Dawna has cred: she went on Martha Stewart’s The Apprentice and won using the principles in the book. And while the book is NOT about how she won the “reality” show, the principles in the book are the ones she lives by and used in the show.

There are two major sections to the book:

• Build Your Foundation. It all starts with principles that you must have in order to be successful in your work and your life.
• Build your future. These are the activities you must be working now that will help ensure success in the future.

My readers here need to know that I have a bias towards books: I’m looking for concrete, discrete action items that people can use to move toward a goal. The more solid the actions and how they pertain to building the skills of a Cubicle Warrior, the more I will like the book.

Winning Nice has some of the solid areas that need to be done:

• Learning to communicate
• Giving recognition
• Be part of the team
• etc.

While most sections had good suggestions for how to put some of this into action, I was left short too many times with examples of successful people who had done the principle — but not how it was actually done. Not enough of the specific struggles that were faced by these people that could be relevant to a person working in a corporate cube.

While the principles in the book are spot on, the specifics were left wanting by this reader.

Rating: 2 of 5 Cubes, based upon needing more specifics in how to reach the great principles outlined in the book

Other reviews:

• Book Review: Winning Nice by Phil Gerbyshak
• Winning Nice by Amit Deshpande
• Winning Nice — Business the Right Way — Dawna’s blog

Scot

Related posts:

1. Book Review: Confidence
2. Book Review: The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan
3. Book Review: Never Eat Alone
4. Book Review: Beyond Bullet Points
5. Book Review: New Job, New You

Today’s tip: Owning your mistakes.

When it comes to scandals, it’s often not the original crime that puts the person in jail: it’s the cover-up.

Examples: Richard Nixon covering up Watergate. Scooter Libby covering up Phlame-gate. Martha Stewart covering up stock trades.

Business, on the other hand, should be all about making mistakes — fail early and often is my motto; it’s gets to learning that much faster.

But much of business is not about letting people make mistakes: it’s about blame. For a cubicle warrior, mistakes can be deadly if not handled correctly. But there is hope: owning up to your mistakes by letting your peers and manager know about the mistake early is a strength.

Mistakes are tough. They are tough to own up to and tough to correct. Focused career management professionals with strong personal brands know this and go after mistakes just like triumphs. You should too.

Actions on how to handle mistakes made at work is explained over at 45 Things by Anita Bruzzese. Take a look — and be emotionally mature enough to use her advice the next time you make a mistake at work.

Scot

Related posts:

1. 30 Career Management Tips: Update your resume
2. 30 Career Management Tips — Document your accomplishments
3. 30 Days — 30 Career Management Tips
4. 30 Career Management Tips — find your mud
5. 30 Career Management Tips — Separate career management from a company