Now is the time to take control of your career
My book's been shortlisted for the Business Book Awards
My book - Work/Life Flywheel: Harness the work revolution and reimagine your career without fear - was recently shortlisted for the 2024 Business Book Awards
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I spoke to my publisher, Alison Jones, this week about why I wrote the book and why it matters as much now as it did when it was published 18 months ago.
You can watch the full interview here and read my response to that second critical question below.
I work with leaders and their teams, applying the lessons in Work/Life Flywheel to help their teams thrive, so if this resonates, I’d love to hear from you.
It's a question of change.
So much has changed since COVID. Societal shifts and our attitudes towards work - where we work, when we work, and how we work. Combine that with technological shifts. We're experiencing the AI revolution, which has become something that everyone is aware of. Many people feel threatened and fearful about what it means for their future.
In these circumstances, taking control over your work and your life is really important.
For me, the book isn't a formula for success. I'm not saying, “here's a way to guarantee success for yourself.” Instead, I want to give people a lens through which to look at all this change. I want to give people some inspiration that others have also tackled this challenge and fear.
There is a process you can go through - there are certain building blocks you can put in place to make progress.
The flywheel metaphor is about making small changes. Putting these things together to build momentum. That can take time. I'm evidence of that. Writing a book like this doesn't mean you've got it all worked out. You're still working it out yourself. I feel like that about my own career, and I've come to embrace it rather than fear it.
Prior to this experience, I felt like I needed everything worked out. That I needed a clear plan. I don't feel like that anymore. I don't really have a clear plan, and I think that's something to be embraced. It's almost a necessity in the world because there is no certainty.
But having a framework a model by which to live and build a career - is crucial.
Here are some nice things people have said about Work/Life Flywheel:
"Creating new opportunities requires fresh thinking. With the Work/Life Flywheel model, Ollie Henderson gives you the system you need to make bold changes in your career and the motivation to share your ideas with the world.” Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Regret, Drive and When.
“We all know that the old three-stage life course of full-time education, full-time work and full-time retirement is not fit for purpose. But we also know that to make the changes to a more flexible and adaptive multi-stage life, we need to be bold and courageous. In this inspiring book, Henderson shows the foundations for this courage and shares the stories of those who have created momentum and energy in their working life.” Lynda Gratton, author of Redesigning Work, Professor of Management Practice at London Business School
“Ollie’s excellent book will show you the practical techniques of reimagining your life and career and reveals how much better things could be for you, if you can adopt his hard- earned wisdom.” Damian Hughes, host of The High Performance podcast and author of High Performance and Liquid Thinker
You can order your copy here: