Book Review: Career Warfare by David F. D’Alessandro (CEO of John Hancock)

Book Review:

• Title: Career Warfar 10 Rules for building your successful brand on the business battlefield
• Authors: David F. D’Alessandro with Michele Owens
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Date: 2004
• ISBN: 0-07-146214-7

This is one of those books that gives a set of guidelines which will improve your chances of improving your career. It doesn’t promise success, much of which is down to luck as it is your own drivers, but it certainly tells you things that will help and things that may damage your career.

D’Alessandro started in marketing and as a result the book has a bias towards using marketing speak and comparisons. This is evident in the title “building your successful brand”, but can be applied to other roles as well.

The book makes an interesting read. Rather than just lecture on the points it is full of real life examples of D’Alessandro’s own triumphs and mistakes as well as those people he has encountered. He hasn’t tried to hide his mistakes either admitting that he hasn’t always done everything the way he should have and in some cases has suffered the consequences.

I don’t expect to become the next CEO of the company I work for and frankly wouldn’t be interested in the job (although the money would be nice), it has however given some tips to improving my own career. I am however not going to take things as literally as it states in the book as I am interested in having fun with my life rather than devoting everything to my career.

If you are looking to go to the very top of a company then this is the book for you, if you are planning on just getting a bit further up then still a really good read, but careful you don’t read too much into it.