Straight Talk for Success

Bud Bilanich
Front Row Press (2008)
ISBN 9780963828095
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (2/08)

Read the review on ReaderViews.com

Synopsis: "Straight Talk for Success" is a guide to career and life success. Young professionals (age 20 -- 30) are the primary audience. Anyone feeling stuck in his or her career will also benefit from reading this book.

Straight Talk is based on a five point model of success developed by Bud Bilanich, the author, in his executive coaching work. Here is a brief overview of this model.

Successful people have five things in common:
1. They are self confident.
2. They make a positive personal impact.
3. They are outstanding performers.
4. They have good communication skills.
5. They are interpersonally competent.

Self confident people have at least three things in common:
1. Self confident people are optimistic.
2. Self confident people face their fears and deal with them.
3. Self confident people surround themselves with positive people.

People with positive personal impact have at least three things in
common:
1. People with powerful personal impact develop and constantly promote
their personal brand.
2. People with powerful personal impact are impeccable in their
presentation of self.
3. People with powerful personal impact know and practice the basic
rules of etiquette.

Outstanding performers have at least three things in common:
1. Outstanding performers are technically competent. They remain
technically competent because they are lifelong learners.
2. Outstanding performers set and achieve goals.
3. Outstanding performers are organized. They manage their time,
stress and lifestyle well.

People with good communication skills have at least three things in
common:
1. Good communicators are excellent conversationalists.
2. Good communicators write in a clear, concise easily readable manner.
3. Good communicators are excellent presenters to groups of two or
100.

Interpersonally competent people have at least three things in common:
1. Interpersonally competent people are self aware. They understand
themselves and their impact on others. They use their self awareness to
increase their understanding of others.
2. Interpersonally competent people build solid, long lasting mutually
beneficial relationships with the people in their lives.
3. Interpersonally competent people are able to resolve conflicts with
a minimal amount of problems and upset to relationships.

The book is filled with lot's of stories that illustrate these points,
and checklists to help readers put them into action.