and how she sends information up the line. Notice her
schedule, like when she seems to catch up on e-mail or which