Timothy Butler Ph.D. | James Waldroop Ph.D.
1 More Relevant than "Color...Parachute"
I read this books three years ago, and it still is the basis for how I approach not only my career but every single project I get on as a consultant. This books focuses on self-diagnosis of one's skills as it relates to the business world (whether you are above/below average in the quants area, creative area, etc.) and essentially reveals what your core strengths are vis-a-vis the universe of other business-people (over 5,000 or so high achieving MBAs and executives). I have since focused on taking on work that capitalizes on these core strengths and the results have been amazing. It's like reviewing a diet program three years after you experienced it -- if I still think it is great, there must be a reason. Buy the book. It may be the only one you need.
2 A fabulous book
Perhaps the person who gave this book one star is not really among the intended audience. The insights are based on a high-achieving and high-profile group: business executives and students that the authors have encountered at Harvard Business School. This sample is not your typical slice of the population, which is what makes their analysis so good. They have analyzed this very high-achieving and intelligent group to find out what motivates them and what interests them. If you find yourself at a crossroads in your career, questioning how you got where you are or why you do what you do, the tools for self-analysis provided here may be very useful.
While there was some redundancy, I have found this to be typical of books of this type in which not all sections are applicable to every reader. It is also not really appropriate to read it through beginning to end in the manner of a novel; if you do, you'll be reading a lot of variations of the same themes. Focus on the parts that are relevent based on the included profiling tool and your own self understanding. It was helpful to me in recognizing career paths I may not have considered, and also in affirming strategies for success that I had formulated on my own but not tested. If you want to avoid simply falling into a career that may or may not be what you want, this book can help you better consider what will make you happy and what your real goals are, without too simplistic an approach.
3 Don't bother
This book was a waste of time. The authors were too wordy. They spent a lot of time boosting their egos - telling you the things they had done, even though it didn't help the reader at all. Throughout the book they recapped too much. Each chapter wasted 2 to 5 pages describing what was coming in the chapter. Points and paragraphs were continually restated and repeated. The book could have been 1/4 of the size. There were way too many case studies, and very few were of any help. This book was a waste of money and a waste of time.
4 EUREKA!!, FINALLY THE DIRECTION I NEEDED
I have read several books pertaining to career development. This book is the most effective tool i have found in determining my carreer path. Bravo!!
5 One valuable part of a career discovery process
I found the diagnostic (on disk) as well as the text of the book very useful in exploring careers in business. Clearly it deals with only part of what you need to know about yourself to chart your career - your interests. But you ignore these at great peril to your happiness and your success, so it is a great place to start. Jump in and do the diagnostic, otherwise you may be deterred getting started. Much of the latter part of the book was very well written. The early chapters are a bit slow.
6 I love this book, it's insightful, direct and easy to use
This book and disk combo are exactly what my career needed. I was struggling with my job at mid-career and Discovering Your Career in Business helped me define exactly where I needed to be to be happy. I took the test on the enclosed disk and referenced my rating back into the book. The book highlighted my true interests and strengths and how I should redirect my career. I've changed my career goals and I'm excelling in a new position that I reallly love -- thanks to the authors for their insightful approach.
7 Invaluable Career Guide
I found Discovering Your Career in Business to be an invaluable career guide, thoughtful in presentation and beautifully organized.
8 This book is a waste of time!
I fit within the narrow target audience of the book, and found it to be completely useless. The whole book could have been reduced down to one chapter. It is hard to stay awake through example after example that illustrate points that are pretty intuitive.
9 Credible answers -- but may be the wrong question
The authors have taken an important problem -- how to ensure the best 'fit' between a person's values and interests, and a particular job -- and applied both intelligent scrutiny and strict scientific method to come up with trustworthy results. The "Business Career Interest Inventory" is a valuable tool (at a good price), and the book offers excellent insight into interpreting its results and using them to discover which business career best suits you.
I have only one area of disagreement with this approach, but it's a profound one. The authors seem to assume that the business world, as it exists today, is a "given," and that choosing a business career requires you merely to identify the right shape of hole into which you, the peg, will fit. In fact the business world is undergoing profound changes: the hierarchical model of management is flattening; more people are adopting the philosophy that they work "for themselves" rather than attaching their loyalty to a company or an industry; and the transition from a product-oriented to a service economy, and from a skills-based to a knowledge-based model of employee competence, is transforming the work place.
How do the interest patterns identified by the BCCI fit into a business environment in a state of flux? Maybe the authors will address this problem in the second edition ... but the fact that they didn't (yet) makes me question the premises upon which this book is based.
10 Choosing or Changing a Career In Business? Buy This Book.
"Discovering Your Career In Business" will open your eyes to the aspects of your personality that directly influence your success and happiness in business. The authors, a pair of Harvard PHDs, take it one step further and help match you with a career that fits the true you.
The user-friendly Business Career Interest Inventory (BCII) software tool that comes along with this book is indispensable. The BCII, through a series of seemingly simple questions, provides incredibly meaningful insight into one's true business interests. The BCII results are easily interpreted and translated into a career profile (i.e., what you should be doing in the business field).
In short, this book provides invaluable tools and guidance to help determine which aspect of business, if any, is truly right for you.
