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Your Professional Headspace
Achieving career success and personal fulfillment
as a professional in practice.
For many professionals, career success does not bring satisfaction. Wealth alone does not bring happiness. Prestige does not bring respect. Why? Many successful professionals are too busy looking after clients to lead fulfilling lives themselves. Life as a practitioner frequently resembles being caught in a washing machine, with little left for self or family at the end of the spin cycle.
If you are parking your soul at the door of the office each day, going through the motions, doing tasks that provide no pleasure or simply to meet your personal financial commitments, then it’s time to reassess. Hanging on in the hope that things will improve by themselves is not the answer.
Your Professional Headspace offers powerful observations and recommendations on how you can change your life. You’ll receive new insights about familiar situations such as getting in and out of partnerships, purchasing business premises, and being thrust into leadership roles. You will also find valuable guidance on areas which frequently receive scant attention – building your professional network, developing your personal brand and enjoying superior physical fitness.
Filled with real life examples,checklists and tips, Your Professional Headspace is a practical guide to achieving a more fulfilling and financially rewarding life as a professional in practice.
Scott Charlton has assisted hundreds of professionals to run better businesses, do more of the work they like to do and live more fulfilled lives. In doing so, he has counseled those who are professionally lost, seeking career change and carrying the firm on their shoulders. With the Your Professional Headspace on your bookshelf you too can enjoy more great days at the office.
Media_release_-_Your_Professional_Headspace.pdf
Now on the recommended reading list for the Public Practice Certificate Course conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.
- Readers' comments [+]
You described me to a tee on the 1st page.
Financial services executive
If you want to be a better Professional, or as a Professional you feel like you are missing out, you owe it to yourself to read Scott’s book. Even one personal insight gained from his writing is simply too profound to miss out on. I gained many more than I bargained for!
Maria Greensill, financial adviser
Scott. I read your book over the Christmas break! Very well done and clearly lots of work. You have obviously brought your strength of helping people to the fore. It has certainly filled me with positive thoughts for 2015 - even for the first day back in the office.
Dr Richard Brandon, Chief Scientific Officer, Immunexpress
Congratulations on a great book. I found it easy to read with the stories getting the message across. This book will allow advisers to re-engage with their purpose in life. I fear regulatory intervention and the challenge of change sometimes are a bridge too far for many. This book talks them through that space and allows them to have fun in the business of advice. Well done!
Johan Maree, financial services professional.
Scott I have literally just read your book from cover to cover and wanted to immediately pass on my congratulations to you for such an excellent read.I found myself relating to every chapter as I laid my own personal cameo over each topic. I now have a list of action points and it’s going to be a “Great Day At The Office” from now on.
Jason Skinner, Skinner Hamilton Accountants and Business Consultants.Scott - I have to say I really enjoyed reading your book. It is definitely one that I intend to go back over. It doesn’t do it justice to have read it through without taking some of the practical advice and actions and actually implementing them. Through the use of the case studies I think you've found a very effective way to deliver your message. Good stuff.
Gareth Colgan, Sidney Lloyd Financial Advisers.Scott's book is well worth the read. I recommend it to any professional services business person.
Brett Cribb, Far More Financial Group
I want to recommend to anyone that hasn’t yet read Scott’s book Your Professional Headspace, that it is a very worthwhile read. I certainly related to a lot of the comments and the stories. This book will remain a very good reference point for all of us.
Greg Lyons, Genesys Wealth Advisers
Ray Miles, Fortnum Financial Advisers.
Congratulations on providing a text that is interesting, relevant and readable. The numerous mini case studies were particularly illuminating.
Bernard Hoey, Burswood Partners CPA
Very happy to provide a testimonial – I’ve started my second read of the book…..this time with a highlighter in hand!
Neil Macdonald, Fairway Financial Advice
The book is brilliant! It's a comfortable read, extremely well structured and thought provoking. I like the way that you assign the reader "tasks" to complete and the focus on finding "True North". You cover a comprehensive array of issues that can arise and offer insightful suggestions well supported by short case studies.Congratulations!
Margaret Gimpel, Findlay & Co, Chartered Accountants
Congratulations. You have presented rare insights about professional practitioners drawing upon your experience and observations. Well Done – A refreshing and honest appraisal of the problems that are faced by many professionals.
Andrew Pavuk, Pavuk Legal
I recently finished reading your book and felt compelled to provide you with some comments. I found Your Professional Headspace packed with practical tips, ideas and strategies that were easy to comprehend and hence, thought provoking. I'm still applying mental energy to the question posed on page 62... "What do I want my lasting legacy to be?" Scott, congratulations on the book... I've already planned a re-read within the next few months.
A very thought provoking read. The issues and ideas raised have both challenged and inspired me. Your Professional Headspace is a resource that I am sure I will return to throughout my career.Mark Stewart, Integrity Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors
I finished your book recently and I really enjoyed it – it’s an easy read – simple, yet powerful concepts. Congratulations!
Tina Zawila, CEO, Sothertons Chartered Accountants Gladstone
- What to do after reading 'Your Professional Headspace' [+]I’m currently working on some exciting new tools which will assist readers of Your Professional Headspace to get traction on their action plans. In the interim, here are some suggestions that I’d like to share which you may find helpful -
1. Read Your Professional Headspace a second time, as one reader put it, “… this time with a highlighter in hand”.
2. Keep it handy as you will likely want to pull it off the shelf at a future stage of your career i.e. the book tackles lots of issues which you can expect to arise in your professional future. Be it mergers, partnerships, exiting a firm etc there will likely be some insights from others who have faced similar situations before you.
3. Get your spouse to read it. You want a sustainable game plan? Want a family life which complements your career? Better get your “better half” on board with what you have in mind!
4. Discuss with colleagues. There are numerous ways to do this - attending a “Let’s do Lunch” session that I run, or organising a boardroom function with your partners - it’s really up to you.
5. Encourage others to read the book and make a point of engaging in a conversation with them about it. This all helps to consolidate your thinking and harden your resolve to take action.
6. Send me an email about what you are doing. I love to hear the stories which are coming through. My email address is scott@scottcharlton.com.au. Look forward to hearing from you! - Q&A with the author [+]Q. What’s the reason for writing the book?
A. There has been a consistent pattern I’ve noticed in coaching professional services firms. That occurs when the working owners have significant personal issues on their mind. Then in spite of good intentions, there is no traction with business improvement measures which would otherwise be implemented as part of the coaching process.
Most of these issues are quite common. For example - partnership tension, moving premises and/or desired changes in career direction. Accordingly, there is much to be learnt from the experience of others in avoiding and/or tackling these issues. Far better to ensure these are addressed and to otherwise have the practitioner in a positive frame of mind before launching into business improvement initiatives. At the end of the day, I want to see practitioners get results and I believe the book will really assist in achieving this outcome.
Q. What response have you had to date from practitioners?
A. It's been overwhelmingly positive. There have been many comments along the lines of "I can see myself in some of the case studies" and "It's like you've written it specifically for me".
Interestingly, the book has also been the catalyst for quite a number of one-on-one conversations that I've had with practitioners who are taking stock of their career and and looking for input with respect to their future options.
Q. How long did it take you to write it?
A. Writing and the subsequent editing process took place over an 18 month period. However this was accommodated around working full-time, work-related travel and other personal commitments. In future, I have resolved simply to take time out to write any new book in one block.
Q. Is the book available in bookshops?
A. With the exception of the Australian Institute of Management bookshop in Brisbane, the book is not being sold through retail outlets. Currently, the hardcopy version of the book is being distributed exclusively through Thomson Reuters. A link to the Thomson Reuters website is included on the main page for the book on this website. Electronic versions of the book can be purchased directly through this website.
Q. Can I get an autographed copy?
A. Now that Thomson Reuters is distributing the book, this is tricky to organise in the first instance. I travel quite frequently around the capital cities and some rural towns in Australia and this could open up possibilities to meet up for me to sign your copy. Let me know if you would like to do this and I will see what can be arranged.
Q. What plans do you have for the book? Will you market it internationally?
A. Yes, that is certainly the intention. I believe the issues discussed in the book will have absolute application to professionals in practice worldwide. Through this website, Amazon.com and other book selling websites, "YPH" can already be purchased from anywhere in the world. It is also my intention to collaborate with associations serving professionals in practice around the globe to place the book in the hands of their members.
Q. How relevant is the book to people just starting out in their career?
A. I think it's extremely relevant and recommend that even people who are quite new to their chosen profession should read the book. Although there will be sections that are not immediately relevant, I expect that the book will be a source of information when various issues come up in their careers - partnership offers, investment decisions, structuring personal assets etc. I like to think that readers will keep the book handy on their shelves to refer to particular chapters as and when the need arises.
Q. What about professional people who aren't in their own practice - is the book relevant to them?
A. Absolutely relevant. Many of the issues are the same regardless of whether professionals work in practice or are employed in other situations. Parts of the book will however not apply specifically - these mainly relate to getting in and out of practice. - Book Reviews [+]
As appears in
Charter magazine
September 2012.
Review by Robert MC Brown FCA
I must admit to a feeling of deep skepticism about the promises of personal transformation made by coaching gurus such as Scott Charlton.
However, what makes Charlton different is that he is a business coach who is also a Chartered Accountant. He has personally experienced the highs and lows of professional life. As a result, his case studies are realistic, and his calls to action are both sensible and practical.
So if you’re in need of a reality check on your professional life, this easy-to-read and no-nonsense guide may well be a catalyst to achieve your professional reinvention.
Excerpt of a review published in the form of a blog article costcook.multiply.com/journal
September 2011
by Chris Cook CA
Scott has published a book to help professionals in practice achieve success and personal fulfillment which for many professionals is seemingly out of reach.
Scott's book takes on thorny topics like health, divorce and business relationship breakdowns. The foil for these and other issues are the solutions and approaches he offers for professionals in "the wilderness" as he terms it, to find their way back to a much healthier and productive place.
This is a highly recommended read from a very thoughtful and capable professional.
