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

The downsizing of America -- once thought to be a temporary cost-cutting measure to boost profit margins -- has brought a swift end to the era of "lifetime employment." Given the fact that these terminations are nationwide, affect every industry, and are usually neither fault-based nor predictable, no executive is immune.
Based on interviews with over 100 now-portable executives who were among the first casualties of downsizing, The Portable Executive explores the unlimited opportunities available to those who are independent, self-directed, and willing to work on a contract basis. It explains:

• How to make a smooth transition to becoming "portable"
  
• How to identify, continually update, and market your skills
  
• Why companies that downsize full-time employees are willing to hire executives on an as-needed basis
  
• How and why the relationship between employers and executives has changed from boss/worker to peer/peer

And much more -- including how to invent a business, what to charge clients, how to network, market, and sell yourself as a "personal service business entity," and, most important, how to enjoy a greater sense of creativity, satisfaction, and long-term job security than ever before.

John A. Thompson is the founder of IMCOR, the nation's first and most successful interim management firm. He lives in Westport, Connecticut. Catharine A. Henningsen is a writer and consultant whose articles have appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, and other periodicals. She lives in Branford, Connecticut.