Personal Legend

"First Hired, Last Fired" is a book designed to help one make him or herself indispensable in today's professional environment, where layoffs due to mergers or downswings in the economy are far too common, and the idea of lifetime employment is the thing of the past. The first section of the book contains useful information on the qualities of mind and personal characteristics that people who are considered indispensable in the workplace appear to possess. The second section helps your measure yourself against those characteristics and plan your own program for becoming indispensable. The third section deals with helping you develop those characteristics and qualities that you feel are missing from your repertoire.

I picked up this book just as I started my new job, figuring that I might as well use all the help I can get in setting off on the right foot in my new career. A natural quesiton might arise: why not just work hard, do the job you're supposed to do, meet all the deadlines, etc.? The author argues (and I agree with him) that simple hard work and dedication are no longer enough to make you indispensable. They are just the pre-requisites. After all, how many such hard-working and dedicated people do you know that are either not treated well by their employers or are let go while somebody seemingly much less deserving gets promoted? This is where this book comes in handy, as it spells out exactly which qualities will make you indispensable (and they may not be what you think!).

What I also like about this book is that it's interactive. For example, it provides an opportunity to evaluate yourself on the 18 dimensions of indispensability. Having done that, you get a much clearer picture where you need to do the most work. The book also helps you prioritize your efforts, so that you do not spread yourself too thin by working on too many things at once. Then, it guides you through a series of targeted exercises and recommendations, aimed at ehnancing specific indispensability attributes.

Overall, I found this book to be extremely practical and useful. Although I got my copy at the library, I've already renewed it twice and am now thinking of actually purchasing one for myself - so that I would have it handy for easy reference!

After my month-long absense, I feel that a brief update is in order... What can I say? The first 30 days on the job are critical, and I have certainly tried to make the most of mine. Even though I'm a strong advocate for balance in life, the new job took precedence over everything else - and rightfully so, as I believe that it's vitally important to get up to speed as quickly as possible and start making meaningful impact by the end of those first 30 days.

Now I feel that things are slowly falling into their place, and I'm slowly beginning to fall into a routine. I find that very comforting, particularly after all the uncertainty and instability of being a full-time student for the last couple of years. I have also begun tending to other areas of my life over the past week or so. In particular, I've been keenly focusing on the financial situation of our family, as the new house and the new job have completely changed the familiar financial picture. One of my new initiatives is to develop a comprehensive financial plan and start laying the foundation for our future.

As the things are beginning to slowly return back to normal around here, I anticipate being back with more regular posts in the near future - for all of the two readers of this blog who have, undoubtedly, been holding their breath for more updates!