The Strategic Career

Let Business Principles Guide You

Bill Barnett

Narrated by John Eastman

Available from Audible

Book published by Stanford University Press

We often hear that finding the work we are meant for will multiply our accomplishments and enable us to attain new levels of personal satisfaction. Yet, many who are planning their careers find that the job market has shifted to the advantage of employers, whether as a result of the recession, globalization, IT-driven productivity, or other changes in the business landscape. Faced with these tough circumstances, it is more critical than ever for professionals to create a plan of attack and make sound decisions as they navigate their careers.

The Strategic Career provides readers with the ultimate guide to career choices—both short-term and long. While other authors approach career development from the perspective of psychology and counseling, Bill Barnett demonstrates how business strategy concepts can successfully guide us as we chart our careers. Drawing on two decades of experience leading McKinsey & Company's Strategy Practice, as well as his popular Career Strategy courses at Yale and Rice University, he approaches the construction of a long-term career plan by looking at the main challenges professionals will face: developing and reaching long-term targets, surfacing opportunities, assessing career decisions, and staying on track. Underpinning his advice with research and illustrating it with vivid stories from others' successes, Barnett lays out practical, step-by-step processes to help readers realize their goals. Complete with a program to help you develop your own plan and over 100 specific activities to guide you, The Strategic Career is the ideal companion on your professional pathway.

Bill Barnett teaches career strategy at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business. He was formerly Director of McKinsey & Company, Inc., where he led the firm's Strategy Practice.

REVIEWS:

“Barnett's book fills a major gap in both strategic and career thinking, namely how to apply strategic principles to find a true 'calling' in one's work. Through thoughtful integration of his own strategic experience and the extensive research he draws on, Barnett provides invaluable insights to those facing career choices.”

—Jon R. Katzenbach, co-author of The Wisdom of Teams

“If you want more from your career—not just more money, but more satisfaction, more engagement and more control—read Bill's book. Career success is not a matter of luck; it's a matter of strategy. And who better to demonstrate the application of business strategy to careers than this long-time leader at the world's top strategic consulting firm.”

—Scott Uhrig, Founder and Managing Partner, Whiterock Partners

“Bill Barnett draws on decades of business strategy expertise to help you plan your career purposefully. His insights and advice will help those considering a career change to set out on a clear path. This insightful book will empower the reader to navigate what can sometimes feel a daunting and overwhelming experience.”

—Michelle Jarrard, Director of Firm Personnel, McKinsey & Company