“Every situation you face at work is a potential development opportunity for you,” says Larry Wang in his newest, just released career development book, How To DYFET (or How to Develop Yourself As A Future Executive, Today). “Those who are highly successful recognize that your career development and your ability to perform your job well are not exclusive. They happen at the same time. As such, every job or task that you do is also a chance to practice good techniques, improve your standards, and increase your capabilities.” 

A Highly Practical Career Guide For Mainland Professionals

As the CEO for the past 16 years of Wang & Li Asia Resources, a leading international recruitment firm in China, Wang knows a few things about the development needs of today’s talent market. “I meet so many mainland professionals who are smart, hard-working, and committed to attaining their career objectives,” says Wang. What many lack, however, is a practical career 

development approach that will allow them to excel someday as world-class managers and business leaders in a global company. That’s why I wrote How To DYFET, to help mainlanders do this better.” 

In particular, How To DYFET shows readers how to effectively develop yourself into a well-rounded professional, one who is able to advance and perform well in higher level management roles. It highlights simple, but sound concepts that are fundamental for reaching outstanding career success, and includes highly applicable examples and tools that help a person attain those capabilities and qualities that are most relevant for becoming a world-class executive.

“At Wang & Li, our job is to introduce top management talent to leading global companies,” continues Wang. “But in doing this, we do not just view the

companies we work with as our clients. We also view our candidates as clients too. Our business approach has always followed that saying, “Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he can eat for a lifetime.” By providing others with very solid career guidance and advice, we help them better pursue their career development and future success. This is our unique strength as a recruitment services company.”

How How To DYFET Came About

Actually, How To DYFET is the follow-up to Know The Game, Play The Game, another book written by Wang that emphasizes the need for mainland professionals to develop stronger career sense and soft skills, like greater professionalism, initiative, big-picture perspective, communication skills, and leadership, for their success in a multinational company. While most now 

recognize the necessity to improve their soft skills, the challenge as to how to go about doing this still remains. Where Know The Game, Play The Game was about what mainland professionals need to demonstrate more of, How To DYFET is about how to develop those key capabilities and qualities for becoming an international-caliber executive.

Who Is This Book For?

“It’s often said that management is more art than science,” says Wang. “Beyond the technical and process-oriented skills that we acquire early on as individual contributors, performing in management roles is about your ability to handle situations, respond to issues and challenges, and deal with people. These require strong soft skills. Whether you’re a fresh graduate or mid-career professional, DYFET’s highly practical career development concepts and approach apply, regardless of your function, position level, or career situation.” 

Sound Career Development Concepts And Approach 

“DYFET’s career development concepts just make a great deal of sense and help me to focus my professional development efforts in a much more effective way,” according to one reader. “For instance, Nothing Beats Excellence gets you to focus on what counts most for those who are assessing your performance and quality of work. Respond To High Value-Added Areas highlights how you can further distinguish your value over others. Be Accountable For Your Own Career Development And Success talks about the importance of self-assessment, while Take Advantage Of The Situations Around You emphasizes the importance of self-development, especially when facing less-than-ideal employment situations.

In How To DYFET, Wang also introduces a straightforward career development approach for pursuing success, called The DYFET Approach. “Essentially, any role you aspire to attain has several key responsibilities that are related to performing that role well,” he explains. “By knowing them, you can then identify the key capabilities that will allow you to handle those key responsibilities. Once you know those, then you can look for opportunities in your current situation that will help you to develop those key capabilities that you’ll need for the future role you’re targeting.” 

Why This Book Is Different?

“Many mainland professionals are always looking for outside help for their career development, says Wang. “They want a great boss to show them the way, or want their company to arrange some training for them. They rely on others to help them improve. However, I’ve also met others who achieve exceptional success, mainly, by taking greater responsibility for their career development and by getting the most out of the situations and opportunities around them. This self-assessment and self-development approach is at the core of what DYFET is about.” 

“How To DYFET shares stories and insights from highly successful executives in China who have managed to differentiate themselves and stand out throughout their career. Its examples are not so unique or exceptional, but can be found in many employment situations here in the mainland. For instance, I intentionally showcase homegrown talents who are outstanding at what they do, but didn’t necessarily have the advantages of an MBA, overseas work experience, or being part of an optimal environment. What I want readers to recognize is that while certain credentials and experiences are nice to have, they are not a must for achieving exceptional success. 

Are You DYFETing?

“In China, the future comes very fast, where opportunities to take on bigger roles within fast-growing companies and situations arise quickly,” Wang points out. “By anticipating what is needed at the next level and developing yourself in those key areas, you’ll not only be able to better perform in future roles once you’re there, you’ll also reach them sooner by demonstrating key management capabilities and characteristics to others earlier on. 

“Through How To DYFET, I hope to introduce a term that defines what many mainland professionals should be doing today to better pursue and achieve their career success tomorrow. Ultimately, I hope that this book can be a type of 7 Habits of Highly Successful People for mainland Chinese professionals, and that DYFET’s career development concepts and approach can help many attain the career objectives and success that they seek. Certainly, this is the right time and China is the right place for them to make this happen for themselves.”

For more information about How To DYFET, please call our Shanghai office at 86 21 6288-5426, or check out our website at www.wang-li.com, or follow us @Larry Wang王承伦