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Harriet Rubin Soloing Buy this title or join our Management Literature Club and have a chance to GET IT FREE! |
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Business Nugget by Robert Morris When discussing Harriet Rubin’s Soloing (published by HarperBusiness), the metaphor of a crucible is especially apt. A crucible is a container within which metals are subjected to extremely high temperatures...and melt. The same is true of many people who find themselves contained within organizations and are subjected to constant, extreme pressure. What to do? Harriet Rubin suggests becoming what she calls a “soloist.” Her book is organized into two parts: Invent Yourself (which could also be called Re-Invent Yourself) and The Business of Being Yourself. Although Rubin asserts that “This book is about a journey of the spirit....a guide to the joy of freedom and its cost”, Soloing is relentlessly practical in its approach to the difficult challenges of escaping from an organizational crucible. The book's dusk jacket points out that Soloing can help to guide the reader to achieving “four invaluable freedoms”:
Throughout Soloing, Rubin cites numerous examples of those such as Charles Lindbergh whose singular achievements were attempted at great personal risk. Prior to 1927, all who attempted the transatlantic flight failed and most of them perished. Soloing is obviously not for the faint-of-heart or for the inept. Many people simply do not want to examine their lives. Perhaps they are dimwits. Perhaps their willpower has been “melted down” under the severe pressure of keeping a job, earning a living, etc. To her credit, Rubin does not view such people with contempt. She accepts their choices even as, obviously, they are not the choices she herself would make...or recommend. Who would derive the greatest benefit from reading Soloing? Here are my suggestions: 1. Those who feel tremendous pressure within an organization, who want to have a realistic alternative to their current situation, and who need help with the difficult process of self-examination. In other words, those who ask (as Peggy Lee once did), “Is this all there is?” 2. Recent college graduates who, otherwise, could well embark on a career path that conveys them directly into such an organization...and into a crucible. As an independent management consultant who has been soloing since 1987, my only quarrel with Rubin has to do with what I view as her preoccupation with consulting as the (not an) alternative to swimming laps in a corporate blender. Some months, we consultants deposit $25,000-30,000 in the bank account; other months, we watch a fly die on our tongue. It is entirely possible that someone in a stressful situation will read Soloing and say “No thanks.” Others in such a situation will be encouraged, indeed inspired to solo...and then crash, as have so many others. The proper approach to Rubin’s book is, in my opinion, to read it with an entirely open mind. Use the framework and content for a rigorous and comprehensive self-examination. Consider carefully everything she shares, especially what she suggests. Then reflect on Soloing in relation to who you really are, what you really want, and -- most important -- what you are determined to live for, not merely willing to endure. Becoming a soloist is only one of several options: Solo now, prepare to solo later, or continue in your current situation and make the best of it. Calculate the probable risks, the probable costs, and the probable results of soloing. Then make an enlightened decision, one that is most appropriate for you...both now and in months and years to come. For those who are determined to escape from a crucible, Soloing is (in effect) an operations manual. Make no mistake about it; soloists have no guarantees of success. But they will never wonder about “what might have been.” Order Soloing here. Find the full list of Robert Morris's Business Nuggets featured by Eastbook.com here.
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