THE START-UP OF YOU

A hugely successful Internet entrepreneur imparts the wisdom behind establishing and cultivating a successful business career.

LinkedIn co-founder Hoffman opens with the commanding statement that “most people shouldn’t start companies.” He recommends that readers first create and invest in different avenues of entrepreneurial opportunities for their own careers and then allowing the business end to bloom from there. With co-writer and entrepreneur Casnocha, Hoffman offers strategies for adapting to the fluctuating conditions of today’s highly competitive trade- and technology-based employment marketplace. Noting that LinkedIn’s membership is now more than 100 million people, Hoffman delivers seven comprehensive chapters detailing the same skill sets that made his business such a booming success. These smatterings of advice delineate the importance of goals and calculated but sensible risk-taking. But most importantly, Hoffman stresses the significance of the initiation, development and continual maintenance of genuine relationships within an established professional network. Cautionary examples of foibles by the city of Detroit are juxtaposed with success stories from online retailers Netflix, Flickr and Zappos. If Hoffman’s narrative reads a bit on the longwinded, repetitive side, his approach is enthusiastically direct, clear-eyed and infectious. His largely referential text overflows with relevant source material, guided “invest-in-yourself” encouragement and sage industry-insider smarts. Motivational, mildly convoluted pep talk on career planning and the power of connections.