The secrets of success at work : 10 steps to accelerating your career

181 Pages·2008·2.12 MB·English

by  Richard Hall

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£9.99
BUSINESS
Richard Hall
Visit us on the web
www.pearson-books.com
Hall_01E_0273715122.indd 1 9/10/08 9:49:43 AM
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PRAISE FOR THE
SECRETS OF SUCCESS
AT WORK
“Full of amusement, telling anecdotes and great wisdom — I
wish that good advice was always so appealing.”
Marcus Alexander, Strategy Professor, London Business School
“If you are just starting your career, or are looking to take
a leap ahead, this book will be your secret weapon. It’s like
having a personal coach whispering in your ear as you take
the field. You’ll be provoked, challenged, inspired and moti-
vated. But most of all, you’ll know the simple secret plays
that will help you win the game!”
Ron Ashkenas, Managing Partner, Robert H. Schaffer &
Associates, Stamford, Ct. USA and co-author of The Boundaryless
Organization, The GE Work-Out, and Rapid Results.
“Richard Hall manages to inspire and inform in equal
measure – it made me laugh and it made me think.”
Rachel Bell, founder, Shine Communications
“Richard Hall has an inquisitive and impressive mind.
Match this with an easy ability to communicate and you have
an unmissable read. Whether starting out, developing your
skills or changing careers, this is an important book for you.”
Peter Lederer, Chairman of Gleneagles Hotels
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Books that make you better
Books that make you better. That make you bebetter,
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Prentice Hall Businessis leading the field with a new
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SSAW_A01.QXD 5/31/08 12:13 PM Page iii
The secrets of
success at work
10 steps to accelerating your career
Richard Hall
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PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.pearsoned.co.uk
First published in Great Britain in 2008
© Pearson Education Limited 2008
The right of Richard Hall to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN: 978-0-273-71512-2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hall, Richard, 1944-
The secret of success at work : 10 steps to accelerating your career / Richard Hall.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-273-71512-2 (pbk.)
1. Success in business. 2. Interpersonal communication. 3. Success--Psychological
aspects. 4. Career development. I. Title.
HF5386.H2357 2008
650.14--dc22
2008007794
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-
copying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the
publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N
8TS. This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of
trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published,
without the prior consent of the Publishers.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
12 11 10 09 08
Text design by Sue Lamble
Cartoons © Bill Piggins
Typeset in 10 pt Iowan Old Style by 30
Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd, at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset.
The publisher’s policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests.
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Warning!
THIS BOOK IS DESIGNED to help you discover, work out and
explore ways of earning more and doing better.
It gives you ‘tipping point’ tips – things to do, think
about or avoid that can put pounds in your wallet and swag-
ger in your stride.
A self-improvement book?
You bet.
But one with a difference.
It makes you think about things and make habits habit-
ual. You don’t just pick up the virus of achievement – then
lose all you have gained too soon.
But there’s word around that what’s in this book may get up
the nose of some HR and Learning and Development practi-
tioners.
It may even do some of these people out of a job.
So you’d better read it before it’s banned.
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Acknowledgements and
observations
Do they give medals to those close to or guiding writers?
They ought to. As I recall I am a little like a five year old
with tantrum trouble when writing a book.
To my wife Kate who is so much smarter than she thinks
(although modesty is its own kind of smartness) for her
encouragement and ability to prick my pomposity.
To my vigilant and good spirited commissioning editor
Samantha who courageously manages to get me to change
things (they call her “Rewrite Jackson”) and the insight to be
right in her insistence. To the two of you, lots of hugs.
A word on careers.
They are like books. You really do think you know where
you are going, but just as you sit down to get there something
happens to make you do it, say it and achieve it differently.
The idea here is not a small one. It’s about helping guide
people to their own career grail, I am the Indiana Jones of
their destiny.
As with writing books, I’d urge careerists to be persistent,
be willing to ask for help and have the flexibility to give up on
lost causes.
I hope this book helps you.
I wish all who read it luck and the ability to dazzle.
May you have helpers like I’ve had on this project.
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Contents
Foreword ix
Introduction xiii
How to find your own ‘WOW’ factor (and then
how to develop it)
1 Look in the mirror. That’s the real you… say hallo, 1
be nice and be amazed
Why knowing yourself well is a powerful secret weapon.
2 To be told you really look as though you know 19
where you are going is high praise
Destinations are really important places. They are,
after all, where you end up.
3 Become a powerful learning machine 33
You need to keep on learning if you want to keep up in a
global economy that’s constantly changing.
4 Rediscover the lost art of listening 47
Become an avid listener. Listen more than you talk.
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viii Contents
Learn from those smarter than you.
5 I love pineapples: the state of enthusiasm that beats 61
the blues
If you hate your job, change it or change your attitude.
6 Help your boss and they will help you and your career 77
Give your boss the very best guidance, help and motivation
and then see how much nicer your life becomes as a result.
7 Individuals contribute, departments deliver, 89
but it’s teams that win
In the 21st century it’s the best teams that win, not the
most talented individuals.
8 ‘Are you being served?’ Why responsiveness is so 105
important
Responsiveness is the key to a successful and happy career.
If there was one single piece of advice that should dominate
your take-out from this book this is it.
9 The power to attract 119
Law of the jungle, rule of life: look good and sound good.
10 Be a thinker and a doer and a magician 137
‘In today’s world we need impresarios and wizards.’
(John Sculley, ex Pepsi and Apple)
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Foreword
Conclusion 153
A master class in accelerating your career
I WANT YOU TO THINK OF THIS as being a book-sized career
manual. The sort of thing every examinee needs. The sort of
book that you’d rather your friends at work, peers and com-
petitors didn’t know about.
When it comes to planning our lives and our careers and
then trying to make the plan come true, most of us live in a
fog of confusion. Few have a destination in mind. Even fewer
have a route map.
We are like Lord Ronald in Stephen Leacock’s Nonsense
Novel of 1911, Gertrude the Governess:
Lord Ronald said nothing; he flung himself from the room, flung
himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions.
We have a vague sense to get on and do well but few of
Dictionary definition time
Here are some of the key definitions of ‘career’ in The
Oxford English Dictionary:
Career– origin – Italian – ‘carriera’ = carriage-road.
1 A race course. (cid:2)