I Didn't See It Coming : The Only Book You'll Ever Need to Avoid Being Blindsided in Business

by Nancy C. Widmann; Elaine J. Eisenman; Amy Dorn Kopelan

• ISBN13: 9780470140376
• ISBN10: 0470140372
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2007-07-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Praise For I Didn't See It Coming "In the fiercely competitive world of business, these authors learned how to play the game with skill and competence. They are uniquely qualified to teach others the rules of the workplace." -PETER A. LUND, former president and chief executive officer, CBS, Inc. "I Didn't See It Coming could change the way you think about your career and redefine your strategy to succeed in a corporation." -ROBERT T. CORNELL, Managing Director, Lehman Brothers Inc. "Candid and savvy, this book is the ultimate corporate politics rulebook. It provides clear and shrewd strategies to reach the corner office. Keep this book at your side at all times!" -LYNNE DOMINICK, former publisher, Everyday Food magazine "I Didn't See It Coming should be the bible for those climbing the corporate ladder. Every chapter gives me more and more critical strategies for reading the room and maneuvering through internal corporate politics." -JASON JORDAN, Senior Sales Representative, T-Mobile "In today's incredibly complex world, even the best leaders can make mistakes that prove fatal. In our work, we see it time and time again through our clients and executives. This book provides a very useful way to be better prepared to avoid those simple yet fatal mistakes." -JERRY NOONAN, Partner, Spencer Stuart

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

So Who Are We?

How This Book Is Different

Managing Minefields

Can You See It Coming?

Exit Strategies and Why You Need One

An Exit Strategy: What It Is and Isn't

Creating Your Exit Strategy

Negotiating the End at the Beginning

Taking the Reins

A Smart Start

Setting the Course

Watch Out for Imprints in the Sand

Have You Been Chosen over Your Peers?

Looking the Part

The House of Mirrors, or How to Keep Your Perspective

Sizing Up the Team

Overstepping Boundaries

The Unanticipated Pitfall

Out of Sight Should Never Mean Out of Mind

One More Look in the Mirror

Comrades, Coalitions, and Competitors

Your Own Band of Brothers or Sisters or Siblings or . . . When Good Allies Go Bad

It's Not Always Fair Play

The Trouble with Teams

Analyze Your Team

Manage Your Image

Think Like an Owner

The Corporate League

Strategies for Psyching Out the Team Dynamic

Surviving a New Boss

I Love the Smell of Chaos in the Morning

And the Winner Is . . . When Your Peer Gets the Nod

Managing the Rank above You

The Playbook

Perception Traps

Hidden Influents, or the Art of Managing Corporate Staff

Financial Juggernaut

Bodies, Benefits, and Boundaries

Negotiators and Regulators

Rogue Influents

Know Who Your Friends Are-and Aren't

The I-Didn't-See-It-Coming Moment

Ten Red Flags and What They Really Mean

Wielding Your Power on the Day of Reckoning

The Four Laws of Survival

Conclusion

Notes

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.