TOP

Dr. Kern Peng holds multiple doctorate degrees in engineering and business: PhD in Mechanical Engineering specializing in nanocomposite materials, Doctorate of Business Administration in Operations Management and in Management Information Systems. He has over 30 years of management experience in engineering and manufacturing. He has been accorded more than 100 career awards in the areas of engineering design, software development, excursion resolution, project management and execution, teamwork, leadership, coaching and outstanding teaching. In addition to regular duties, he serves as a career advisor, mentor for managers, and new employee orientation instructor. This is the fourth book he published.For the last 20 years, Dr. Peng has been part-time teaching at least two courses every quarter/semester term at Bay Area universities such as Stanford University, Santa Clara University, University of San Francisco, and San Jose State University. He has also traveled to Asia regularly teaching for Hong Kong University. In addition, he has taught courses and lectures for Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, National Taiwan University, and UC Berkeley.

This book provides a practical guide to help you improve your career success. As a career advisor at a global high-tech company for more than 15 years, employees from different parts of the world have reached me for career guidance. No matter where they are, the desire of owning their careers is unanimous. To reach more employees, I designed a course called Career Ownership and have been teaching it regularly. In addition, since I have been teaching part-time at many universities regularly, many students have also asked me for career development advice. It is extremely rewarding to see my advisees and students achieving great accomplishments in their careers. With the intention of helping more people achieve career success, I wrote this book.
Organized into six sessions, it offers a fresh and comprehensive framework for career advising. Session 1 provides an overview of career development and the general direction through the TOP model. Session 2 guides individuals to plan their careers by mapping the short-term, mid-term and long-term activities. Session 3 introduces time management tactics to help individuals make time for career advancement. These tactics are quite different from conventional time management practices, and most people find my system unique and useful. Session 4 offers tips for individuals to effectively develop, prioritize and execute tasks, aiming to exceed manager expectations. Session 5 helps individuals gain intelligence and sensitivity in managing work environments, including managing professional relations and navigating difficult situations. Finally, Session 6 emphasizes the need for continuing education and suggests methods for effective learning. This session is based on the lessons I learned from 35 years of schooling, from grade school to multiple doctorate programs, plus teaching at universities for the past 20 years. These lessons may be particularly beneficial to current students from high school, undergraduate to doctorate.
Key Features:- Guided exercise templates after each session to improve practicality
- A unique time management method to help make time for career advancement
- An unconventional process to develop, prioritize, and execute tasks, aiming to exceed the expectations of management, clients and colleagues
- Embedded presentation slides in text, enabling a quick read and a course setup for teaching
- Organized text with question headings and an index by question, allowing quick search for answers