the perfect graduation gift
With more than 17 years of demonstrated success working within Fortune 500 companies that span both coasts of the US, I learned what it takes to play the game. More importantly, attending the school of hard knocks has tested and helped me to unlock the secrets of sustained success and greatness.
As a business leader, my goal is simple … to get each member of my team to strive for full potential and perform at their very best. This meant coaching employees on how to prevail against pressure, face their fears, and set out to accomplish greater results the right way. I wrote Welcome to the Big Leagues to help the Corporate Rookie of today to do all of this and much more. My focus was not only on building a strategy to coach this young, ambitious, and often misguided group to thrive in career, but also to inspire them to pursue a more fulfilling life.
This is not your typical business book, as the last thing I wanted to do was publish another one of those dry and mundane manuscripts that I've become all too accustomed to reading. Instead, I wanted to produce a page turner with significant purpose and insights that packed a punch. The only way to do this was by telling it like it is; an honest account that includes the bitter realities observed in the real world.
The business world can be a very unforgiving place but it accepts all types. It is up to each individual to be the CEO of his or her own career. In order to be successful at this, you'll need to have a plan, a strategy, and stick to it. If not, you'll risk losing your dreams and aspirations to the maze of corporate America.
Crafting the blueprint for success is easy, maintaining the discipline and focus to follow it on a daily basis is the trying part that will test you in ways beyond imagination. Welcome to the Big Leagues prepares readers for this journey. Baseball is used as the backdrop, as many of the stories around the game and its players are relevant to the business world. From the hacks to the incredibly talented, and the humble to the arrogant, you will be forced to deal with all types in the workplace. In baseball, players need to be both mentally and physically tough. They face their fears each game day for the world to see and judge. Baseball is a competitive environment where only the best of the best make it. Players who struggle will work feverishly to avoid the slump. Even those players who fail and strike out 70% of the time are considered to be among the best in the game.
Starting to see the similarities?
Chapter 7 of Welcome to the Big Leagues, The Stretch, was the portion of the book that I was most proud to write because it focuses on wellbeing. I tell compelling stories to signify the importance of the Physical, Occupational, Economic, Mental and Social aspects of wellbeing. It is only by pursuing each of these areas with full awareness and discipline that our lives will come together as harmoniously as the acronym: POEMS. This chapter relates to all readers, as it touches on the key elements that impact every adult who is working to reach full potential or become more successful in life.
A 2012 Gallup Poll revealed that 48% of Americans are struggling. I believe this number is even greater today; therefore, it is imperative that we educate ourselves on how to face unyielding challenges and pressures. Every baby step taken in the right direction accumulates to become something much greater over time. For this to occur, we must all be cognitively aware of the right way to do things. It was believed that practice makes perfect. This couldn't be further from the truth. Practice makes permanent; which could be permanently wrong. Only perfect practice makes perfect. Welcome to the Big Leagues teaches readers on how to prevail against pressure and sustain success; advice that very few managers take the time or know how to teach.
When I think of Welcome to the Big Leagues as a whole, I am reminded of the piece on New Coke that Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book, Blink. He describes how the New Coke formula dominated in all taste tests against both traditional Coke and Pepsi. The results were just incredible! However, when New Coke launched, it failed terribly. The reason being was that it was too sweet and consumers could not endure an entire can, something that would have never been revealed in a one-sip taste test. Drinkers were throwing the can of New Coke away at the midpoint. When readers consume Welcome to the Big Leagues, they'll find the exact opposite to be true. There's not one concept or taste that's the best ever written. Instead, when you endure the entire book you leave with an extremely valuable perspective, proving Welcome to the Big Leagues is the "Real Thing".
Andrew Del Matto, CFO, Fortinet
John Sorci Jr., VP Global Operations, Symantec
Jay Kaufman, VP Marketing & Strategy, Annai Systems
David Tu, President, DCL Inc
Jack Morgenstern, Global Head, Wipro Technologies
Spencer Hughes, Radio Host, The Spencer Hughes Show
Todd Kauffmann, Senior VP, UBS Financial Services
Peter Gebert, VP Finance, Mannkind Corp
Jeanne Phares, VP, Group Controller, Macerich
Bettina Koblick, CHRO, Symantec
Steve Menchen, Scientific Fellow, ThermoFisher Scientific
David Laverty, COO, Nixon Inc
Luigi Sciabarrasi, Senior VP, DTZ
Sally Jenkins, VP Marketing, VMware
