By Jacky Smith
The Professional by Tony Frost summarises the things that most early to mid-career professionals ought to know they should be doing, including finding mentors, setting goals, seeking feedback, building your personal brand and so on.
While this book doesn’t introduce anything particularly ground-breaking, that’s not a criticism. It is actually one of its strengths.
It doesn’t pitch a secret skill that, once mastered, will result in complete personal transformation (which feels more like a sales gimmick than genuine guidance). Instead, this book offers the reader a clear, concise and accessible ‘playbook’ of practical advice for personal and career development.
What stands out is the author’s conversational, down-to-earth tone, which makes it an easy and approachable read. It avoids overwhelming the reader or prescribing so much self-work that you end up feeling paralysed. Yet it still gives the reader tangible things to contemplate and work on.
In particular, I commend its readability. Each chapter ends with a summary of how the topic has played out in the author’s real-world experiences, followed by a bullet-point list of key takeaways.
For someone seeking guidance in commencing or progressing their professional career, The Professional has plenty of helpful takeaways and actionable advice making it immediately useful.
