The Leap: Launching Your Full-Time Career in Our Part-Time Economy
The economy has made major leaps in the past decade. Have you made the leap along with it?
Work is different for this new generation than it was in the past. Long-term careers are on the way out, and “gigs”—part-time, contract, or freelance work—are becoming more common. Whether you're in the midst of a career or just getting started, now is the time to prepare for changes headed your way.
President of Crown and former CEO of an international company, Robert Dickie has a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw from. With these he outlines seven proven strategies for operating in our ever-changing landscape and helps you make an action plan to achieve results.
What does it look like to avoid anchors, create multiple income streams, and brand yourself? The Leap will help you navigate these and other critical tasks for having lasting work in a changing economy.
From the Back Cover
In the past, the world of work was one of full-time jobs, long careers at the same company, and a steady paycheck for those in the system. Now, the economy has radically changed. We are living in a world of part-time jobs, many career switches, and instability in our work.
College graduates are facing large student loans and high unemployment rates. Older generations who have been a part of the previous economy are feeling the effects of the recession as they lose stable jobs and are forced to find new work. The old economy is fading away and a new economy is rising in its place. To succeed in the new economy, we must take a mental leap, rethinking our strategies for success.
Robert Dickie, president of Crown, knows what it means to take this leap. In 2009—just as the Great Recession was in full effect—he quit a full-time job in order to pursue an independent business opportunity. As a man with a wife and four kids, the stakes were high as he risked his stability for a new opportunity.
In taking this leap, Robert discovered seven strategies for success in this new economy. With real world experience and advice from a host of industry leaders, he outlines these strategies for operating in our new, ever-changing landscape. For both recent graduates new to the workforce and industry veterans facing changing times, these strategies will set workers up for success in the new economy.
From the book:
I’ve always done some of my best thinking on late-night flights. Although each location is very different once you set foot on the ground, the world has a quiet peace as you fly high above it at night and watch the lights of the cities below you. It is a utopian view of a world without borders, issues, and problems. I have always thought those cityscapes at night are some of the most beautiful scenes. As I fly over neighborhoods and cities, I often think about the families below and their stories, hopes, dreams, and challenges. Everyone has unique challenges they are facing.
During one particular flight from Milwaukee to Flint, Michigan, on a night in October of 2009, I started thinking about the recent and crippling economic collapse and the pain most households were going through below me. Our society was struggling and there was a global shift taking place, even as I flew over the Midwest landscape.
The Great Recession was in full effect. Many people were losing jobs, but many others were leaving their safe and secure jobs to branch out on their own—pursuing new careers, creating start-ups, and buying out struggling companies. The writing was on the wall for me, but I was afraid.
1. A Leap in the Midst of a Black Swan
2. Make a Plan
3. Avoid Anchors
4. Develop Your Muscles
5. Grow Your Income
6. Build Your Brand
7. Utilize Social Media
8. Expand Your Network
9. Join the Team
10. Pay It Forward
11. Leap into Leadership
12. Stick the Landing
A must read for job seekers! Robert Dickie lays out a cutting edge, yet practical game plan for everyone jumping into a job search.
Katie King, Business Development Executive, Grant Thornton LLP and 20-year veteran to the staffing industry
Robert is one of the most thoughtful and genuine leaders I know, and the power and effectiveness of his advice, anecdotes, and action plans is evidenced in Robert’s own success in applying them to his own life. My only regret is that I didn’t have such a powerful “how to” guide at my disposal earlier in my own career!
Brett R. Keith, Managing Partner, Rockwood Equity Partners LLC
With his real world experience and insight, Robert Dickie names one of the critical issues for the American worker. Since 2007, each person must chart a course into the new economy. Instead of leaving us on the edge of the cliff, he provides real-time guidance and role models for resourceful people wanting to take the leap onto solid ground. Instead of waiting for the world to change, Dickie encourages us to take the next step with an accountable mentor, proven principles, and biblical wisdom. This book shows how a person can use a strong work ethic and apply it to the real world we live in now. How we work today really matters, and this book gives us the courage to jump and the knowledge to land safely.
Dr. William Shiell, First Baptist Church of Tallahassee
A must read! Robert shares very useful insights and direction for the large and increasing numbers who are, or soon will be, confronting career changes necessitated by our rapidly changing global economy impacting every facet of life.
