Nobodies to Somebodies: How 100 Leaders in Business, Politics, Arts, Science, and Nonprofits Got Started

by Peter Han

Book Overview

This insightful book in the tradition of What Should I Do with My Life? is for anyone grappling with the challenges of launching or resetting a career. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591841305
• ISBN13: 9781591841302
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Portfolio
• Length: 238 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Inside glimpses: How 100 VIPS, CEOs and stars got started

Imagine a workplace seminar taught by the top executives of Fortune 1000 companies or best-selling authors, Nobel Prize laureates and Tony award-winning performers. Such a workshop may seem like a dream, but author Peter Han fulfills it. He gives you quality time with 100 "somebodies" who used to be "nobodies," some of the sharpest minds in business, government, academia, the arts and nonprofit leadership. These executives, elected officials, scientists and entertainers explain how they rose to the top (even if they were directionless as "twenty-somethings") and they offer thoughtful advice about attaining success. Han compiles their counsel into 14 interesting, useful career lessons. However, the book might have been even more helpful if he had included additional information on a few specific management topics such as coping with discrimination and politics in the workplace. Nevertheless, we recommend Han's analysis of his close-up conversations with 100 achievers and welcomes this collection of valuable advice.

Inspiring look at big-shots' early careers

I'm a Stanford alum who has spent the past few years pursuing life in the technology sector and am currently considering the next steps along my own career path (e.g. business school vs. jobs, etc). As such, I've been actively seeking insightful perspectives on how others have successfully managed their careers and, ultimately, found their life's calling. This book was especially pertinent and interesting to me because it's based on 100 interviews of big-shot leaders, what they were like in their 20s and 30s and how they made choices about their own life's direction at critical junctures. In breadth and depth, the author interviewed an impressive list of people for this book. In business, he focused on CEOs; in politics, Senators and Governors; in the arts, Emmy, Oscar, Tony, Pulitzer, and Grammy winners; in science, Nobel Prize winners; and in the non-profit world, heads of organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Teach For America, and the Sierra Club. His question to these people was, "What did you do when you were young, anonymous, and poor, to prepare yourself for the great success that's followed?" We've all been there, looking towards the future, which is why I really valued this approach. Whereas most mainstream business books focus on the big achievements or notable headlines in people's lives, this one is focused on what matters now - the moments of choice in my young adult life. As you'll read, the book distills 14 key lessons across the interviews. Breaking these lessons down into 3 sections - "Finding One's Calling", "Chasing the Dream", and "Using a Little Magic" - the author covers topics like finding mentors, striking work-life balance, timing career moves and deciding the right career moves that are right for yourself. Naturally, I was more interested in stories pertaining to the business world than, say, some of the political intrigues, so not all of the stories applied. Overall, though, the author did a great job of letting the big-shots' stories shine through in vivid color - rough edges and all. There were a lot of interesting twists to these people's life stories that I hadn't expected. For example, I enjoyed reading about how Reebok's CEO got his start as a box mover in a warehouse. And, apparently, the current CEO of Best Buy almost got fired from his first job. A lot of wisdom can be gained reading about the fits and starts some of these interviewees experienced moving through their careers. Even the pinnacles of success had to start somewhere... Because some people might have their life paths already set and be cruising towards set goals, this book won't necessarily be for everyone. For me, though, it was a great read, because it helped me see how others handled the crossroads at which I find myself now. I'll probably enroll in business school this fall, and I'm looking forward to applying some of the book's lessons to the next couple of years.

First-Generation Somebodies

In Nobodies to Somebodies, Peter Han introduces us to 100 known leaders and shares with us their evolution from anonymity to fame. Winners all (Nobelists, humanists, Pulitzer prizewinners, CEOs, politicians, academics, non-profit founders for the benefit of humankind, artists, and more), they have focus, talent and work ethic to drive and sustain them -- whatever their domains of success. Without being a how-to book, Nobodies to Somebodies should inspire contemporary, ambitious twenty- and thirty-somethings to develop the discipline and self-knowledge, seize the opportunities, and take the chances that will allow them to become Somebodies.

It's all about Learning Agility

This is a great modern day version of some trailblazing research conducted two decades ago at the Center for Creative Leadership documented in the Lessons of Experience. Peter not only captures interesting stories and lessons behind 100 successful people, but he also breaks them down into some commonalities and critical lessons. At the core of it all is successful people are learning agile - meaning they adapt to change and handle first time experiences better than others and also glean lessons from those experiences. They are self aware and open to continuous development. This is a great book for Human Resources practitioners, people interested in a good leadership read and/or parents who want to inspire their college age kids.

Breezy read with great personal stories

I didn't know about this book until I heard the NPR interview with the author. He sounded like an interesting guy, so I gave it a try. It's definitely worth a read for people like me who are looking for a little meaning in their careers! The book is different from other career manuals in a couple basic ways. The main thing is its focus on leaders' formative experiences. The author does a great job telling stories about what CEOs and Nobel Prize winners, etc were like when they were younger. We see not just their great successes, but also their early failures. My personal favorite was a story about Brad Anderson, the CEO of Best Buy. He apparently took his first job selling stereos just so that he could listen to music at work, and he almost got fired! Hearing about that kind of thing gives me inspiration in my own life. I'm in my mid thirties trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, and it was very interesting to see how many big shot leaders didn't figure out their own paths until later. A second key difference in "Nobodies to Somebodies" is that it covers 14 lessons that the author drew from his interviews, but the tone is not stuffy or academic. Most career books bore me, but this one kept me engaged with story after story about the 100 leaders interviewed. By the time I finished reading, I felt like I knew a couple of these people myself. I am planning to use the appendix and find some other books on these people, because they really seemed fascinating.