December 1st was a celebration. With the teamwork of two co-authors from Career Systems (Lindy Williams and Lynn Cowart), we turned in a manuscript on a new book titled Up Is Not The Only Way: Rethinking Career Mobility. We’ve been hard at work on it for many months and we’re thrilled to nail our deadline. The book is written to managers who need to have that career conversation where the “what’s next for me” is the subject at hand. It’s always tough, especially when a manager knows that the upper rungs on the ladder are already earmarked for those hi-po’s. This book is designed to help those managers who have to have those discussions with the other 80% of the workforce. We’ve provided a number of ideas and will be sharing them with you via blogs starting in January. For now, here’s something to start your thinking. It comes from a section called New Optics for Career Mobility.