Lifeboat: Navigating Unexpected Career Change and Disruption

by Maggie Craddock

Overview

Today’s hardworking professionals are navigating sudden waves of financial stress, management shakeups, and downsizing. Using the experiences of Titanic survivors as a powerful metaphor, executive coach Maggie Craddock offers lessons for a transformative approach to our professional lives, one that recognizes that “every man for himself” doesn’t work long-term. Lifeboat is organized as a series of key questions we all need to ask ourselves when facing unexpected career disruption or difficult changes at our existing jobs. These questions help readers clarify their authentic priorities, assess the group energy that guides a particular workplace, and identify the type of job that will help them reach their true potential.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608686841
Publisher:	New World Library
Publication date:	08/04/2020
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Maggie Craddock is a veteran executive coach known for her work with Fortune 500 CEOs and senior management. She is also a certified therapist and the author of The Authentic Career and Power Genes.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Origin of the Lifeboat Process

The Titanic Story: Big Hype, High Hubris

Lifeboat Question #1: Am I Aboard the Titanic? – Awareness of Your Reality

Lifeboat Question #2: How Do I Feel About the Ship I’m On? – The Power of the Pause

Lifeboat Question #3: What Story Am I Telling Myself? – How We Create False Narratives

Lifeboat Question #4: What’s My Inner Iceberg? – Identifying Where You Get Stuck – And Why

Lifeboat Question #5: How Will I Respond to a Threat? – How Internal Preparation Strengthens External Performance

Lifeboat Question #6: Who Will Help Me in a Crisis? – Enhancing Interpersonal Discernment

Lifeboat Question #7: What Action Should I Take? – Operating Strategically Under Pressure

Lifeboat Question #8: What Can We Achieve Together? – Focusing Group Energy

Conclusion: What Story Will You be Able to Tell?

Editorial Reviews

 ‘Life’s a gift and I don’t intend on wasting it.’ This classic line from the movie Titanic, delivered by Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, is followed by these words: ‘You never know what hand you’re gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you . . . to make each day count.’ Lifeboat is a practical manual for making the most of the gift of life, whatever comes your way. Maggie Craddock poses eight critical questions that guide readers to think the unthinkable in order to become unsinkable.”
— Michael J. Gelb, author of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci and The Art of Connection

“Lifeboat is a joy to read, applying a story we all know to life challenges we will all face. It is an instruction manual on how to become accountable for your own journey that also reminds leaders of their duty to enable a culture that empowers people to become their best selves. Be wary of the Big Ship mentality, whatever size boat you get on! This is a book every up-and-coming executive should read and one every CEO should have already read.”
— Eric Elliott, Board Chair of Volantis S.A., Private Equity Operating Executive, and former CEO of Prime Therapeutics

“Lifeboat is an important read for anyone trying to make sense of the ever-changing world of work — and their part in it. As usual, Maggie Craddock manages to combine a powerful theoretical framework with a combination of storytelling and practical solutions. The outcome is a book you can’t put down — and advice you can readily put to use.”
— Amanda Pullinger, CEO of 100 Women in Finance

“Maggie Craddock has a wonderful way of taking the complexities of life and simplifying the message. Life is about relationships, and the most important thing we can do for ourselves is to value, care for, respect, and empower others. ‘Lifeboat values’ means realizing that collaboration and teamwork aren’t just words.”
— Brian Hull, Executive Vice Chairman of UBS Americas

“Maggie Craddock is to careers what the Carpathia was to survivors of the Titanic disaster. In Lifeboat, she takes all the wisdom she’s gleaned coaching hundreds of executives and puts it into a great self-help guide to saving one’s professional and personal self. Whether you are just about to jump off the dock to begin your journey or have been afloat for years, Lifeboat offers an excellent process to ensure a successful trip.”
— Kenneth Moore, Chief Operating Officer at Jennison Associates

“Maggie Craddock’s Lifeboat Process for tapping into your authentic strengths when facing unexpected change is valuable for us all during turbulent times. She uses the Titanic metaphor beautifully to help us envision challenges we all face through the eyes of others, beat the odds, and thrive in our lives and careers.”
— Dr. Doris Day, acclaimed aesthetic dermatologist and author of Beyond Beautiful

“After decades of being a chief risk officer at major financial institutions, I was adept at dealing with crisis. But when I faced a personal situation that shook my world, suddenly the tools that had been effective navigating markets didn’t work. I was lucky to have had the opportunity to work one-on-one with Maggie Craddock. Now her practical advice on how to deal with unexpected change is told in a book I couldn’t put down. Using the story of a catastrophe the size of the Titanic, she gives us practical tools to master a transformative mindset in an unforgettable story!”
— Lisa Polsky, Board Member of Deutsche Bank US, the Guardian Life VP, and MFA Financial

“Drawing on the purpose-driven and collective spirit of Titanic survivors, Maggie Craddock has composed a compelling playbook for life and career success — one that helps us navigate the turbulent future unfolding before us and that acknowledges: yes, we are indeed all in this together.”
— Keith Green, consultant for Society for Human Resource Management

“Highly recommended.”
— Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

05/01/2020

Craddock (The Authentic Career) applies stories from the survivors of the Titanic to help professionals manage the storms of the unpredictable and often catastrophic environments such as staff cutbacks, power struggles, and daunting pressure. She poses this practical guide for spotting trouble, managing fear, fostering cooperative teams, and taking simple yet effective action in any crisis, and does this through both historical and current survival stories. VERDICT Craddock's advice will help readers to prepare for the unexpected and to retool their skill set for succeeding in their organization or personal lives. The author's comparison of the lifeboat to the big ship mentalities is particularly helpful in analyzing and managing tough situations.

Library Journal