The best business books address a compelling issue, and there’s a doozy of a problem making the rounds at corporations all over America: lots of talented people assumed to be “on their way up” aren’t paying attention to their growth or advancement.
High Potentials Boot Camp…The Ultimate Playbook for Winning at Work offers a cure. Having worked with executive leaders in the C suite of Fortune 100 companies for two-plus decades, author Chuck Berke contends that taking responsibility for their development and advancement is the single most neglected element in many executives’ work lives.
In fact, Dr. Berke explains that a surprising number of the most talented and determined men and women are too busy with work tasks to pay attention to their own growth. This can be catastrophic, because personal development is crucial to long-term satisfaction, fulfillment, and retention, not to mention the success and competitiveness of goal-driven business ecosystems.
High Potentials Boot Camp began as a general compilation of ideas related to common leadership challenges. After conducting a series of workshops emphasizing the collective struggles of mid- to early senior-level executives on the rise, Dr. Berke realized he wanted to target this specific group.
How great is the need for such a book? Dr. Berke says new clients began contacting him as soon as word got out that he was writing it.
“The topic resonates. High potentials seem to realize they’re good at tasks but don’t know how to manage their careers. CEOs may not be the target audience, but this easy-to-read guide can still help them understand some of the challenges common to people coming up now,” he says.
Even before he sold a single copy, Dr. Berke was using the book to create workshops based on specific chapters such as listening, work/life balance, reputation management, the art of saying no, and branding.
“I’m thinking of the book as a business card in a lot of ways. As a thank you for some clients but also as a way to introduce myself in a compelling way to new businesses. It’s a business development tool.”
As an adjunct to High Potentials Boot Camp, Dr. Berke developed a Career Assessment quiz to highlight growth skills and gaps and provide insights on what individuals can do to promote themselves at work. He’s also thinking about creating an ancillary workbook for teams based on the book.
While it’s too early to assess the long-term impact, Dr. Berke hopes his book will help him become better known. He works closely with a number of companies, but he’s seeking opportunities to branch out. By all accounts, he’s well on his way.
“Today I have a call with a prospective client who wants to create a leadership program for his entire company. To say I have a book that addresses some of these topics has given me an entrée.”
Dr. Berke is already considering writing an additional title honing in on the benefits of taking a systemic rather than a linear approach to problem solving.
“Human beings often fail to see context,” he says. “We may acknowledge it, but we seldom embrace it because we don’t understand the whole picture, the way things connect. My new book will tackle the many ways this issue shows up, such as in management.”
But for now, this nationally recognized leadership and career coach is content to help executives who hold themselves to relentlessly high standards take a practical and more intentional approach to their advancement.
He concludes, “Hard work and talent aren’t enough. You have to seize control of your professional growth and development. In a sense, that’s what I’ve done by writing this book.”
