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'The Start-Up of You' isn't new

by Robert Teitelman  |  Published July 28, 2011 at 9:15 AM


"From the first day I started to work in journalism, somebody was always whispering in my ear, 'You're going to need to reinvent yourself every few years,' " says The Deal magazine editor in chief Robert Teitelman in this video interview. His comments come in response to Thomas Friedman's recent column in The New York Times, "The Start-Up of You," about the upcoming book by the same name co-written by LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Reid Hoffman, who advocates approaching career strategy like an entrepreneur starting a business. But, points out Teitelman, "this highly mobile, no-loyalty economy has been around for a generation now." Not only is the turn-on-a-dime advice not new, it's also not particularly sound, rarely panning out in the long term even in Silicon Valley, argues Teitelman. For example, he recalls being urged in his youth to learn Russian as a means to competing in the global marketplace, much the way youngsters a generation ago were advised to study Japanese and today are being encouraged to master Mandarin. "I guarantee it, in two years, five years, it will be something else," says Teitelman. For more on his thoughts about how Americans' ability to make career plans work out is about as good as economists' ability to forecast the future, see The Deal Economy blog post, "Thomas Friedman discovers reinvention again." - Mary Kathleen Flynn"From the first day I started to work in journalism, somebody was always whispering in my ear, 'You're going to need to reinvent yourself every few years,' " says The Deal magazine editor in chief Robert Teitelman in this video interview. His comments come in response to Thomas Friedman's recent column in The New York Times, "The Start-Up of You," about the upcoming book by the same name co-written by LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Reid Hoffman, who advocates approaching career strategy like an entrepreneur starting a business. But, points out Teitelman, "this highly mobile, no-loyalty economy has been around for a generation now." Not only is the turn-on-a-dime advice not new, it's also not particularly sound, rarely panning out in the long term even in Silicon Valley, argues Teitelman. For example, he recalls being urged in his youth to learn Russian as a means to competing in the global marketplace, much the way youngsters a generation ago were advised to study Japanese and today are being encouraged to master Mandarin. "I guarantee it, in two years, five years, it will be something else," says Teitelman. For more on his thoughts about how Americans' ability to make career plans work out is about as good as economists' ability to forecast the future, see The Deal Economy blog post, "Thomas Friedman discovers reinvention again." - Mary Kathleen Flynn
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Tags: LinkedIn Corp. The Start-Up of You | Reid Hoffman | reinvention | Silicon Valley | Thomas Friedman
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Robert Teitelman

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Bob Teitelman, editor in chief and a member of the company’s executive committee, is responsible for editorial operations of print and electronic products. Contact



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