Synopses & Reviews
The days of being defined by a single job title are vanishing. The future of business is project-based, rather than role-based, and the people who will thrive in this kind of economy are labeled by Fast Company as "Generation Flux." They are adaptable, multi-talented people with "a mind-set that embraces instability, that tolerates - and even enjoys - recalibrating careers, business models and assumptions."
Authors Ian Sanders and David Sloly show readers how to "mash-up" their full skill set to create the work life they want. Along the way, they introduce an army of "mashers" who are already making the most of their multiple interests and skills. Interviewees include Worldwide CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi Kevin Roberts, entrepreneur, film-maker and Grammy-award winning musician Dave Stewart and a long list of mashers whose plural careers include running a spice trading company, writing a biography of Florence and the Machine, founding a famous series of "ideas" lectures, zookeeping, setting up a DJ agency, and blogging for the London 2012 Olympics.
To help readers unleash themselves from the black and white single job-title mindset, the authors offer advice on:
- How to use the "mash" concept to gain a competitive edge in the job market and be more of an asset to employers
- How to get satisfaction and stimulation by crafting the work-life that reflects them
- How to communicate talents clearly so people understand what they do and want to work with or hire them
- How to go plural when you already feel short on time by making the most out of hobbies
- How a masher is more productive when portable rather than chained to a desk
Mash-Up! explains that the future of the workplace will be just like Generation Flux, embracing instability, a business model that is agile, a career with no "Five Year Plan" and ultimately, a world where roles, departments, careers and businesses are all "mashed."
Review
Executives, entrepreneurs and Generation Flux - defined by Fast Company as those with "a mind-set that embraces instability, that tolerates - and even enjoys - recalibrating careers, business models and assumptions."
"Sanders and Sloly use edgy language and… drop some big names (q&a's with Dave Stewart, formerly of the Eurythmics, and Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi) to introduce their big idea-'mashing' or 'going plural' with your talents is essential in this fast-moving world. The authors try to help readers identify the skills that give them the edge, understand what 'drives' them, and how to craft their story and promote marketable skills. …[T]he message that employers today are seeking not specialists but workers with a range of talents and skills could help job seekers prepare and present themselves optimally." --Publishers Weekly
"[A] fine, essential guidebook to living life on several levels and tells how to mash-up skills an interests by picking business ideas that support each other. …It's a fine pick for any business holding." --California Bookwatch
Synopsis
Web developers did it to bring together multiple sources onto one internet page. Musicians and DJs followed by sampling songs from different genres to create new music. Now everyone is doing it: at work, on the weekends, in business. It's time for professionals and businesses to cash in on the mash up.
The days of being defined by a single job title are vanishing. The future of business is project-based, rather than role-based. In the new economy, core competences are increasing and employees are perfecting multiple skills that make them more of an asset in the job market and within an organization. With the rise of the workplace "mash up," ambitious professionals are creating new revenue streams with each new skill they add. At the same time they're making themselves highly desirable, better paid and carving out more fulfilling and authentic work lives. With useful advice and hands-on practice, Mash-up! explains how to develop opportunities to use multiple skills, increase productivity and innovation and realize one's full business and personal potential.
Synopsis
The days of being defined by a single job title are vanishing. The future of business is project-based, rather than role-based, and the people who will thrive in this kind of economy are labeled by Fast Company as "Generation Flux" - adaptable, multi-talented people with "a mind-set that embraces instability, that tolerates - and even enjoys - recalibrating careers, business models and assumptions."
In the new economy, core competences are increasing and employees are perfecting multiple skills that make them more of an asset in the job market and within an organization. With the rise of the workplace "mash up," ambitious professionals are creating new revenue streams with each new skill they add. At the same time they're making themselves highly desirable, better paid and carving out more fulfilling and authentic work lives. With useful advice and hands-on practice, Mash-up! explains how to develop opportunities to use multiple skills, increase productivity and innovation and realize one's full business and personal potential.
This book includes stories from people who have "mashed up" their own careers and of organizations from a range of industries.
About the Author
Acknowledgements About the authors
Introduction
01 First there was sausage…
"Work" used to be so single-track. Pick a trade and climb a ladder. Keep climbing; don't stop.
02 …and then there was mash
Welcome to the wonderful world of mash, a world where your work life can reflect your multidimensional talents.
03 Using mash as a competitive edge in the job market
How adopting a mash-up way of working will make you an asset to employers.
04 Your personal unifier
How your personal unifier wills how the world that you are so much more than a job title.
05 What's driving you?
How to make sure that you are going to get the most out of plural living by working out what motivates you.
06 Adopting a portable mindset
By thinking plural you can open your heart and mind to a new world of possibilities.
07 How to harmonize your different skills
Knowing how your multiple skills can work better together to create multi-skill harmony.
08 The joy of mash
How to get stimulation and satisfaction by getting close to the work life that reflects the real you.
09 Crafting your mashed-up story
How to communicate your talents clearly so that people can understand what you do.
10 How to sell your multiple offerings
So what is the trick to selling your multiple skills successfully? Setting up your mash stall is so your offerings are compelling and gettable.
11 Your ideas lab
Mashing is not about "all or nothing": choices; you don't have to quit your day job - you can develop a hobby business in your spare time.
12 Adding a new string to your bow
How to add more sellable talents by finding your by-products.
13 Reinvention time
How being a master of reinvention will serve you well in this period of rapid change.
14 The meaning of mash
How to make 1+1=3: how your mash can be greater than the sum of its parts.
15 Mash-marketing
How to stand out from the crowd.
16 Mashalytics
Welcome to mashalytics - your very own customizable dashboard to control every aspect of your plural life.
17 How to unplan for success
Why staying agile and allowing opportunities to come to fruition via serendipity are more powerful than a career plan.
18 Workflux
Why the future is in flux - and what you can (and can't) do about it.
19 The mashifesto
Tools 'n' tips to manage your mash-up life.
References
Index
Table of Contents
- Describes the methods to increase career potential and be happier at the same time
- Explains the mashed up working world of the future
- Full of tips, checklists and questionnaires to get readers started on their mashed up careers
- Includes stories from people who have "mashed up" their own careers, such as Texas-based artist Austin Kleon and Tom Hulme of IDEO