“平衡工作与生活论”新解
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史蒂文森称，詹姆斯是在“在单人纸牌游戏中作弊”——好比你在游戏中一直处于优势，但知道自己可能拿不到需要的那最后一张牌，于是就悄悄把它从牌堆里捡了出来。詹姆斯认为自己能成为这家房地产投资信托公司一名出色的项目经理，但他缺乏成为团队领导所需的谈判技巧和情商。他缺少这一张牌，但他不愿承认——他认为他能够赢牌，就算他缺乏升职所需的一项关键技能。后来詹姆斯终于直面自己，转到了一份更适合他的分析性工作，人也不再那么沮丧了。 由于这些对话是在史蒂文森与辛诺威之间进行的，因此，这本书的不足之处在于，每章的结尾都是辛诺威写的一位成功人士的简短介绍——包括创立MTV和VH1、后来担任美国在线（AOL）总裁的鲍勃·皮特曼，为“美国而教”（Teach for America）的创始人温迪·科普——重点关注他们如何管理自己的事业。问题是记录在册的人早已非富即贵，他们面对的职业选择是我们大多数人所没有的。一旦坐拥百万美金，或者早已在相应领域出类拔萃，这个时候再来思考自己将来要留下些什么、或者做出大胆的新选择自然要容易很多。 话虽如此，哪怕你只是对现状有一丁点不满，只要听听这样一位从死亡边缘回来的智者侃侃而谈自己的职业领悟和人生经验，就会获得不少启迪。 译者：杨智 |
Stevenson says that James was cheating at solitaire -- that moment when you've been winning the game but know you can't get the one last card you need, so you slip it out from under the pile. James thought he'd be a good project manager at the REIT but he lacked the negotiating skills and emotional intelligence to be a team leader. He was missing that one card but wouldn't admit it -- he thought he could win the game even though he lacked a crucial skill he needed to move up in his job. Once James truthfully confronted this fact about himself, he was able to move into an analytical job better suited to his talents, which ultimately reduced his frustrations. As engaging as these conversations between Stevenson and Sinoway are, one drawback to the book is that each chapter ends with a mini profile of successful people written by Sinoway -- including Bob Pittman, who launched MTV and VH1 and later became the president of AOL (AOL); and Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach for America -- focusing on how they managed their careers. The rub is that those profiled are already either very wealthy or very famous, giving them career options most of us don't have. It's a lot easier to be thinking about your legacy or taking bold new career steps when you're sitting on millions or are at the top of your field. With that said, anyone who feels even slightly discontent with the status quo could benefit from career insights and life lessons from a wise man who escaped death. |
