Why do some people succeed in corporate careers, while others crash and burn?
What if you had a guidebook for navigating corporate life?
An executive career can bring wealth, prestige, and fame. But it also comes with unique challenges. Vishal Agarwal has written an essential handbook for business leaders to successfully negotiate the high-stakes complexities of any corporate culture.
Give to Get illuminates rarely discussed challenges for those in business leadership roles, from overcoming “new guy syndrome,” to creating a stakeholder map, taking your credit to the bank, finding your why, earning trust and building support, and overcoming burnout. Drawing on decades of experience, Agarwal shares essential strategies to help executives avoid the most common causes of failure at any stage of their career and replace them with skills every corporate superstar needs to master.
Filled with allegories, personal stories, and memorable “Vishal-isms,” this is a must-read. Whether you’re a senior-level decision-maker or on your way to becoming one, Give to Get will help you take charge and navigate to success.
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Summary
Give to Get. I found several takeaways from Give to Get. He mentions that one of the most important skills is perseverance or grit. There are a lot of smart talented people but they do not succeed because they don’t have grit.
The section of lions and goats was one of the most impactful. I even found a picture of a lion to put on my home screen to remind me to be the lion. A lion is poised, powerful and regal. As a lion you only have to roar when absolutely necessary.
The goats are indecisive, fickle minded and poor decisions makers. Don’t be the goat.
He advises to never go head to head with a peer or subordinate as you never win in the long run.
He gives advice for when you are the new person on the team; even when it’s a new team within your current company. You can find an internal mentor. You should get to know people on your team and build relationships.
I found his discussion on casual Friday interesting. ‘How do you dress in on the battlefield; in armor? You don’t stop wearing armor just because it is Friday.’
A leaders needs to be in the battlefield with his associates. Don’t be a spa leader.
He recommends creating a stakeholder map. He conducted what he called listening tours. He would go to different departments and meet people and ask to understand what they do. Once you build these relationships it also helps you to connect with people.
He talks about three types of team members and how to handle each of them and how they can impact your career - Ambassadors, skeptics and distractors.
Your career depends on your ability to let the company know your value.
I could relate to his recommendation that a quick end to a failing project is much better that keeping it on life support that causes a decrease in morale.
I would definitely recommend this book. Although some of the items may not be new, he shares them with great examples to bring them home and they are a great reminder on what you could be doing to improve your career.