Today's hardworking professionals are navigating sudden waves of financial stress, management shakeups, and downsizing. Using the experiences of Titanic survivors as a powerful metaphor, executive coach Maggie Craddock offers lessons for a transformative approach to our professional lives, one that recognizes that "every man for himself" doesn't work long-term. Lifeboat is organized as a series of key questions we all need to ask ourselves when facing unexpected career disruption or difficult changes at our existing jobs. These questions help readers clarify their authentic priorities, assess the group energy that guides a particular workplace, and identify the type of job that will help them reach their true potential. A transformational guide to help professionals wean themselves from organizational dependency and chart their own authentic professional course Maggie Craddock is a veteran executive coach known for her work with Fortune 500 CEOs and senior management. She is also a certified therapist and the author of The Authentic Career and Power Genes. Introduction: The Origin of the Lifeboat Process
The Titanic Story: Big Hype, High Hubris
Lifeboat Question #1: Am I Aboard the Titanic? – Awareness of Your Reality
Lifeboat Question #2: How Do I Feel About the Ship I'm On? – The Power of the Pause
Lifeboat Question #3: What Story Am I Telling Myself? – How We Create False Narratives
Lifeboat Question #4: What's My Inner Iceberg? – Identifying Where You Get Stuck – And Why
Lifeboat Question #5: How Will I Respond to a Threat? – How Internal Preparation Strengthens External Performance
Lifeboat Question #6: Who Will Help Me in a Crisis? – Enhancing Interpersonal Discernment
Lifeboat Question #7: What Action Should I Take? – Operating Strategically Under Pressure
Lifeboat Question #8: What Can We Achieve Together? – Focusing Group Energy
Conclusion: What Story Will You be Able to Tell? " 'Life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it.' This classic line from the movie Titanic, delivered by Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, is followed by these words: 'You never know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you . . . to make each day count.' Lifeboat is a practical manual for making the most of the gift of life, whatever comes your way. Maggie Craddock poses eight critical questions that guide readers to think the unthinkable in order to become unsinkable."
- Michael J. Gelb, author of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci and The Art of Connection
"Lifeboat is a joy to read, applying a story we all know to life challenges we will all face. It is an instruction manual on how to become accountable for your own journey that also reminds leaders of their duty to enable a culture that empowers people to become their best selves. Be wary of the Big Ship mentality, whatever size boat you get on! This is a book every up-and-coming executive should read and one every CEO should have already read."
- Eric Elliott, Board Chair of Volantis S.A., Private Equity Operating Executive, and former CEO of Prime Therapeutics
"Lifeboat is an important read for anyone trying to make sense of the ever-changing world of work - and their part in it. As usual, Maggie Craddock manages to combine a powerful theoretical framework with a combination of storytelling and practical solutions. The outcome is a book you can't put down - and advice you can readily put to use."
- Amanda Pullinger, CEO of 100 Women in Finance
"Maggie Craddock has a wonderful way of taking the complexities of life and simplifying the message. Life is about relationships, and the most important thing we can do for ourselves is to value, care for, respect, and empower others. 'Lifeboat values' means realizing that collaboration and teamwork aren't just words."
- Brian Hull, Executive
