Dear HBR: cover image

Dear HBR:

Perfect Timing (Live)

Nov 27, 2019
44:40

Is the right career move coming at the wrong time? Dan and Alison answer your questions with the help of Daniel Pink, the author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. In front of a live audience, they talk through what to do when you’re poised for a better role but have to wait six months, you want your company to seize an immediate market opportunity, or you’re trying to correct a mistimed job move.

From Alison and Dan’s reading list:

HBR: When to Stick with Something — and When to Quit by André Spicer — “Perseverance has received lots of support in recent years from a variety of schools of research. One is from psychologists studying grit. They have found the capacity to stick to a task — particular when faced with difficulties – is a crucial factor in explaining the success of everyone from kids in the national spelling bee to recruits at West Point to Ivy league undergraduates.”

Book: When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink — “After standing watch hour after hour without a break, our mental guards grow tired. They sneak out back for a smoke or a pee break. And when they’re gone, interlopers—sloppy logic, dangerous stereotypes, irrelevant information­—slip by. Alertness and energy levels, which climb in the morning and reach their apex around noon, tend to plummet during the afternoons.”

HBR: Should New Grads Take Any Job or Wait for the Right One? by Jodi Glickman — “Evaluate opportunities, not based on whether they are “right” or “perfect” for your long-term goals but based on whether you’ll gain something now that will be useful later. Specifically, think about three criteria: will the job you’re considering offer experience, credibility, or income?”

HBR: When to Take Initiative at Work, and When Not To by Sharon K. Parker and Ying (Lena) Wang — “Consider which initiatives are worth driving, and before taking one on, ask: Do I have enough personal interest and professional expertise to lead it? Do I have the time and resources to execute it? Allow some initiatives to be led by others.”

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