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The Success Code: How to Stand Out and Get Noticed
From personal influencing skills and positive psychology to handling relationships and communication, you're about to discover the simple truth about success
'John Lees has re-written the rules on everything you thought you knew about successful self-projection, networking and effective communication' From the Foreword by Sarah Willingham of BBC's Dragons' Den
This is a book about getting noticed, but not a conventional book. It doesn't tell you to sell yourself, get out there, impress with power dressing or to have an elevator speech. Getting noticed doesn't have to mean over-selling. Over the course of this book, you will discover exciting research, positive psychology and advice from a range of experts that will help you make an authentic impact.
By stepping just to the edge of your comfort zone, you will learn to project yourself onto the world of work. From personal influencing skills to presentations, this book decodes success for people who hate the idea of selling themselves. You'll rethink networking, learn how to talk about yourself in ways that others find easy to hear - and also directly influence what people say about you. You'll discover how you can project yourself in writing without looking as if you're pushing too hard, and learn to engage people in a way that sparks curiosity and leads to interesting offers.
Written for both introverts and extroverts, THE SUCCESS CODE shows you how to find an authentic voice even if your style is naturally self-effacing. You'll learn to get your name 'front of mind' by making sure the right messages about you come across even when you're not in the room. This is your game plan for getting noticed.
Are you ready?
'A pragmatic and insightful guide to building reputation and impact that anyone can learn from' Penny de Valk, Managing Director, Penna Talent Practice
'If you would rather climb the stairs than get in the lift to do an elevator pitch, then buy this book' Dr Carole Pemberton, Coaching to Solutions, Executive coach and author
'Packed with helpful facts, insightful quotes and practical tips' Ian Nicholas, Chief HR Officer, REED Specialist Recruitment Ltd
'A great resource in aiding your development' Gordon McFarland - HR Director - Global Professional Services
'Full of practical advice and tips and will help you find your voice and achieve success in an authentic way' Zoe Shackle, HR Director AMC Networks International
'John Lees has re-written the rules on everything you thought you knew about successful self-projection, networking and effective communication' From the Foreword by Sarah Willingham of BBC's Dragons' Den
This is a book about getting noticed, but not a conventional book. It doesn't tell you to sell yourself, get out there, impress with power dressing or to have an elevator speech. Getting noticed doesn't have to mean over-selling. Over the course of this book, you will discover exciting research, positive psychology and advice from a range of experts that will help you make an authentic impact.
By stepping just to the edge of your comfort zone, you will learn to project yourself onto the world of work. From personal influencing skills to presentations, this book decodes success for people who hate the idea of selling themselves. You'll rethink networking, learn how to talk about yourself in ways that others find easy to hear - and also directly influence what people say about you. You'll discover how you can project yourself in writing without looking as if you're pushing too hard, and learn to engage people in a way that sparks curiosity and leads to interesting offers.
Written for both introverts and extroverts, THE SUCCESS CODE shows you how to find an authentic voice even if your style is naturally self-effacing. You'll learn to get your name 'front of mind' by making sure the right messages about you come across even when you're not in the room. This is your game plan for getting noticed.
Are you ready?
'A pragmatic and insightful guide to building reputation and impact that anyone can learn from' Penny de Valk, Managing Director, Penna Talent Practice
'If you would rather climb the stairs than get in the lift to do an elevator pitch, then buy this book' Dr Carole Pemberton, Coaching to Solutions, Executive coach and author
'Packed with helpful facts, insightful quotes and practical tips' Ian Nicholas, Chief HR Officer, REED Specialist Recruitment Ltd
'A great resource in aiding your development' Gordon McFarland - HR Director - Global Professional Services
'Full of practical advice and tips and will help you find your voice and achieve success in an authentic way' Zoe Shackle, HR Director AMC Networks International
224 pages, ebook
Published February 4, 2016
16 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 2, 2018
I think perhaps I was slightly out of the target audience for this book. I don't want to change jobs, I'm not looking for a promotion and I don't need to make sales or win contracts. However, there were still some very useful tips that I picked up from this book. I was originally going to rate it three stars, but I've increased that to four as it's not the author's fault that I wasn't quite the right person for all the advice given in the book! It's very well written and it offers a lot of information on how to succeed in the scenarios mentioned above. The author also offers assistance with confidence, self projection and building work relationships; all of which I've found very useful in relation to my own work. Would recommend if you want to improve in your job, especially if you are looking to climb the career ladder.
May 7, 2019
A guide to getting noticed (in a good way) at work.
There were many good points in this book, but the writing / formatting put me off.
Reading time around two hours.
There were many good points in this book, but the writing / formatting put me off.
