Whether you're just starting out, midway through your career or approaching retirement, maintaining vitality at every stage of your work life requires commitment and clarity. Author Brian Fetherstonhaugh, chairman and CEO of digital marketing agency OgilvyOne Worldwide, draws on his experience working with global business firms for 35 years and interviews with a variety of professionals to offer practical advice on navigating the challenges of today's business landscape.
"I wrote this book because after 30 years in business and 18 months of my own research, I found an ever-increasing tide of anxiety among working people," Fetherstonhaugh says. "People at work today need a different kind of career help. They need a new perspective that works for our future, not the past."
His career guide, The Long View: Career Strategies to Start Strong, Reach High, and Go Far (Diversion Books, 2016), outlines a framework for taking a holistic career view that recognizes the value of personal time and focuses on long-term fulfillment. The underlying message he weaves into every chapter is that each of us must stay open to discovering new possibilities and opportunities.
He "walks the talk." In addition to being global CEO of OgilvyOne Worldwide for the past 10 years, Fetherstonhaugh is also a garage band guitarist and Sunday night hockey player who explains how he has maintained perspective in his life by carving out 5 percent "chill time" in his "time-use portfolio" over three decades.
He also champions an innovative concept to extend the working life of those who leave the workforce for a time: "returnships," which would pair returnees with a mentor. "Returnships should become a global phenomenon," he writes, "built around the principles of reframing past experience, refreshing skill sets, reconnecting career ecosystems, and re-booting self-confidence."
Practical exercises included in the book are designed to help readers assess their skills, expand their networks, invest their time wisely and fuel their journey along their chosen career path.
The Long View also provides advice to readers on how to move through three progressive career stages, each lasting roughly 15 years:
-- Stage One: Start strong by "taking on fuel" that can later help you overcome setbacks and survive a changing job market.
-- Stage Two: Focus on your strengths and analyze how you invest your time to prevent career burnout and plan ahead.
-- Stage Three: Pass the torch of your expertise and mastery to the next generation and reignite the passion that got you to this point.
Seeing the big picture is valuable to anyone who wants to build a career that goes the distance.
Desda Moss is managing editor of HR Magazine.