Foreword

Prologue

Chapter I Knowing Yourself

1. Know your values
2. How to ensure you fit in
3. Twelve signs that indicate you need to boost self-awareness

Chapter II Managing Yourself

1. Take charge of your career
2. How coaching can propel your career
3. How to get the best out of coaching
4. Be interested to be interesting
5. Adapt and thrive
6. Blow your trumpet bigly (aka talk the walk)
7. The importance of having your opinion
8. Reading books as a leadership habit
9. Surround yourself with the right people
10. A healthy body for impactful leadership
11. The upside of self-motivation
12. Leverage the bountiful blessings of long experience
13. How to stand out from the crowd
14. Overcoming the paralysis through analysis syndrome
15. Why you must be disagreeable (aka Nice Guys often Finish Last)
16. How to play your uniqueness as an asset
17. Think before you talk
18. Are you busy or productive?
19. How to play corporate Game of Thrones
20. The science of dealing with jerks
21. A great future doesn’t require a great past

Chapter III Managing Others

1. How to hire assets, not liabilities
2. The fine art of delegation
3. How not to be a jerk
4. Humor — an underestimated leadership skill
5. Trust to get the best
6. How to craft your distinctive management style
7. Why leaders must be darn good storytellers
8. The power of awesome appreciation
9. Authentic leadership — fake it but you won’t make it
10. Learn from the greats

Chapter IV Managing Transitions

1. How to unstuck yourself in mid-career
2. My transition story # 1 — employee to entrepreneur
3. My transition story # 2 — entrepreneur to freelancer
4. What else can you be great at?
5. Lessons from successful transitions
6. Wise up before starting up
7. The science of strategic quitting
8. From manager to C-suite

Appendix Mental Toughness: The Concept

Acknowledgment

Binod Shankar is an executive coach, blogger, platform speaker, the host of ‘The Real Finance Mentor podcast’ and appears frequently on CNBC Arabia and Asharq Bloomberg. After a long career at KPMG, Andersen, EY et al, he turned entrepreneur to run the largest CFA prep provider in the MENA region which was later acquired by Kaplan Inc. Binod is a Chartered Accountant, a CFA charter holder and holds the Level 7 Qualification in Coaching and Mentoring from ILM, the UK body. He’s also an endurance athlete who cycles long distance and climbs big mountains.