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Dr. Arlene Barro, The Master Coach
“Dr. Barro's "Win Without Competing" leads you into the inner game of personal development with the precision of a choreographer and the wisdom of a master coach.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-07-24.
As a human resource executive, in a critical and protracted career transition, I have engaged Dr. Barro as my coach. Our journey together has been the source of very meaningful gifts...learning how to clarify and embrace my unique career blue print, affirming my core identity and teaching me how to identify and challenge those faulty assumptions that can get in the way of achieving continued growth and success.
You owe it to yourself to read this book...just know that it evokes an inner call for the courage to take a new look at yourself and learn who you are NOW and how to find the Right Fit for the future.
The result will be renewed emotional and phsyical energy that will enable you to play and win at your own game.
David Belle-Isle, PhD ” -
1 of 2 members found this review helpful.
A Career Book Page Turner
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An amazon user wrote this on 2008-06-18.
Finally, a career book that focuses on "play your own game" rather than trying to outsmart your competition. According to Dr. Barro's Right Fit Method, there is no external competition. The only person you will compete with is yourself.
Barro explains her method in an engaging, compassionate, and entertaining style. She entwines real people telling their own personal stories, coupled with her own anecdotes and interactive materials to convey her step-by-step system.
I loved her style. It's hard to believe that a career book could be a page turner but that's an apt description of WIN Without Competing! which is a one of a kind in its genre. I highly recommend this book for employees and entrepreneurs who are searching for new solutions at any stage in their lives. It's always the right time to learn how to "win without competing" to succeed in your professional and personal life.
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Holistic Approach to Career Management
“WIN WITHOUT COMPETING offers sound career management advice for MBAs as well as others seeking to take a more thoughtful and holistic approach. It flows methodically, yet Dr. Barro's stories and humor enable the reader to embrace the principles contained therein. The text and principles are interspersed with exercises similar to many of the things found in career services. The focus is on differentiating yourself sufficiently so that you find the "Right-Fit" rather than engaging in endless competitive job searches.
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-03-10.
Dr. Barro's book, released in 2007, examines career management from a whole-life perspective combining a methodical approach within a holistic framework. After an overview of the "Right-Fit" way, she begins with the importance of self-assessment, then branding yourself in order to present the "fit" to potential employers.
The tone of the book is substantive, yet light-hearted with stories and humor to illustrate what could be dry formulaic concepts. The book views her take on career management (and life) as a drama in Four Acts:
Act I Setting the Stage
Act II How the Right-Fit Method Works
Act III Apply the Right-Fit Method
Act IV The Right-Fit Method and You.
The heart of the book is Act II. It begins with self-analysis to discern your "Core Identity," in terms of:
Focus: Profession (One Profession; Concurrent Different Professions; New Profession)
Function: Setting & Situation (Status; Role; Industry)
Foundation: Passion (Fleeting or Sustained)
As the analysis continues, the reader develops a blueprint for approaching prospective employers and positions, providing a framework for goal setting. Using marketing analogies, Dr. Barro develops the concept of personal branding in terms of marketable transferable skills from the resume building stage through the interview and negotiating process.
Dr. Barro's reinforcement of the career management process as a two-way street (you want to make sure the employer is right for you just as much as the employer makes sure that you are right for them) is something that needs to be reinforced. Finding the right job is more than just compensation. The book combines general ideas and concepts with concrete and specific suggestions, including: what to bring or not to bring to the interview, how to dress or present yourself, and the importance of the first impression with everyone in the company that you meet.
Later chapters deal with strategies for fixing what's broken, and moving on when required. Finally, the book concludes with the application of her methodology to other areas of life.
It is certainly a book that I would recommend to someone serious about their career management.
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4 of 4 members found this review helpful.
Winning Without Intimidation
“It's a dog-eat-dog world. Only the fittest deserve to survive. And you can indeed win through intimidation.
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-02-27.
If anyone could be expected to attest to the above, it would be a corporate headhunter--which brings us to a new book with the unexpected title of "Win Without Competing" by Arlene Barro, Ph.D, a prominent search consultant, career coach, and educational psychologist. At first glance, the book would appear to belong in the "Warm and Fuzzy Self-Help Section" of your friendly neighborhood mega-bookstore. Well, Barro does convey warmth, but there's nothing fuzzy about her. She possesses the mien of a caring but uncompromising commander sending her clients into battle.
She minces no words about the sometimes cutthroat nature of the job market; she'd be the first to warn of snakes in the tall grass. There are no mantras here, no clicking of ruby slipper heels--only solid strategy peppered with no-nonsense aphorisms.
But, as implied by its title, the book is built on a fundamental paradigm shift. Barro's stated mission is to steer her readers to what she terms the "flawless fit"--the job and career for which one is uniquely suited. And when this concept is broken down to a molecular level of specificity, when a perfect DNA match is attained between the job-seeker and the job, it can be concluded with an almost scientific degree of accuracy that there is no real competition involved. The match by definition is symmetrical--not only must the individual fit the requirements of the job, but the job must fit the requirements of the individual.
To know where to look for your own flawless fit, you need to know precisely what it means for you. Thus, attaining a clear-sighted understanding of your core self is the first step on the journey. This quest for self-knowledge is nothing new--witness the teachings of Lao-Tzu, the meditations of Marcus Aurelius, the writings of Thoreau. Barro stands squarely in this timeless tradition, but presents it from a modern, practical perspective. Included throughout "Win Without Competing" are revealing checklists and personal surveys she's developed in her years of coaching clients.
One possible outcome of this personal assessment is the realization that you're not meant to be an employee at all--some of us, by nature, are entrepreneurs. Barro convincingly demonstrates that the principle of flawless fit also applies flawlessly in such instances.
Key to the strategic aspects of job search or entrepreneurship is what Barro calls "managing the process." She presents a detailed discussion of how to take charge and avoid succumbing to the obstacles and turbulence you're bound to encounter on the road to success, covering such matters as email communications, resumes, initial discussions and final negotiations--even what kind socks not to wear to an interview (a true-life cautionary tale shows how such a seemingly minor detail can determine the difference between getting the job and not).
Then Barro goes a step further and reveals a surprising reality: in many instances, the hiring company itself is unclear about what it's looking for. This presents an additional opportunity for the job-seeker to manage the process by presenting the prospective employer with options which could be to their mutual advantage. Here, as in its other sections, the book abounds with invaluable nuts and bolts advice.
The final chapter extends the discussion of flawless fit to encompass personal relationships and life in general. But for the attentive reader, the entire book serves as a road map for finding one's place in the world. "Win Without Competing" is a tangible example of its own title. It's bound to be a flawless fit for anyone committed to meaningful personal success.
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Dr. Barro's book is the new "Career-Seekers Bible."
“Dr. Barro's book will help anyone-hiring or looking to be hired-find the right fit. She really goes step-by-step to lead you to success. Her book helped me to really understand who I am in my career and how I can use my skills to improve myself in my current job! She teaches you to ask some hard questions about who you are (and who you want to hire), but ultimately all that hard work pays off in a very rewarding career! Her book is a 'must have' for any career minded individual.”
An amazon user wrote this on 2007-11-27.
