The Start-up of You: Adapt, Take Risks, Grow Your Network, and Transform Your Life

Description

The cofounder of LinkedIn offers a revolutionary new blueprint for thriving in today's fractured world of work From the co-founder and chairman of LinkedIn and author Ben Casnocha comes a revolutionary new book on how to apply the strategies of successful entrepreneurship to your career- in other words, how to run the 'start-up of you'. In a world where wages are virtually stagnant, creative disruption is rocking every industry, global competition for jobs is fierce, and job security is a thing of the past, we're all on our own when it comes to our careers. In the face of such uncertainty, the key to success is to think and act like an entrepreneur- to be nimble and self-reliant, to be innovative, and to know how to network and stand out from the crowd. And this is precisely what Hoffman and Casnocha show you how to do in a book that is both inspirational and supremely practical. Just as LinkedIn is the one online community that no professional can afford not to belong to, this is the book that no professional can afford to be without.

REID HOFFMAN is co-founder and chairman of LinkedIn, the biggest professional social network in the world with 100+ million members. Previously he was executive vice president of PayPal. He is also a partner at Greylock, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm. He has been an early investor in over 100 technology companies, including Facebook and Zynga. BEN CASNOCHA is an award-winning entrepreneur and author. He has written for Newsweek and appeared on CNN, the CBS Early Show and Fox News. BusinessWeek named him one of 'America's best young entrepreneurs' and he is in much demand as a public speaker.

Everyone, women and men alike, needs to think big to succeed. This is a practical book that shows you how to take control and build a career that will enable you to have real impact. The Startup of You describes how to take the Silicon Valley approach to building a life: start with an idea, and work over your entire career to turn it something remarkable. In the world today, I think that the startup approach to life is necessary. This book distills the key techniques needed to succeed. Being an entrepreneur isn't really about starting a business. It's a way of looking at the world: seeing opportunity where others see obstacles, taking risks when others take refuge. Whatever career you're in or want to be in The Start-Up of You holds lessons for success. Silicon Valley revolutionizes entire industries through the way we work. It is now time to export our playbook to the rest of the world. The Startup of You is that key playbook: it will help you revolutionize yourself and achieve your own career breakout. [An] extremely interesting and informative read * Bookbag.co.uk * A surprisingly wise book about how you can use the strategies of an entrepreneur to enhance your pedestrian career. * The Times * Forging a fulfilling career is one of the most important--and often, most difficult--challenges in building a happy life. The Start-Up of You is crammed with insights and strategies to help each of us create the work life we want. * The Happiness Project * Rather than containing the usual tranch of aphorisms and advice on how to create lists of things you want to achieve, The Start-up Of You suggests arranging your career like a business . . . We challenge you not to be inspired. * PA Life * A profound book about self-determination and self-realization. By capturing and universalizing the wisdom of successful start-up businesses, the authors provide an exciting blueprint for building a fulfilling career. Invaluable for any person who wants to be a successful entrepreneur not in a particular company but in the most important enterprise of all: one's own life. The most compelling parts of this book are the ones that look at the importance of developing and exploiting professional networks. As well as explaining network intelligence, or why your contacts' contact may be the best source of leads about potential jobs, the book also gives numerous tips - including ones gleaned from the world of online dating - about how best to broker effective relationships * Economist * It is the optimism of Silicon Valley that infuses this book: there is still hope for those striving to break into the charmed circle * Financial Times * The Internet has fundamentally changed the architecture of business and society. This terrific book shows you how to live, learn, and thrive in a networked world. In times of change and uncertainty...adaptability creates stability. It is insights like this that make The Startup of You such a compelling new way to approach your life. Hoffman and Casnocha have distilled the essence of entrepreneurship into a potion for personal success, regardless of your career plans. The same extraordinary vision and timing that enabled Reid to found LinkedIn is once again on display with his book The Start-up of You. His central thesis, that every individual can benefit from acting as the entrepreneur of their own life and career, has never been more important than it is in today's increasingly globalized, competitive, and networked world. A fascinating insight to the workings of Silicon Valley and the characters therein and how they interact with each other * RecruitmentViews.com * There is much helpful advice but the main themes are to make sure your network is as strong as it can be so that it helps you to also make sure you are in a place that has opportunities for you * Citywealth Magazine *