Customer Reviews: Read 29 more reviews...
 Very smart, honest book May 12, 2008
After 20 years in a very competitive global financial institution, I only WISH this book had come out 10 years ago. I am now in a highly visible and quite senior role, and this book rings ever so true. Though it sugar coats nothing, the insights and advice are not cynical, whatever your level in the organization. Even its occasionally Machiavellian bent is (sadly) realistic. The only thing I would caution: the whole premise of the book is that success is defined as amassing more power and more wealth. If you are not motivated by power and wealth, this book will not resonate. That said, for most I suspect, it is well worth the 2-3 hours of reading time!
The Art of Warfare March 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is gold for any employee. And it's worth its weight in diamonds for any business owner.
Running your own company makes you most of the time thinking about your clients, your finance and yourself. Then there are also your employees that do the job for you. Wrong! They are aware of their career just like you are aware of your own company.
This book gives you great advise about building a career and for anyone being at the top of the company already, it makes you recognize talent. So, unless you're somebody who wants to keep your current job for the next 30 years, grab a copy of this book!
 The Ultimate Career Guide (really!) June 1, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is one of those few business books that you can read more than once. D'Alessandro makes one key point with this book - you don't get to the top by being great, but by not screwing up. This point is made through countless stories that he tells about his career.
D'Alessandro is not arrogant, like many (if not most) other business authors. Rather, he is hilarious. I lost count at how many times I laughed so hard, interrupted my wife, and related a story from this book. This is what I want out of a career guide - a book that conveys it's point so well, and in many different ways, that you can't help but to remember it.
If you work in the real world, and need a career guide (trust me, you do), then this book is for you. I have recommended it to others several times, and have been thanked often for the referrals.
Great advice for anyone May 12, 2007
I have read this book twice and have also recommended it for Managers working on my team as well. David D'Alessandro presents great advice for anyone in any business environment about building and maintaining your reputation or brand. The person's on my team who have read it are also big fans. I recommend this book for anyone in business - especially anyone out there who subscribes to the "I am the way I am, and my colleagues need to learn to accept me for who I am" way of thinking - I would say this one is especially for you. No matter where or when, you are constantly being evaluated by your co-workers, higher ups, and those that work for you. This book helps make sure you understand that reality, and provides context and serious, useful advice on how you can leverage the environment to your advantage. If you are just entering the marketplace - you should absolutely buy it now. I would recommend for anyone who has been around for a while as well. I read a lot of business books - I have always found this one valuable and am always recommending or buying it for members of my organization.
Not quite Machiavelli, but good counsel for the aspiring business prince January 21, 2007
Definitely worth reading for the war stories alone! But I've never quite understood the urge to publish in people who by all evidence were focused above all on personal power and financial success. D'Alessandro strenuously maintains that the ambitious executive's aim should always be the good of the organization and those involved with it, but it's hard to see who really benefited from the de-mutualization of John Hancock, over which he presided, other than John Hancock executives: same could be said of the later sale of the company to Manulife Financial (oddly, also run by a D. D'Alessandro, no relation). At least, such is the general view, especially among those who were pink-slipped.
Still, although we're not getting the whole story of a career here - it's a how-to, not a history - there is certainly a pleasing openness in describing many events and relationships, and the author's rise from that grocery store in Utica. He is naturally interested in the stories of other famous names in business and has found some great anecdotes: for instance, about John H. Patterson the founder of NCR: he had, quoting Mark Bernstein, "an absolute genius for firing people," including the executive who discovered he was fired when he found his office furniture on the NCR front lawn - in flames. . . But lesser mortals also are noteworthy, including the interviewee in the Chinese restaurant who thought the slim, tortilla-like moo shu pancake was a hot towel and slapped it on her face...
Good cautionary tales about "loose lips sink ships," such as the consultants who lost a multi-million dollar engagement when some of their private discussions came to the wrong (or right) ears...I'm pretty sure I know which firm that was, having (full disclosure!) been a computer consultant at John Hancock, and later Manulife, for several years.
And I really like his classification of meetings into three types: Staff, Get-something-done, and Combat!
D'Alessandro is rightly proud of his Italian ancestry (at least we have one thing in common!), but does not come over as a total Machiavelli. However, there is a certain ruthlessness: he is not at all the forgiving type. The word "Vendetta" springs irresistibly to mind. In fact, one section's heading makes an explicit reference - "You can enjoy a dish best served cold."
All in all, a pretty good read, and I'm sure very useful to the young aspiring executive...not exactly for me, as I never headed that way, being more of a technician/practitioner.
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