1. Learn to deal with stress like a boss.

Making career decisions in a triggered state is a bad idea. Burnout is real, and Mike learns how to deal with his career baggage, manage his stress levels in new and important ways, and see where the gaps are in his life. This provides him a level of clarity he has never experienced before.

2. Figure out your career superpower.

Popular wisdom would have Mike discovering his passion and monetizing it. But nothing could be more confusing for someone at a major crossroads. Instead, Mike learns what superpower skills separate him from others and how detailing the life he really wants can make a huge impact on his direction.

3. Find your blind spots.

Anyone witnessing unusual or acting-out behavior at work can point a finger and blame. But we all have bad habits or thought processes that block our ability to reach our ultimate level of success. Mike discovers something about his leadership that changes everything.

4. Develop and leverage your network.

Many professionals who have been working hard and getting results look up one day to realize they have not been developing their network, let alone leveraging it. Mike learns how to develop his network in a way that aligns with his personality and already-busy life so he will never feel trapped again.

This book is a business novel. It is written in story form so that you can derive what you need from the content and apply it to your own life and career.

BRENDA ABDILLA, CAREER COACH/AUTHOR

Brenda Abdilla is a well-respected and sought-after career and leadership coach. She works with corporate leaders who want more effective strategies for team accountability and change management, and with professionals who are navigating a change in their high-level careers. More than 90% of Brenda’s coaching clients get promoted, land the role they desire, or address their core issues within 12 months of engaging Brenda. 

Outsmarting Crazytown is Brenda’s second career-centric book (Summer of 2020). She is also the author of: What’s Your Lane: Career Clarity for Moms Who Want to Work a Little, A lot, or Not at All (2013).

Get ready to meet Mike Rogers!

Mike is a great guy who has a wife and young family in Spokane. He is the senior manager of IT for a small software company that has recently been purchased, and as a result, Mike’s life is about to change dramatically.

Some alarming stuff happens at work that throws Mike into a bit of tailspin. All this change happens at a time when Mike is already questioning his choices and his future. He turned forty last year and is wondering about his career, what is meaningful to him, and why this unsettled feeling is growing inside.

But on another level, Mike feels he has no reason to complain or change jobs. He is well compensated and has great benefits. His wife just went back to work after staying home with their girls for seven years. Things are feeling normal at home again. He wonders if maybe he should just suck it up and deal with the changes at work. But Mike is burned out, not sleeping, and starting to dread going to work. He feels trapped.

Lucky for Mike, he finds a mentor who agrees to help him navigate this critical time in his career. His mentor can relate completely to his predicament and takes Mike through some useful processes to clarify his thinking and his career direction. Mike’s mentor teaches him that he needs to work in four major “buckets,” and that doing so will pay off for the rest of his career by helping him navigate, or outsmart, nearly any kind of Crazytown that comes his way.

Download A Sample Chapter of Outsmarting Crazytown