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Upgrade: Taking Your Work and Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary Hardcover – September 4, 2013

by Rana Florida (Author)
3.2 3.2 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
See all formats and editions
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The 7 Key Principles to achieving YOUR business and life goals

What could a graffiti artist, eminent neurologist, star athlete, celebrity chef, fashion designer, rocket scientist, and Grammy Award–winning musician possibly have in common?

In this groundbreaking new book, Rana Florida shares their formula, giving you the tools to achieve unimaginable success in work and life. Upgrade gathers the best practices, not just from CEOs and business executives but from entrepreneurs, innovative thinkers, and creative leaders.

Upgrade includes interviews with Sir Ken Robinson, Dan Pink, Mark Cuban, Andre Agassi, Kenny Scharf, Zaha Hadid, Governor Martin O’Malley, Tory Burch, Tim Brown, and many other leading figures. Despite this cast’s vastly different backgrounds and skills, Florida’s research concludes that there are seven key principles to achieving your business and life goals:

  • Envision the future
  • Find your passion
  • Get creative
  • Design your time
  • Collaborate
  • Take risks
  • Embrace failure

    Unfortunately, this is exactly what the majority of us don’t do. Instead of developing a real strategy to upgrade and optimize our lives, too many of us just slog through life in a state of “managed dissatisfaction.”

    But it’s never too late to envision an entirely different future―or to actively upgrade your life. It’s not about finding more time, money, or resources. Anyone can do it.

    This smart and entertaining guide delves deep into each principle, giving you the insights, tools, and inspiration to take your life from ordinary to extraordinary.

    Praise for Upgrade

    “Why ride in coach, when you can upgrade? A must-read for a better journey through life.”
    Don Tapscott, bestselling author, Wikinomics and Grown Up Digital

    “Upgrade is an a-ha book that will change how you look at life’s challenges and give you tools to upgrade your life.”
    Touré, cohost of MSNBC’s The Cycle

    “Read Upgrade for its stories, examples, and strategies and get ready to live the life you always wanted.”
    Frank Toskan, founder, M.A.C. Cosmetics

    “Creative and innovative strategies to upgrade your work and life, with seven simple principles.”
    Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com, Inc., and New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness

    “Rana’s perspective on business and life is a fresh new take, breaking the traditional corporate mold. Upgrade is a must-read for anyone not buying into the conventional wisdom.”
    Ali Velshi, CNN Chief Business Correspondent; anchor, CNN-I World Business Today; and host, CNN Your Money

    “Upgrade welcomes you to take a fresh approach to everything you do to get the most out of work and life.”
    Nelly Furtado, Grammy Award–winning musician

    “If I’m going to listen to anyone’s good advice about how to improve my approach to work and life, it’s Rana’s.”
    Kate Betts, contributing editor, TIME, and columnist, The Daily Beast

    "Rana's voice is refreshing--as real as a memoir and a great vessel for this self-help and business book wrapped up in one easily-digestible package."
    Paper Magazine

    "A very interesting book."
    Business Learning Solutions

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    McGraw Hill
  4. Publication date
    September 4, 2013
  5. Dimensions
    0.41 x 8.5 x 11 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0071827218
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0071827218
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Rana Florida writes the Huffington Post column “Your Startup Life” and is a regular HGTV contributor. CEO of Creative Class Group, a consulting firm serving such clients as BMW, Starwood, IBM, Philips, Zappos, and Johnson & Johnson, she has appeared on The Today Show and in The New York Times. Florida previously served as Senior Director of Communications and Marketing at HMSHost (Host Marriott Services), a $2 billion dollar international organization in the travel industry working with hundreds of brands, such as Starbucks, Tumi, and Kenneth Cole. She was also Vice President of Corporate Communications for the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment, Feld Entertainment, which owns Disney on Ice, Disney Live, the Doodlebops, and many other brands.

About the Author

Rana Florida writes the Huffington Post column “Your Startup Life” and is a regular HGTV contributor. CEO of Creative Class Group, a consulting firm serving such clients as BMW, Starwood, IBM, Philips, Zappos, and Johnson & Johnson, she has appeared on The Today Show and in The New York Times. Florida previously served as Senior Director of Communications and Marketing at HMSHost (Host Marriott Services), a $2 billion dollar international organization in the travel industry working with hundreds of brands, such as Starbucks, Tumi, and Kenneth Cole. She was also Vice President of Corporate Communications for the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment, Feld Entertainment, which owns Disney on Ice, Disney Live, the Doodlebops, and many other brands.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ McGraw Hill; 1st edition (September 4, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0071827218
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0071827218
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.41 x 8.5 x 11 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.2 3.2 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

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Rana Florida

Rana Florida

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Rana Florida is the CEO of the Creative Class Group, managing new business development, marketing, consulting, research, and global operations. CCG is a boutique advisory services firm composed of leading next-generation researchers, academics, and strategists. Its clients include BMW, Starwood, IBM, Philips, Pinewood Studios, Zappos, and Johnson & Johnson, to name just a few.

Rana has more than two decades of experience in corporate strategy, communications, marketing, and branding. She previously directed global strategic communications for HMSHost, one of the world's largest airport developers, where she led all marketing, advertising, and communication efforts.