Rod Dammeyer, Former Partner of Arthur Anderson and CEO of Itel Corporation, current CEO of CAC
By combining godly wisdom from his experiences and those of some truly great men and women, Robert provides a solid framework for young professionals to process the otherwise bewildering choices around education, profession and life itself.
Henry Kaestner, Executive Chairman of Bandwidth.com, Managing Partner, Sovereign’s Capital
I was so excited to learn that my good friend Robert Dickie had been asked to write a book on life, leadership and love. The Leap captures the way Robert lives his life perfectly. This book takes the idea of being a servant leader and presents us with a step by step guide to be just that—a true servant leader. The Leap will help those at the beginning of their journey and also serves as a check-up for those of us already moving down life’s path. I recommend this to all that want to “walk the walk” more than they want to “talk the talk.”
Ron Simmons, State Representative Texas House District 65, Chairman Retirement Advisors of America and Vice Chairman, Autism Society of America
Robert speaks in my Innovation & Social Media class at Lee University about the importance of personal branding. He is a very engaging speaker and brings real, actionable advice that can immediately impact anyone’s future job prospects. Robert comes with a wealth of knowledge on the current job market and shares his wisdom freely. My students love hearing him speak. I look forward to utilizing his book as a resource in the classroom.
Jared Powers, adjunct professor, Lee University Department of Communication Arts
This book is full of real life examples, practical application, and inspiration for every age group. I see glimpses of my husband, Larry Burkett's teachings woven throughout each chapter and know that he would have been pleased to see Robert passionately following in his footsteps to help others. I am proud that Robert is carrying on his legacy through his writing and with his work at Crown.
Judy Burkett, co-founder of Christian Financial Concepts
In The Leap, Robert Dickie has nailed it—he's provided a resource that can help anyone in the marketplace find both firm footing and a realistic, optimistic perspective on their career. This is no academic summary, either—Robert walks the talk personally and professionally and provides proven, rock solid guidance.
Chris Herschend, Vice Chairman, Herschend Family Entertainment
Experience, integrity, and insight are interwoven throughout Bob's work, life and book, The Leap, which will give those ready to take a chance on a life "immeasurably more than they can ask or imagine." When you pick up a book, most readers hope to enjoy the material and learn something. You'll get all that and more in Bob's insightful book that also provides practical steps for people ready to begin their next adventure.
Kristi Stone Hamrick, Columnist, Speaker, President KSH Media, Inc.
The world has undergone some dramatic changes since the advent of the Internet. The way we live and work will continue to evolve as the remaining two thirds of the world's population come online. Scary? Daunting? Confusing? Perhaps a little, but with Robert Dickie's book The Leap you will gain valuable insights into how to seek out the opportunities and derive value from this increasingly connected world.
Nikki Parker, Regional Director, Freelancer.com
People who are highly skilled at identifying problems are everywhere in our culture. “Don’t blame the messenger,” is their laid-back attitude. They stay on the sidelines waiting for someone else to take the leap and actually do something. Robert Dickie is a member of that rare fraternity of doers and this book is another example. I can’t think of a better primer for the child/grandchild/intern/recent-hire about to tackle the world or for a mid-career person who needs a “between-the-ears” check-up. Blame the messenger? No. Congratulate this messenger and his timeless message.
Lieutenant Colonel Gary Gibbs, United States Air Force, (Ret)
Whether you are early on in your adult life and career or find yourself at a crossroads, The Leap will give you tangible takeaways that you can start implementing today to create quick but lasting positive results. This book is a practical application manual for the positive values that Bob Dickie has established for himself as a father, friend, military officer, business leader and man of faith.
Newton B. Collinson IV, former president Collinson Media & Events, entrepreneur
The Leap is about you! It is full of ideas, tools, experienced insights, and practical ways to apply them no matter what your stature in life. This book will speak to all who seek to avoid going through life just putting one foot in front of the other. It is about leaping to where you want to be instead blindly of walking the path in front of you.
Jeff Lamkin, CEO, SeaOates Group
Product Details
- Title : The Leap: Launching Your Full-Time Career in Our Part-Time Economy
- Author: Dickie III, Robert
- Publisher: Moody Publishers
- Publication Date: 2014
- ISBN: 9780802492869
Bob and his wife Brandi reside in Knoxville, TN with their six children and two dogs. They are both graduates of the University of Tennessee. Bob earned his Master's Degree from the University of Arkansas in Industrial Engineering and is currently in the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program.