Workplace Poker: Are You Playing the Game, or Just Getting Played?

Career expert Dan Rust reveals that the reason most talented, hard-working individuals run into career setbacks isn't that others are luckier, it's that all too often, they get in their own way. While most of our careers have had at least a few stalls from business downturns, failed projects, bad bosses, sudden unemployment or other difficulty, the hyper-successful continue their career acceleration through every tough situation. Most assume that they must have an advantage-the right schools, the best mentors, influential friends and family, and luck in getting the best assignments-but the reality is that they get setbacks like the rest of us. It's the specific manner in which they handle these challenging situations that makes all the difference. In Workplace Poker, Dan Rust reveals the strategies that you can use to prevent your disappointments from making a bad situation worse. The trick is to handle setbacks in a manner that minimizes the negative impact on their career trajectory. This sounds simple enough, but almost everyone chooses, instead, to complain about the injustice of it all, fall into a funk, and then work hard to change their circumstances while not fundamentally changing anything about themselves. Rust teaches skills that help shine a light on this tendency, and ensure that the reader first focuses inward before addressing the outward challenges. They turn every adversity into advantage, and every struggle into strength. These breakthrough skills include: , ∗A willingness to deeply "own" and learn from career missteps and failures. , ∗Comfort with the natural tension of a difficult conversation , ∗Interest in "corporate anthropology" and the complex human dimensions of business , ∗Strategic and authentic self-promotion , ∗An ability to communicate complex issues in a compelling manner , ∗Personal charm and engagement with others , ∗High energy, both mental and physical Using Rust's unique teaching style, all of these skills can be learned, developed, and improved. He illustrates them through the stories of individuals who have applied these capabilities in real world situations, and using short, focused exercises that get readers thinking about their own careers. With Workplace Poker, readers will learn to get out of their own way, and find the success they deserve.