lightreads (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lightreads) wrote2018-07-01 07:09 pm
lightreads) wrote2018-07-01 07:09 pm
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The Episodic Career: How to Thrive at Work in the Age of Disruption by Farai Chideya
The Episodic Career: How to Thrive at Work in the Age of Disruption
2/5. Nonfiction about the modern trend towards fragmented careers. Picked up because I liked some of Chideya's journalism; skimmed because it was redundant and uninteresting for me. The middle third of this book is a 'this-totally-isn't-Myers-Briggs' thing. Everyone's got their own special personality sorting hat these days. Everyone says theirs is special and different. I have been subjected to a lot of management consultants and executive coaches over the past few years, so I feel qualified to say that (1) these tests are all basically the same; and (2) they are about 15% useful and 85% BS which relies on confirmation bias to create the illusion of insight.
Anyway, the big plus of this book is that it centers the stories of people of color and queer people without making a thing out of it. Less nice is the strain of conservatism that comes through in the experts Chideya chooses to feature. Like the one who was all, "minorities are subject to lots of discrimination, and the only thing to do about that is to be 110% the best in the room so maybe you'll get promoted." Yeah, fuck you buddy, I know. But also, no, that is not the only thing to do.
2/5. Nonfiction about the modern trend towards fragmented careers. Picked up because I liked some of Chideya's journalism; skimmed because it was redundant and uninteresting for me. The middle third of this book is a 'this-totally-isn't-Myers-Briggs' thing. Everyone's got their own special personality sorting hat these days. Everyone says theirs is special and different. I have been subjected to a lot of management consultants and executive coaches over the past few years, so I feel qualified to say that (1) these tests are all basically the same; and (2) they are about 15% useful and 85% BS which relies on confirmation bias to create the illusion of insight.
Anyway, the big plus of this book is that it centers the stories of people of color and queer people without making a thing out of it. Less nice is the strain of conservatism that comes through in the experts Chideya chooses to feature. Like the one who was all, "minorities are subject to lots of discrimination, and the only thing to do about that is to be 110% the best in the room so maybe you'll get promoted." Yeah, fuck you buddy, I know. But also, no, that is not the only thing to do.