Build your career
agility and thrive

Amadou
Senegal
Picto Lifers
Lifers
Amadou
Senegal
Finance, Operations and general management in Deutsche Post DHL
By the time he entered his first graduate program, aged 25, after completing two bachelors’ degrees and an MBA, Amadou had also accumulated almost twenty years of work experience, much of it full-time. No wonder he has been snapped up by every single company and boss he has served ever since. How did this happen? Coming from an “illiterate” family in Senegal, and being the oldest of nine brothers and sisters put a certain expectation on Amadou from the outset. His family was from a remote village, but his father had moved to Dakar in search of fortune. He ended up managing a Bata shoe store where Amadou came to work every day after school from the age of 6. “That is where I learnt sales!” While building the family’s future, he was still expected to do well in school and get the best grades possible. Read more
Rupert
Australia
Picto Consulting to C-Suite
Consulting to C-Suite
Rupert
Australia
Consultant, Booz Allen Hamilton Founder, Caffe Kix Ltd

Rupert’s transition out of consulting was an easy one. An Australian, in consulting “for the usual reasons, of variety, experience and interesting colleagues”, he had always wanted to make something for himself. The thrill of creating was attractive to him, and he took the time he spent doing his MBA at INSEAD to reflect on his wish to create capital value. After a few more years of consulting in London, Rupert had become highly aware of the damaging lifestyle involved in his profession, and talks with candor about those colleagues “on their third wives, and traveling endlessly”. With ten years of consulting behind him, he decided to buy some time and money by accepting a role at HSBC, so as to be able to create a company of his own within a few years.

Abel
The Netherlands
Picto FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early)
FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early)
Abel
The Netherlands
Strategic Sail to FIRE Freedom
Abel‘s voyage to Financial Independence and Retire Early (FIRE) is marked by meticulous planning. He pursued a business education, eventually becoming a CFO. Abel and his wife embraced frugality, saving one salary while gradually growing their income. With strategic goals and an Executive MBA at INSEAD, Abel transitioned to a location-independent portfolio career, achieving FIRE. Now contemplating a fully retired life on a boat, Abel imparts essential lessons on starting early, disciplined planning, and enjoying the journey to financial freedom. Read more
George
United States
Picto Becoming a Coder
Becoming a Coder
George
United States
Finance, marketing and business development for media and tech companies Front-end Developer at Aperto
George, a San Francisco native, gave no early indication that he would become a developer. After graduation, he joined an asset management firm. Despite enjoying the intellectual challenge, he disliked the culture and soon left. He then embarked on a “journeyman’s career”, including theatrical marketing in Hollywood and corporate finance for a visual effects studio. He even used his basic coding skills to help his brother’s textile business in Mexico. As George looked to Europe for a challenge, he signed up for an MBA in France. He visited Berlin during a break, fell in love with the place and decided to become a Berliner. He joined a large advertising agency as a digital marketer for start-up clients. To meet deadlines, he often had to work out his own technical solutions. Read more

Professionals face many critical crossroads in their careers, sometimes unpredictable, sometimes more expected, but for which they were often not truly prepared.

This book discusses many such career transitions – from leaving a corporation to joining a non-profit, evolving from athlete to executive, or returning to a former employer.

Using the stories of 50 leaders interviewed all over the world, the authors describe what provokes the change, the challenges it creates, how the individual is surviving the transition, and what effective leaders do to navigate and grow from it.

The book offers a simple, easy-to-use framework to help make the most of any uncharted transition.

To thrive, you have to follow a four-stage process of Exploring, Experimenting,
Engaging and Expanding. Drawing on examples of a wide range of companies, Disrupt Your Career also provides recommendations to help organizations better acquire, develop and retain talent.

With both compelling stories and rigorous research, Disrupt Your Career serves as a call to exploit novel ways to approach careers and presents practical advice to help both individuals and organizations better prepare, manage, and make the most of career changes – ultimately leading to more fulfilling careers.

This book brings a fresh approach – based on the stories of a diverse and colorful range of career changers – that will inspire many to explore similar moves. It also provides excellent thinking for organizations, where there is still an enormous need for improved approaches to career management.

Herminia Ibarra
Charles Handy Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School

How often have you wondered if those that leave your organization are doing so for the right reasons? What would you give to know more, and lose less? Disrupt Your Career holds one of the keys to this increasing challenge for leaders, and outlines a series of insights and processes that can lead to better career comfort for individuals and enhanced, more effective career management for organizations. Tirard and Harbour-Lyell tell the stories that illustrate the career transitions with simplicity and empathy, and make it obvious that we can all learn from them.

Åsa Landén Ericsson
CEO of Cygate, Board Member of Grant Thornton Sweden, Formpipe and Rhenman & Partners

For a leader in any substantial organization, one major preoccupation beyond attracting the very best people is also keeping them stimulated, challenged and fulfilled. This book provides invaluable insight, research and strategies for improvement in both talent strategy and career management. The stories are inspiring and authentic, indicating new paths to follow, and innovative approaches to managing career paths for both companies and individuals.

Jean-Claude Le Grand
Senior VP Talent Development and Chief Diversity Officer, L’Oréal

An essential, soul-saving guide for anyone navigating a non-traditional career path, including most women. And for the companies smart enough to attract them – and creative enough to benefit from their adaptive skills.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox
CEO of 20-first and author of Seven Steps to Leading a Gender-Balanced Business

Disrupt Your Career makes a significant contribution towards the career challenge, by illustrating various uncharted transitions with compelling and insightful stories. The frameworks are strikingly simple, and the book provides invaluable options and strategies for organizations and individuals alike.

Gianpiero Petriglieri
Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD

Career disruption will happen to everyone – and most of us are ill prepared. This captivating book shows how to understand career transitions and gives fascinating and practical ideas about how best to navigate. A must read for anyone embarking on a life change.

Lynda Gratton
Professor of Management Practice at London Business School

Whether you are an individual pondering a big change, or forced into transition by yet another downsizing, or you are leading an organization and hoping to stem the early attrition of your people, there is something here for you. The stories are compelling, and the frameworks for action simple and solid.

Per Heggenes
CEO, The IKEA Foundation

…combines insights drawn from stories of successful career changers with rigorous research and practical ideas that can be put to immediate use. The book beautifully demonstrates that career reinvention is not only possible, but should be embraced in today’s VUCA world.

Kevin Cashman
Senior Partner, CEO & Executive Development, Korn Ferry and bestselling author

Antoine Tirard is a talent management advisor and the founder of NexTalent. He is the former head of talent management of Novartis and LVMH.

Claire Harbour is a coach and global talent expert, the founder of Culture Pearl and a speaker, consultant and writer about all things to do with optimizing talent across borders.

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