Book Review: The Alliance

The Alliance is a book by Reid Hoffman, one of the founders of LinkedIn and two co-authors Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh. The book begins by stating that when an employer refers to the employees as “we are a family”, he or she is being dishonest. The employee is constantly looking out for the next opportunity and the employer will  also happily downsize (and call it “rightsizing”) when the going gets tough. Reid Hoffman understands what job hopping really means. That’s a company that houses the professional world’s resumes. What he proposes is that the employer and employee get into a new contract. That is what the book The Alliance is all about.The employer cannot guarantee lifetime employment and remain agile. The employees do not wish to have just one employer over their lifetime. The Alliance is all about the employer and employee investing in each other. Employees invest in the company’s adaptability; even as the company invests in employees’ employability. Hoffman wants the employer and employee to get into a two to four year tour of duty.The Alliance describes different kinds of tours of duty (called tours for short).Rotational Tour: The first focuses on learning a company’s basics in a structured, programmatic way. This one is called Rotational Tour. Think of the typical Management Trainee program of two years when the person goes through different departments of the company for anywhere from three to six months.Transformational Tour: The time period for this tour is not fixed, the mission or the outcome expected is fixed. These last for two to five years. In year one, you get the context of the role. Year 2 is about putting your mark on the transformational change. The rest of the time is aimed at implementing and growing your successes.Foundational Tour: An exceptional alignment of the employer and employee is the basis of a Foundational tour. Jony Ive at Apple is a good example of Foundational tour. Ideally most top executives of a company should be on such a tour. This requires a deep degree of trust between the employer and employee.The book has a remarkably structured approach to having a career conversation. What skills does the person wish to pick up over the next two to four years and what could be ways of building those skills is a powerful way of having this conversation with an employee. One great question would be to ask the employee, “What job do you want after you work at LinkedIn?” Having this candid conversation is a good way to build trust say the authors. Learning what someone cares about also builds trust. Ask someone, “Who’s the best co-worker you ever worked with?” and “What is your proudest career moment?” can help build trust.The second big insight the book offers is the value of a network. Who an employee knows can be just as valuable to the company as what he knows. The value of networking is what the book underscores. Reid Hoffman’s business is built on the power of networks. Network intelligence generates hidden data, serendipity and opportunity.What can companies do to implement networking intelligence? Recruit people who are connected, says Hoffman. Ask an interview candidate, “Who are the key people that you would consider hiring after you?” Ask how some key technological challenge will shape the industry. Maybe even ask people, “Who was the most interesting person you met this week?”The best idea I liked was to set up a “Networking Fund” for employees. LinkedIn employees can expense their lunches with smart people in the industry as long as they can summarize what they learned from the lunch. Ask the employees to make a list of the smartest people who are not working in the company.Even an alumni network is a great way to leverage the power of a network. Much of McKinsey’s business comes from its powerful alumni network. They set up the program in 1960s and now have 24000 alumni. Bain and Company employs nine full time people to run alumni networks. By managing the alumni network, both, the firm and the alumni gain. Chevron uses alumni networks to find people for contract assignments. They have a ready pool of people who understand the company culture.The Alliance was a great read (pun intended) by Hoffman. While some of the contracts and their wordings sound like two teenagers drawing up a best friend forever agreement, the concept of having honest career conversations is the best reason for me to recommend the book. And then there is this whole piece about leveraging networks of employees. Both are brave new ways to leverage the world of employment that we all operate in. Those are two terrific reasons for you to read The Alliance.-----------Join me on twitter @AbhijitBhaduri