AMACOM Books to Release TRAJECTORY by David L. Van Rooy

Stuck in a dead-end job? It happens to all kinds of bright, ambitious people, from recent college grads eager to get their foot in the corporate door to seasoned workers nervous after rounds of layoffs. In a precarious economy and competitive marketplace, even bright, ambitious people land in or stick with jobs that have little potential for advancement. Caught between craving success and the fear of failure, they avoid taking risks. As a result, people unwittingly limit their opportunities to shine and wind up feeling helpless and frustrated-or worse, hopeless and resentful.

In TRAJECTORY: 7 Career Strategies to Take You from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be(AMACOM; May 2014; $16.00 Paperback), David L. Van Rooy offers readers hope and help for getting unstuck. Drawing on his experience in employee performance with three of the world's leading companies-Marriott International, Burger King, and Walmart-and his background in psychology, he provides anyone yearning for a dynamic, fulfilling career with a practical action plan for continually moving to the front of the pack and up the ranks.

"Every person has a trajectory. Your trajectory is the path and progression you create for yourself," Van Rooy observes. "What matters is how you take advantage of your skills and the possibilities around you to learn and grow from your experiences and build a foundation for a lifetime of achievement."

To help anyone create and manage their own path to sustainable success, TRAJECTORY presents seven core strategies. Readers will discover how to:

• Seek out feedback from mentors and peers, listen to it with an objective ear, and use it to solidify their strengths and improve what others deem to be weaknesses.
• Support their motivation to succeed with persistence in the face of roadblocks.
• Think big, act small, move quick-that is, work to rapidly accrue little wins that eventually lead to a major victory, like a coveted promotion or better job.
• Achieve growth through failure. Rebound from and seize on setbacks as avenues for exploring different options for reaching long-term goals.
• Embrace risk and break through plateaus; avoid stagnation and maintain their momentum.
• Continuously develop both "hard" and "soft" skills and align them to their job to sustain exceptional performance.

Each strategy is illustrated with real-life business examples, from celebrating Sir Richard Branson as a model of big thinking backed by small actions and quick moves to Yahoo as a cautionary tale against stagnation. Throughout, readers will also find concise, relevant lessons in applied psychology (delayed gratification and expectancy theory, among other topics) and exercises on how to put their new knowledge to work. For bright, ambitious young career starters and mid-level workers, TRAJECTORY is an essential guide to a very rewarding future.

About the Author

DAVID L. VAN ROOY is Senior Director, Global Organizational Effectiveness at Walmart, where he is responsible for the largest Employee Engagement and Performance Management programs on the globe. He has a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and previously oversaw talent management for Burger King and Marriott International. He lives in Rogers, Arizona. The author plans to donate of all his royalties fromTRAJECTORY to charity in support of our military veterans transitioning into the civilian workforce.

Title: TRAJECTORY

7 Career Strategies to Take You from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

Author: David L. Van Rooy

Pub. Date: May 2014

Price: $16.00 Paperback

Pages: 240

ISBN: 978-0-8144-3390-4

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