The Right Start: Build Your Brand to Survive and Thrive in Corporate America

Finally! A book for the corporate newbie that sheds light on the strange and mysterious world of Corporate America... Often the difference between the hot-shot "brand builders" who rise to corporate success and the "brand burners" who crash and burn early in their careers is seldom about intelligence or even hard work. That would be too straightforward. Corporate survival and ultimate success are more often about who understands the Unwritten Rules of Corporate America. Who knows-- How to play the game properly? What stupid mistakes to avoid? When to raise their hand at the right time and in the right way to claim that shining, brand-building opportunity? With 70+ years of combined corporate experience, Harrison and Heart share their stories of success and failure in order for the rest of us--corporate newbies and anyone who could use a primer on corporate culture--to best navigate around the common pitfalls and stumbling blocks of the early corporate years.

About the Author :
DAVID HARRISON has more than forty years of experience in the engineering and construction industry with a focus on water and wastewater systems. He has worked on projects across the United States, in Australia, and in the United Kingdom for municipal government agencies and private industry. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of California and a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer, but he is also an unusual engineer as he seems to be a mid-level extrovert. Mr. Harrison's experience also includes executive-level positions in the marketing and sales of professional services service. He served as Director of Client Service and then Director of Marketing for North America for MWH, a global water engineering and construction company. Mr. Harrison is currently Vice President and Director of Program Management Services for Kennedy Jenks Consultants, a North American engineering and technology consultancy. He has written extensively on the topic of client service for professional services practices.Mr. Harrison has a BS in Civil Engineering from UC Davis and an MS in Environmental Engineering from Stanford. He and his wife Connie have been married for more than forty years. They have four adult sons and three mostly perfect grandchildren. He enjoys road cycling, reading, music and sports and is always happy to engage in a healthy debate on these topics or the tangible business applications of any episode of The Office. SIMON HEART has thirty-plus years of experience surviving and thriving in corporate America. Working in large companies and small, doing business internationally and in nearly every U.S. state, and holding nearly every job on the corporate ladder from summer intern to CEO, Mr. Heart has spent his career as both a student of and a participant in what it takes to succeed in a corporation. Beyond his personal career experiences, Mr. Heart spent two decades in the management consulting arena managing teams and helping individuals and organizations understand what it takes to succeed and how best to reach their personal and organizational goals. Mr. Heart is the founder and CEO of Heart Enterprises Inc., which offers real estate investment and property management solutions for hundreds of property owners in Northern Colorado as part of the All County Property Management franchise network. Mr. Heart has a B.A. in Environmental Sciences from Wesleyan University and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives with his wife Johanna and their three children Isabella, Eli, and Zoe, in Boulder, Colorado.

Review :
The Right Start is an excellent read and thought provoking for every new employee, and for many of the employees who have been around for a few years as well in the corporate world. Harrison and Heart worked for me for many years and they learned how to be great employees and successfully climbed the ladder. And yes, they learned the hard way. It's a great book. --Murli Tolaney former Chairman and CEO, MWH Global No book has all the answers and everyone must chart their own course, but The Right Start should be on your reading list if you are looking to launch a successful corporate career. I know that one of the authors oversaw billion dollar projects both domestically and internationally. That's a successful career and this is exactly the guy you want to get advice from. --Dr. Ryan Delamater, Founder/Pastor OCN WTR Packed with humorous anecdotes, this book tackles the perennial challenges every employee faces--understanding your boss, achieving work-life balance, standing out from the crowd, balancing ambition and patience learning effective teamwork and leadership skills, and more. Recommended reading for anyone who wants to thrive in their career! --Brad Karsh, CEO/Founder JB Training Solutions, author Manager 3.0.: A Millennial's Guide to Rewriting the Rules of Management