Upward: Navigating Career Growth Without Burning Out

David Mercer left a senior operations role at thirty-eight because he watched too many good people flame out at the exact moment their careers were supposed to take off. Directors who got promoted because they were great individual contributors, then failed because nobody told them the next level requires completely different skills.

Upward is not motivational. There are no affirmations, no vision boards, no stories about CEOs and cold showers. It's a strategy book—about understanding how careers actually develop, making intentional choices, and building something that lasts without sacrificing everything else along the way.

36 pages. Written for people who are good at their jobs and want to stay that way.

What's inside:

• The hustle trap: why working harder stops working (and what replaces it)
• The four phases of career growth and what each one actually requires
• Getting credit for your work without becoming that person everyone avoids
• The lateral move: when sideways beats upward
• Managing up: making your boss's job easier while advancing your own career
• Finding and building mentoring relationships that actually help
• When to push, when to pull back, and how to read the season

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