Career Warfare – A Book Summary

It is a tough and competitive business environment you

live and it is getting more and more difficult to achieve

your goals. You have to stand out among your colleagues

and competitors. You have to work hard for career

advancement, and better compensation.

Whether you are a senior executive, an entrepreneur or

an employee, this book will show you the best way to

succeed, accomplish your personal and career goals,

outshine your competition and differentiate yourself

from the pack. David F. D’Alessandro shows you how to

stand out from the crowd by developing your own

“personal brand”; and provides valuable lessons in

the etiquette of reputation building.

What is Personal Brand?

You need to realize that success does not only come

from hard work and appropriately playing the part.

To be successful in business and in your career, you

must be able to distinguish yourself from the rest of

the pack – you need to develop, build and defend your

reputation.

Personal branding is a way you manage your career or

business. It is a way of communicating that makes you

different and special. By using these qualities you

can distinguish yourself from your peers so that you

can expand your success.

There are 10 rules you can follow for building a

successful personal brand and keeping it:

Rule 1: Try to Look Beyond Your Own Navel – The biggest

obstacle in building a positive personal brand is your

own ego. In order to develop an attractive personal

brand, you need to have self-respect and you need

to respect the people around you.

Rule 2: Like It or Not, Your Boss is the Coauthor of

Your Brand – You must realize and accept the fact that

early on in your career, your boss will reap most of

the rewards for ideas you give, money that you brought

in, etc. This is how the corporate world operates. Do

not fight the power structure. Instead learn how to

play and live by it.

Rule 3: Put Your Boss on the Couch – Not all bosses

will help you. It is best that you recognize what type

of personality your boss has so that you would realize

what advantages and disadvantages this person can

cause to your brand.

Rule 4: Learn Which One is the Pickle Fork – Good manners

are crucial in developing and enhancing your personal

brand. Manners are about consideration and respect,

knowledge and patience. Practice good business etiquette.

Rule 5: Kenny Rogers is Right – While it is important

for you to seize the opportunity to build your brand,

it is equally crucial to know what battles to take. Know

when to keep on fighting and when to move fold.

Rule 6: It’s Always Show Time – You must realize that

reputations are not usually made by big events –

sometimes it is those big events that smear your brand.

What builds your reputation is your day-to-day

behavior in the business setting, such as how you deal

with people, how you make decisions, your work habits,

etc.

Rule 7: Make the Right Enemies – The best personal brands

include courtesy, fairness, tolerance, self-respect and

having good and proper manners. However, a small amount

of ruthlessness is good for your brand. Your reputation

will not suffer much if you fight your enemies,

but it will suffer if you lose your self-respect.

Rule 8: Try Not To Be Swallowed By the Bubble – Once you

are successful in building your brand and is rising in the

ranks, do not lose sight of the forest. Do not be too

full of yourself that you will be swallowed by success.

It is bad for your humanity, and bad for your career.

Rule 9: The Higher You Fly, the More You Will Be Shot

At – Everybody makes mistakes. The higher you are in the

ladder of success, the more likely that your mistakes

will be highlighted. Accept the fact that bad press comes

with prominence in any field.

Rule 10: Everybody Coulda Been a Contender; Make Sure You

Stay One – Set yourself to be distinct from your peers.

Since you are constantly being compared to your peers,

don’t be afraid to offer something unique or distinctive.

Don’t give up easily. Don’t throw in the towel immediately

because of a setback or two. Learn from your mistakes and

turn it into an opportunity. Don’t lie, cheat or

steal. Be cautious of the reputation you are building.