Reid Hoffman

The Startup of You

Timeo Williams

Well thought-out

I found the book to contain a lot of applicable advice with chapters ending with action steps for the next day, month and year.

Ketan Nayak

** spoiler alert **
           Reid and Ben present a how-to guide on building and shaping your career in the modern world. By drawing an analogy to entrepreneurs/startups, the book presents approaches to be adaptable, take risks and to grow and leverage networks, though the analogies feel stretched at some points. The book introduces a powerful concept in I^We ('I' raised to power of 'We') that demonstrates both the abilities of the individual and the power of the network to influence career trajectories.

The book offers both high-level strategies and specific practical actions in various time-frames(next day, next week and next month) to make proactive career moves. A lot of the advice does revolve around ways to use LinkedIn better, but it should seem obvious to readers that LinkedIn has already established itself as a core tool in any professional's arsenal.

Danté

Main takeaways:
- traditional thinking about careers has been disrupted by tech (the speed of job automation and new jobs that don't have conventional career paths).
- millennial loyalty towards companies has changed to a "tour of duty" style of thinking, gravitating towards meaningful opportunities rather than being tied to a particular company.
- metaphor of self as startup: adopting the strategies of successful entrepreneurs in uncertain environments
- Your life and professional career is in permanent beta. We are all works in progress.
- advocates value of third degree connections
- to build a network relationship: Help first. Think about how you can help and collaborate with the other person, rather than what you can get. Not being transactional.
- value of meetups and courting serendipity in order to increase opportunities (by introducing randomness in one's life)

Critique: the book was heavily self-promotional for LinkedIn and Reid Hoffman. 

Taken from the website http://www.thestartupofyou.com/summary/
1. Develop competitive advantage — combine three puzzle pieces into a coherent whole: your assets, your aspirations, and market realities
2. ABZ planning — formulate a Plan A based on your competitive advantage, and then iterate and adapt that plan based on feedback and lessons learned. Plan A: What you’re doing now. Plan B: What you pivot to when plan A isn’t working or when you discover a better way toward your goal. Plan Z: What you shift to when something goes seriously wrong. 
– Plan A: Almost ready, aim, fire; aim, fire; aim, fire.
– Plan B: Pivot as you learn.
– Plan Z: Jump on your lifeboat and regroup.
3. Build a professional network — based on real, lasting relationships
4. Pursue breakout opportunities
5. Take intelligent risks
6. Tap network intelligence

- “The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.”

Network literacy:
– “Knowing how to conceptualize, access, and benefit from the information flowing through your social network.”