How to Win the Career Game: New Book Reveals How Game Theory Gives You the Edge

NEW YORK, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Can game theory help your career? Two of the country's top experts on career strategy think so, and have written a book that shows how to use this rigorous discipline – usually associated with warfare, politics, and business strategy – to conquer the job market.

Your Career Game, a new book out this spring from Stephen Miles, Vice Chairman at Heidrick & Struggles, and Nathan Bennett, the Wahlen Professor of Management at Georgia Tech, is the first book to show how to apply game theory to career planning. Stanford University Press is publishing the book as new graduates prepare to enter the workforce this summer and as those already in jobs eye a possible thaw in the job market.

"We hope to arm people who are contemplating their next career move with ideas never before available," says Dr. Bennett. "The people who are just now graduating from B-school or are in the early stages of their careers are at the perfect moment to begin applying these lessons when it can really make a difference. But this strategy can work for you truly whether you're entry level or a VP."

The authors know of what they speak: they advise and coach some of the world's top CEOs and COOs on how to make the next best moves of their careers. They have seen behind-the-scenes how the most successful leaders methodically progress to the top of their fields. And they have found that even the seemingly "accidental" moves made by top players have a certain logic.

"The bottom line is that people shouldn't make decisions about their next job or next company in a vacuum," says Mr. Miles. "You must approach a job pursuit strategically – thinking several moves ahead toward your end goal, and thinking about what your competition is doing as well." Game theory posits that an individual's success in making choices is dependent on the choices of others playing the "game."

Rather than jumping at the next job opportunity haphazardly – tempting as this may be for those shaken by the unemployment figures of the past year – it's necessary to evaluate all the "players" in your career game. Dr. Bennett advises that "you must take into account not only the others you are competing with for a job, but also potential mentors, the marketplace, where the sector is heading, unusual opportunities a job may offer, and a host of other factors. Missteps can lead to career-limiting moves that can derail all of your plans to lead a company or make it to the top of your industry."

Highlights of Mr. Miles and Dr. Bennett's advice include:

• Why "weak ties" are better than "strong ties" in a job search network – "Your contacts' contacts on LinkedIn are more important than your contacts themselves."
• How to avoid the dreaded "pigeon hole" – "People dig into certain roles, and then get hired or promoted based on those roles, creating a niche for themselves. The problem is that this niche becomes a 'Chinese Wall,' and then it becomes impossible to be seen as capable of taking on a broader mandate."
• Why it's important to stretch – "Taking a job for which you are 'uniquely unqualified' can be a springboard for your biggest career gains."
• What kind of experience can make you stand out in a sea of similar resumes – "Overseas experience is critical, and allows you to tell a 'global story' about your brand and your industry."

The book is also full of exclusive interviews with some executives making the biggest headlines today – from Ursula Burns of Xerox to Stephen Elop of Microsoft to Marius Kloppers at BHP Billiton – giving rare behind-the-scenes accounts of their first jobs and how they maneuvered to get into the positions they are in today.

Other topics included are:

• What types of roles in companies lead to the fast-track
• How many months to stay in a particular job role
• Why to take internships seriously
• Why to take the dreaded "staff role"
• How a "Yoda" mentor can teach you about the organization behind the organizational chart
• Why getting an MBA can sometimes be a career limiting move
• Why employing a "feedback loop" early in your career is important
• What the best job out of business school is

"Fear about getting the next job makes many people shortsighted and too quick to jump at whatever is in front of them," says Mr. Miles. "In Your Career Game, we show readers the importance of nuanced thinking in making job decisions and how this can transform their entire career track."

If you would like to speak with the authors, please contact Davia Temin, Suzanne Oaks, or Elisabeth Behr of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or [email protected].

About Your Career Game

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Publication date: April 15, 2010

$24.95; 272 pages

About the Authors

Stephen Miles is a Vice Chairman of Heidrick & Struggles. He runs Leadership Advisory Services within the Leadership Consulting Practice and oversees the firm's worldwide executive assessment/succession planning activities. He is also a key member of Heidrick & Struggles' CEO and Board Practice. With more than 15 years of experience in assessment, top-level succession planning, organizational effectiveness and strategy consulting, Mr. Miles specializes in CEO succession and has partnered with numerous Boards of global Fortune 500 companies to ensure that a successful leadership selection and transition occurs. He is a coach to approximately 10 CEOs/COOs around the world.

Mr. Miles co-authored the feature article in the April 2007 issue of Harvard Business Review titled: The Leadership Team: Complementary Strengths or Conflicting Agendas? He has been featured in Forbes, BusinessWeek, Strategy + Business, The Wall Street Journal/ MIT Sloan, Consulting Magazine, MIT Sloan, Ivey Business Journal, and CEO magazine.

Nathan Bennett is the Catherine W. and Edwin A. Wahlen Professor of Management at The Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Bennett has published his work in academic journals such as the Academy of Management Review, the Academy of Management Journal, and the Journal of Applied Psychology. Additionally, he has published many widely-read resources for managers that have appeared in the Harvard Business Review and The Wall Street Journal.

Dr. Bennett is a founding member and academic advisor to the COO Circle, a group of more than 100 Chief Operating Officers from the world's largest companies and leading non-profits. He is a frequent speaker and commentator in the business press and has spent over 20 years in the design and delivery of career development programs for executives in a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Miles and Dr. Bennett are also authors of Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO, published by Stanford University Press, as well as the cover article in the May 2006 issue of the Harvard Business Review on the same topic.

SOURCE Nathan Bennett; Stephen A. Miles