Reading time around two hours.
January 5, 2024
An interesting take on personal / professional development with generally good ideas and practical advice. It’s mostly a good read, particularly if you’re not a natural extrovert. However, it’s got quite a narrow view of what “success” is. It’s very oriented towards success in the business / corporate career area, and it felt like it missed a trick by not opening it up to a broader definition.
For example, there’s frequent mention of how you should tap into the wisdom of executives in more senior positions who’ve already “made it”. But it doesn’t acknowledge that some of those people won’t have got there based on having any wisdom or talent or integrity, rather they’re good at networking, self-promotion and office politics. It doesn’t much discuss how you might handle (or avoid) those challenges to growing your career.
However, that aside, you get helpful advice on what he calls self-projection rather than self-promotion. It’s most helpful for more introverted and thoughtful people, with interesting insights, mental models (eg his zone system), suggestions and examples that you can try out for yourself.
As self-development books go, it’s not pompous sounding and the first half is certainly well worth a read. It flags towards the end, and at times the advice is a little obvious e.g. avoid being unprepared before reaching out to an important contact). It also, as is typical for these types of books, tends to have more prompt / coaching questions than suggesting answers. That’s OK and in general, there are some decent questions if you’re a reflective type.
However, there were no major “aha” moments or insights or things I hadn’t heard variations of elsewhere. But saying that, it’s clearly written, easy to follow and has enough good content to raise it above others in this genre without it quite being as amazing as it sets out to be. Enough good ideas in it to be worth a read.
For example, there’s frequent mention of how you should tap into the wisdom of executives in more senior positions who’ve already “made it”. But it doesn’t acknowledge that some of those people won’t have got there based on having any wisdom or talent or integrity, rather they’re good at networking, self-promotion and office politics. It doesn’t much discuss how you might handle (or avoid) those challenges to growing your career.
However, that aside, you get helpful advice on what he calls self-projection rather than self-promotion. It’s most helpful for more introverted and thoughtful people, with interesting insights, mental models (eg his zone system), suggestions and examples that you can try out for yourself.
As self-development books go, it’s not pompous sounding and the first half is certainly well worth a read. It flags towards the end, and at times the advice is a little obvious e.g. avoid being unprepared before reaching out to an important contact). It also, as is typical for these types of books, tends to have more prompt / coaching questions than suggesting answers. That’s OK and in general, there are some decent questions if you’re a reflective type.
However, there were no major “aha” moments or insights or things I hadn’t heard variations of elsewhere. But saying that, it’s clearly written, easy to follow and has enough good content to raise it above others in this genre without it quite being as amazing as it sets out to be. Enough good ideas in it to be worth a read.
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June 24, 2018This book was all over the place and kept jumping from one topic to the other, making it tiresome to read. Lees needed a better editor to give the book a proper structure. A pity since there were some helpful tips in there - practical, easy to do, and with a large return on time invested.
December 22, 2022
Knyga su vertinga informacija darantiems karjerą ar dirbantiems savarankiškai. Dėmesys skiriamas realistiškiems networkingo patarimams, viešajam kalbėjimui , kaip bendrauti ir elgtis darbe ir renginiuose, kad palikti gerą įspūdį, ir pan. dalykams. Bet buvo žiauriai nuobodu skaityti ir vargau kol pabaigiau šią knygą. Manau prie info dar grįšiu ateityje, bet pats pateikimas labai sausas.
May 28, 2020
Nu vreau să dezamagesc, dar în această carte nu am găsit rețeta succesului. Totuși, citind această carte, te poți îndrepta cu pași mici spre direcția corectă.
Sunt prezente anumite sfaturi, despre cum ți-ai putea schimba în bine imaginea pe care o ai în fața celorlalți. Se pune mult accent pe networking, pe reputație și pe efectul faptelor bune, făcute fără să aștepți nimic în schimb.
Give a positive experience to people and they will want to give you something in return
Sunt prezente anumite sfaturi, despre cum ți-ai putea schimba în bine imaginea pe care o ai în fața celorlalți. Se pune mult accent pe networking, pe reputație și pe efectul faptelor bune, făcute fără să aștepți nimic în schimb.
Give a positive experience to people and they will want to give you something in return
February 4, 2021
The perfect book for introverts. Are you struggling to put yourself out in the map? Are you not being able to find your voice? 🤔
You will learn how to project yourself in an open non-manipulative way, practice networking to create larger communities around you, understand why socializing is important and how to do it right.
Introverts, This will flip your life. 😎
You will learn how to project yourself in an open non-manipulative way, practice networking to create larger communities around you, understand why socializing is important and how to do it right.
Introverts, This will flip your life. 😎
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews