The Story of a Modestly Successful Harvard Business School Graduate, as Told in the Case-Study Method

There are best practices, future projections, and problem-solving strategies for business, but how do you make decisions about your own life? Since his graduation from Harvard Business School in 1963, Fred Kahn has grappled with the biggest challenge not taught in school: managing his career.

Now, in his insightful memoir, Kahn uses the case-study method to examine the most pivotal moments in his decades-long career in business. In down-to-earth, jargon-free prose, he describes each situation, the actions he took, the results achieved, and the specific lessons he learned.

Unlike the biographies and autobiographies of top businesspeople that crowd bookstores' shelves, Kahn's memoir does not just present a narrow perspective on extraordinary success. These stories rarely match the average worker's experience. Instead, Kahn provides a helpful, realistic picture of what it means to achieve a rewarding and happy career without reaching the very pinnacle of one's profession.

Kahn's memoir provides a glimpse into the accomplishments and challenges of an executive who held mid- and high-level positions in a wide variety of well-known corporations. Readers looking for thoughtful guidance on planning their own professional lives will discover that when looking ahead, the best advice often comes from those who are looking back.