Indispensable: How to Succeed at Your First Job and Beyond

by Meredith Whipple Callahan

Too often, we fail to receive the coaching that we need to succeed in the workplace. Instead, we are left to figure it out for ourselves, learning by trial and error in a competitive and sometimes cutthroat world. In Indispensable, leadership development expert Meredith Whipple Callahan outlines how employees early in their careers can maximize their potential in the workplace. Drawing from her own experiences and those of other high performers, Callahan offers unusually sophisticated and pragmatic advice. This guide helps you

Altogether, Indispensable gives a comprehensive view into what allows employees to excel and become indispensable to their organizations. For employees in the first decade of their careers, it is nothing short of required reading.

Genres: Nonfiction

166 pages, Paperback

Published June 26, 2018

About the author

Meredith Whipple Callahan is a thought leader and practitioner of leadership development. Meredith works at Bridgewater Associates, where she focuses on culture and management topics. Previously, Meredith worked at Bain & Company, where she co-created the firm’s Inspirational Leadership program, building the training curriculum and development tools. She also brings over a decade of experience in strategy consulting to her work in leadership. She has worked around the world, developing leaders in dozens of countries. Meredith is also a certified executive coach and facilitator. She holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA in Religious Studies from Yale University. Meredith is the author of Indispensable: How to Succeed at Your First Job and Beyond writes the self-development and leadership site The Intentional. Meredith lives in the greater New York City area with her family.

Reviews

[Chris White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for any high school or college student (or anyone for that matter). Succeeding in the increasingly-globalized workforce is difficult, and Meredith effectively breaks down this complex and at times overwhelming task into easy to follow steps and through processes.

[Liz Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - I wish I'd had this book when I was starting my first job (or second... or third, for that matter)! Callahan does an incredible job of taking something huge and overwhelming - succeeding at work - and grounding it in clear objectives and straightforward tips. Her chapters on Effective Communication and Considering your Work from Every Angle ring particularly true - I frequently provide similar guidance to my employees, and I'm excited to have a new vocabulary and set of frameworks to guide those conversations. I suspect readers will revisit this book again and again as they encounter new challenges throughout their careers.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was excellent. It's full of bite-size advice about how to excel in the workplace, written with a light and engaging touch and focused on practical tips that can be used in all types of workplaces.
I'm a little bit later on in my career than the main target audience, but I still found the concepts in the book helpful and clear and believe they will make me a better contributor in my own workplace.
Meredith is a close friend, but I would enthusiastically recommend this volume even if I knew nothing about the author.

[Maren Amdal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for new job seekers and career transitioners alike!

In her debut book, Meredith Whipple succeeds in bringing together years of career experience as a practitioner of leadership development with an approachable “how to” tone that will be an in valuable guide for anyone exploring the workplace. Filled with clear, immediately applicable advice, “Indispensable” is a practical guide for young job seekers, and a great gift for anyone entering the workforce. As a people leader, this is exactly the kind of book I look forward to giving new hires.