Rise

March 5, 2012
Throughout her successful career, Silicon Valley executive and management consulting guru Azzarello, former general manager at Hewlett Packard, has observed the behavior of successful people, in particular, the way they broke through the limitations of how their jobs were defined. She offers an encouraging but flabby guide to career advancement, and bases her approach for success on her observations from the field. She exhorts readers to follow a three-step program—do better, look better, and connect better—and above all, to take responsibility and thrive. Though solid, her advice covers well-trodden ground: build credibility with those who can help you, improve your personal brand, get support, be a mentor, and build visibility. Azzarello sets her sights high, seeking to reach people at every stage of their careers, but the book suffers from a message that is too broad and general. Though there are plentiful sound bites, readers looking for substantive help would be better off elsewhere.