Chapters: Creating a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change

An electrifying new approach to taking charge of change, from the cofounder of iVillage Sweeping changes in business and technology threaten to overwhelm us on many fronts: in our companies, our careers, and our lives. The rise and fall of companies and entire industries, the twin specters of downsizing on the one hand and uncertain careers in emerging industries on the other, the prospect of multiple careers over a lifetime­­these factors and more conspire to take us to an unsettling place where today's perfect life situation can be gone tomorrow. Against this backdrop, one of today's most admired business visionaries examines professional and personal change in a radically new context­­and offers a prescription for managing change so powerful it will forever alter the way we live and work. We can take charge of change instead of fearing it, says Candice Carpenter, by living serially, chapter by chapter, focusing our efforts­­and reaping our rewards­­one chapter at a time. Both a bold new metaphor and a practical plan for success, Chapters has profound implications for career and business decision-making and for marking the milestones in our personal lives. It reveals an entirely new way to think about change and a refreshingly innovative­­and workable­­framework for managing it. We can, for example, use one chapter in our lives to acquire status and responsibility, another to acquire wealth, another to focus on our children, and others to learn new skills, serve our communities, and make our mark on the world. With each new chapter, we can cultivate the wavelike quality of internal fluidity needed for every personal reinvention, and we can reach that heightened level of exhilaration and achievement Carpenter calls the "Zone." An accomplished change master herself, Carpenter draws upon her own remarkable experiences and the lives of dozens of other people interviewed for this book. Chapters propels us ahead of the change curve toward sustained professional and personal success, satisfaction in our accomplishments, and balance over a lifetime. In Chapters readers learn how to: Embrace change rather than fear it Know when it's time to start a new life chapter Plan ahead for major changes Handle false starts and failure Master change and achieve true professional and personal success

Candice Carpenter cofounded iVillage, one of the leading Web sites for women, in 1995, served as CEO for the company's first five years and Chairman of the Board for six. Before launching iVillage, she was President of Q2, the cable TV shopping channel that she helped develop with Barry Diller. She was also President of Time-Life Video Television, where she oversaw prime-time documentary miniseries for which she won an Emmy, and Vice President of Marketing with American Express. In her twenties, Ms. Carpenter was one of America's premier female mountaineers. She holds a BA from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Howard Means is the author of three books and coauthor of two others. A longtime journalist and magazine editor, he lives in Bethesda, Maryland.