Rana is a business advice columnist for the Huffington Post and an editor on design and lifestyle for HGTV and Food TV. Rana was an internationally syndicated advice columnist in major daily newspapers for almost a decade and a regular Fox News (WJBK) contributor. Her platform as a smart and trusted interviewer led to multiple conversations with celebrities, businesspeople, and all-around creatives such as Andre Agassi, Nelly Furtado, Tony Hsieh, Tory Burch, Mark Cuban, Sir Ken Robinson, Mario Batali, Dan Pink, and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, among others. Upgrade springs from these interviews and the breadth of Rana's business experience.

She recently wrote for and was featured in the business section of the New York Times and has appeared as a business advice contributor on the Today Show.

Rana holds a bachelor of arts in communications and an MBA in marketing and management. When she's not stuck at an airport, she lives with her husband in Toronto, Miami, and New York City.

 

Customer reviews

3.2 out of 5 stars
3.2 out of 5
14 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Shirley Fine Lee
4.0 out of 5 stars How to make your life what you dream of - if you are willing to take some risks
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2013
In Rana Florida’s book Upgrade: Taking Your Work and Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary, she covers the seven principles of personal and professional success she has gleaned from interviews with many successful people in various careers and life situations. She lets us know now is the time to focus on your life and envision how you want to lead it instead of letting life just pass you by. Her chapters cover: envisioning your future, finding your passion, ways to get creative, suggestions to protect your time, collaborating with others, taking risks and how to embrace failure to help her readers reap bigger rewards. When speaking on time management, she gives good organizational tips, mentions several time wasters, and a few ideas for better meeting management; she also warns that you also need to have fun and give back as well as being productive. She also lets you know it is important to allow a diverse group of others to help you with your vision through collaboration, advice, and accountability. The book includes article excerpts, interviews (with people like Andre Agassi, Mario Batali, Mark Cuban, Richard Daley, Tony Hsieh, Martin O’Malley, and more) as well as some homework assignments so the reader can plan their improvement process.
2 people found this helpful
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imaprivateperson
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent food for thought - pick 1 thing to change
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2013
Verified Purchase
Just finished reading the book. Firstly, monster congratulations on
pulling together such a persuasive, useful and readable book. Being an
avid reader of all of this genre, it's sure to find a
space on everyone's bookshelf.

Personally, my key take-aways:
- i'm ordering an exercise ball to sit at my desk.
- given I'm moving office in 2 years, giving thought to the next work
environment.
- need to think more clearly about my team: how i cultivate their skills
and offer a motivating vision that they're striving towards (beyond $)
- give more thought to the 'passion conversation'. I started this a
couple years ago, but want to re-think
- remembering to ask the girls what they failed at (in a good way) as
they grow up
- most importantly, giving real thought to the risks i'm NOT taking,
understand way and do something about it...!
3 people found this helpful
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Amy
1.0 out of 5 stars Save yourself some time and money- don't buy or read
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2013
Verified Purchase
I love reading books on business and self improvement. Usually the books I read come from authors with great credibility who have created businesses from scratch. Rana Florida tries to play up her "experience" but really has no credibility to build a foundation from. Her bio on Creative Class Group doesn't even mention what universities she attended for undergrad and MBA. The personal stories sprinkled throughout the book sound like a whiny acquaintance who tries to extrapolate her mediocre life into life-changing advice. Her "interviews" consist of of on average 3 quotes from each of the important people. All I learned about Mario Batali was that he likes working in a team towards a common goal and that he was in the right industry at the right time. It's a very poorly written high school essay at best. If you're looking for something of substance and quality, please save yourself some time and money. Go to your local cafe, buy a copy of the Wall Street Journal, a coffee, AND a pastry (all for less than the $13 Kindle price I paid) and you will get MUCH MORE helpful and substantial information. Amazon, if you can do refunds for greatly disappointing books, I would love a refund.

And the part that chastised Yahoo for not allowing people to work from home anymore? If you're going to write about this little piece of news in a book, at least follow the story from beginning to end. Marissa Mayer looked at the VPN logs for remote workers and found that they weren't signed in for a good portion of the normal work week. Please, Rana, spare us all and don't write another book.
9 people found this helpful
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Yitch
3.0 out of 5 stars decent book about organizing your life
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2013
Upgrade is a decent self help book. However compared to the myriad tomes of self help books in the market there really does not seem to be anything special.

The author seems to be a great employer, the kinda boss most people would love working for. However, too many examples revolve around her own life making it seem like a partial biography or cleverly concealed advert.

The advice is decent, however if you are really looking to improve your life, take a step to reach out and engage in New experiences actively. That's the take home lesson
4 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Good thoughts on living more intentionally
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2016
This book has a good balance of why and how, and is full of well-constructed examples. Some of the ideas are based in life decluttering, which is very in right now, but I nonetheless intend to put some of what I read here into practice.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on life design
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
Excellent book with nice balance between personal experience and analysis from those interviewed - the insights developed provide great opportunity to reflect on optimizing areas of one's life. Anyone with an interest in time management and life design will love this book. Nice writing style delivered to the point
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