Workplace

If you still think the ideal career path is a steady climb up a corporate ladder—get with the times, said Cathy Benko in The New York Times. “In two short generations, the face of the corporate workforce has been transformed.” Women and even some men are stepping out of—and, eventually, back into—the workplace while they raise families. Many baby boomers are changing careers midstream, and workers across the board are no longer loyal to one organization. “The convergence of these talent trends is producing a huge change in behavior that’s sawing away at the corporate ladder, blurring the relationship between work and life, and redefining what it means to build a career.”

That’s even true for highly ambitious executives, said Philip Delves Broughton in The Wall Street Journal. “Instead of plodding one’s way upward, the ambitious careerist must now learn to shimmy sideways now and then, and even downward, if he wishes, eventually, to reach the pinnacle.” CEOs interviewed for Umesh Ramakrishnan’s new book, There’s No Elevator to the Top, say, however, that some rules haven’t changed: Take on the tough assignments, and don’t get so preoccupied with moving up that you neglect what’s right in front of you.

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