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This year alone, 3.2 million US students will graduate from college and unprecedented percentages of them will be unable to obtain jobs in their desired fields. The key for young professionals to escape this cycle isn’t in the outdated tactics of climbing the corporate ladder, but rather in forging their own unique paths.
Improvise, by GolinHarris CEO Fred Cook, is an inspiring story of how Cook followed an unusual yet fascinating path from young adulthood to the corner office. Improvise combines Cook's lifetime of uncommon experiences with his insights from a successful corporate career, as a means to help recent graduates and young entrepreneurs uncover the professional skills that exist outside any traditional office.
Following college, Cook was initiated into the business world through a dozen lackluster yet enlightening jobs, including pool hustler, chauffeur for drunks, cabin boy, doorman, and Italian leather salesman. Now he provides counsel to blue-chip companies like Nintendo, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, BP, and Toyota, and has worked personally with Jeff Bezos, Michael Eisner, and Steve Jobs. Filled with colorful anecdotes and hilarious yet poignant moments, Improvise delivers practical tips on how people can change their perspectives, using unique life experiences as means to an end.
Improvise, by GolinHarris CEO Fred Cook, is an inspiring story of how Cook followed an unusual yet fascinating path from young adulthood to the corner office. Improvise combines Cook's lifetime of uncommon experiences with his insights from a successful corporate career, as a means to help recent graduates and young entrepreneurs uncover the professional skills that exist outside any traditional office.
Following college, Cook was initiated into the business world through a dozen lackluster yet enlightening jobs, including pool hustler, chauffeur for drunks, cabin boy, doorman, and Italian leather salesman. Now he provides counsel to blue-chip companies like Nintendo, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, BP, and Toyota, and has worked personally with Jeff Bezos, Michael Eisner, and Steve Jobs. Filled with colorful anecdotes and hilarious yet poignant moments, Improvise delivers practical tips on how people can change their perspectives, using unique life experiences as means to an end.
Fred Cook is the CEO of the award-winning public relations firm GolinHarris, where he has worked for over 25 years.
"Fred is a legend in the PR business.... [Improvise] is immensely fun and engaging." – Bruce Rogers, Forbes
"An offbeat career guide for new college graduates." — Parade
"[Cook] shares his knowledge…with the hopes that college graduates will discover there’s more than one path to success." – Fast Company
"Fred Cook’s advice in his new book, Improvise, is as good as any commencement address."- Culpwrit.com
"A profound book by an extraordinary man who has lived an incredible life... [Improvise] is every bit as unconventional as the man himself." – Nick Vaidya, The CEO Magazine
"This isn’t your average career development publication. It’s an entertaining education on leadership, creativity, business and getting ahead of your competition...pick up Cook’s Improvise, and I promise that your career will never be the same." - The Edge, PRSSA blog
"Improvise: Unconventional Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO, outlines Fred’s life, illustrating a path to the top that defies conventional wisdom. Each chapter features a bold lesson from his unorthodox early career, reinforced with insights from his later efforts working with major companies." - PR Week
"Some might drop 'pool hustler' and 'Norwegian tanker cabin boy' from their resumes. But years working those unusual jobs taught PR agency GolinHarris CEO Fred Cook priceless lessons." -Investors Business Daily
"Cook inspires young people with what is possible, encouraging them to take risks, try new things, and not be afraid to fail... Cook’s eminently readable chapters tell colorful stories from his life in the course of presenting a series of valuable career tips." – Council of Public Relations Firms
“[Improvise] chronicles a life of extraordinary experiences that serve as a lesson plan for a career training program unlike any other." – Under the Rug, IT Business Edge
"Fred shares the street smarts he gained from a lifetime of uncommon experiences to educate and inspire others who are trying to find their own way in the business world." – Execunet.com
“Sage advice from a leader in today’s public relations industry.” – Public Relations Student Society of America, University of Iowa chapter
"A must-read. I plan to give copies to my millennial daughters." - O'Dwyer's
"Anyone from college student to established professional can take the actionable advice and apply it to their growing careers." - BrandBrainBlog