Portable Executive: Building Your Own Job Security from Corporate Dependency to Self-Direction - Hardcover

Thompson, John A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671869043 ISBN 13: 9780671869045

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1995

Synopsis

Acknowledging that lifetime employment is a thing of the past, the author shows how to survive in an ever-changing, knowledge-based economy that demands expertise on an as-needed basis by self-marketing core skills. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

In 1988, John A. Thompson cofounded IMCOR, now the nation's leading interim management firm, to supply companies with the contract executives he knew would be needed in the '90s and beyond. As the industry's pioneer and spokesperson, he is a frequent speaker in the world of business and is often featured in the national business media, including Business Week, Fortune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. A successful businessman and entrepreneur, Mr. Thompson was instrumental in completing the most significant merger of the "Big Six" accounting firms, creating KPMG Peat Marwick, from which he retired as executive vice chairman in 1988. He lives in Westport, Connecticut, with his wife and two children.

Reviews

The premise here is that no executive today is secure in the job because of recent corporate downsizings. Thompson, cofounder of IMCOR, an interim management firm, and freelancer Henningsen skillfully address the "broken covenant" of lifetime employment, which, they maintain, has been consigned to nostalgic memory in America. They argue, nonetheless, that corporate flattening has provided an opportunity for managers interested in short-term employment, and they point out that in today's job market, the demand is not for company loyalty but for knowledge on an "as needed basis." This pragmatic guide, which should be of great interest to downsized executives, covers both termination and a "portable executive" strategy for marketing oneself, as well as useful tips for establishing one's own business. Newbridge Book Club alternate; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

For executives facing the prospect of layoff due to downsizing, the concept of lifetime employment is so ingrained that they immediately begin to search for a new position. Thompson, the founder of an interim management firm, offers an alternative: package your skills and offer them on a contract basis. With writer Henningsen, he shows how this can be accomplished. Despite downsizing, businesses still need the skilled people they have removed, creating new opportunities for displaced executives. This comprehensive guide reveals how to assess your skills, develop an action plan, market yourself, handle pricing and finance, and confront all the other complexities of going it on your own. With the reengineering of American business, more executives face early layoff, and this work can offer a valuable alternative to updating the resume. Highly recommended for public libraries.
Joshua Cohen, Mid-Hudson Lib. System, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Thompson's advice on self-directed careers may soon supplant Bolles' oh-so-tired What Color Is Your Parachute? and other job-seeking books. Thompson argues that corporations will need "portable executives" (consultants), individuals or firms with specific core skills to solve specific problems. About half of his lectures presented here deal with breaking the psychological habits of the traditional employee-employer relationship, namely, assessing, as an employee, one's core skills and then applying those skills to a business, whether as a solo practitioner or a franchisee. Generic advice is given on the marketing, financial, and sales aspects of "doing your own thing." But Thompson speaks best and most eloquently when dealing with individual success stories and explaining the philosophy of becoming a portable executive. Barbara Jacobs

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671869043
• ISBN 13: 9780671869045
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256