Book Review: So Good They Cant Ignore You by Cal Newport
Seeking some career advice, and drawn in by the catchy title, I ordered a copy of So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport.
In the book Cal seeks to find the secret to “good work” using a series of case studies of different people’s careers, from across different industries from Blue Grass music to Software Engineering. These form the basis for various “laws” about good work, which readers can follow in their own careers.
The findings can be summarised as:
- Good jobs are a market like any other
- Good jobs are bought by being valuable, primarily by having good skills
- Good jobs can be defined by different characteristics such as Control and Mission
Cal’s writing style is very engaging. The book flows really well from study to study, with Cal picking out lessons from each one, continually reinforcing his arguments about what makes good work. His interest in the subject really comes across; and its great that so many subjects were willing to open up about their working lives.
Some practical advice from the book includes:
- Acquire Skills (practice, practice, practice, get feedback, expand your knowledge etc…)
- Acquire Control over what you do, where possible
- Market Yourself (as a product)
However, I found some of the other advice quite subtle, and therefore less easy to apply day to day. Perhaps they would be more useful at key decision points like choosing what to study or whether to accept a new job offer.
Perhaps this is due to the book being an overview of good work, across careers in general, rather than focusing on one career type.
Nevertheless So Good They Can’t Ignore You was an interesting read, and the market centric view of jobs was a useful insight.