James Lehman has had an interesting career to say the least. At the beginning of Maneuvering Your Career, he shares with us his diverse work history and the job instability and difficulties he has experienced throughout his years of employment:

“Because I had to maneuver my career, I was fired several times, my position was eliminated several times, I quit before getting another job more than once, and my employer was acquired, merged, closed and went bankrupt. I have worked for the same employer three different times. And I’ve been self-employed. My shortest job has been eight days (not including the weekend). My longest tenure has been just five years. Along the way, I’ve collected severance and unemployment “I filed an EEOC claim and won an appeal of an unemployment decision. Even though it’s not my plan, I even collected severance pay from two different companies while working for another.”

While most of us may not have experienced that many job changes in our careers, I doubt there is a reader who hasn’t known the worries of losing a job, finding a better job (or any job), or at least, having to deal with a crazy boss. There’s no job security anymore, and for that reason, James Lehman has written Maneuvering Your Career to teach readers how to survive career transitions and all sorts of other office politics, disgruntled co-workers, and micromanaging bosses who don’t have to. what to give anyone.

Using a metaphor of the river throughout, Lehman teaches us how to maneuver the river of our races, avoiding obstacles along the way and learning when to go with the flow. Each chapter is dedicated to one of the twenty strategies he offers, and these chapters are grouped into three sections on Taking Control, Owning Your Work, and Taking Care of Yourself. The bottom line is that no one will take care of him in the workplace, so he needs to take care of himself. Occasionally, you can forge a strong alliance with a boss or co-worker to give you some leverage in advancing your career, but for the most part, you need to work hard and smart, have common sense, and not settle for being stuck. in a bad situation. Some of the strategies Lehman offers include: break the rules, envision the future, work smart, know your rights and get paid back.

Lehman illustrates all of his points with personal stories from his own career, many of which are surprising and even funny (although I’m sure they weren’t at the time). In each story, he shows how he handled a difficult situation and what he learned from it. In some cases, he admits his own personal failings and what he learned from an experience; at other times, he displays humor and wisdom in dealing with situations beyond his control, such as the personality of a difficult boss or a job interview gone wrong.

I can’t resist sharing just one of the many stories of crazy people Lehman has worked with. In this case, he was stuck trying to please two crazy bosses who worked in different offices. Lehman decided to take advantage of this situation to maintain his sanity, as he explains:

“I could divide my time as to where I was working, and the other would always think I was in the other office. When things got too crazy, a walk by the lake in the nearby city park during lunch time would always It was a great escape. The funniest thing was when I was in office B, I finally got a text from the crazy guy in office A: “James, where are you this morning?” So I knew I was driving him crazy because he couldn’t see me. , so I couldn’t control myself, and I was paranoid about what I could be doing that would hurt it. In some cases it would be the next day. It was really bad for my team members because they were calling me to tell me (half-laughing) Loco was looking for me.

In the end, Lehman makes it clear that we cannot allow anyone else to control or dictate our careers for us, and we cannot trust any company to be loyal to us. Instead, we need to own our jobs, and that doesn’t mean just doing good work, but working for ourselves, whether that’s literally self-employment or doing what’s best for us instead of just what’s best for ourselves. company or boss. Lehman makes no lofty or false promises, but instead offers a realistic look at today’s changing workplaces and a message of hope, independence and security for those willing to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. Sometimes that may mean paddling against the tide that everyone else blindly follows, but in the end, it will lead to greater job satisfaction, career advancement, and a feeling of a job well done at the end of the day. If you want to not only survive, but thrive in the workplace, pick up a copy of Maneuvering Your Career.