Suits and Ladders

by Suzen Fromstein

Protect Yourself – and Your Job. A one-of-a-kind corporate survival guide based on the combined wisdom of 102 people with real jobs

Suzen Fromstein has created the ultimate corporate survival guide for any person starting out or in transition. The survival strategies identified in Suits and Ladders: Ten Proven Ways to Keep Your Job Safe (with a few jokes thrown in) are universal and transcend national borders, industries and genders.

These are the same strategies 102 real people with real jobs use to keep their corporate jobs safe. Following their lead gives you a better chance of survival, or at least, gives you a fighting chance at survival. Whether you work in Canada or France, in financial services or for a not-for-profit there are ten things you can do right now to stabilize your cash flow, improve your professional outcomes and keep your job safe.

In her foreword, Barbara Morris-Blake who has interviewed and coached over 10,000 junior-to-senior level people over the past twenty years and whose articles on leadership development and personal effectiveness frequently appear in the media says, “Although there are many credible business books on corporate survival, I have not come across a book quite like Suits and Ladders…(it) is the exit interview and the corporate survival coach you wish you had.”

You will discover:
• Your boss’s career is the only thing that really matters.
• What you learned yesterday may not apply to today.
• What you say and do, can and will be used against you.
• Real people are far more interesting than the voices in your head.

Advance Praise for Suits and Ladders
“Suzen has tapped into what certainly qualifies as one of the most troublesome issues faced by many individuals today: hanging on to a job. She has formulated a survival guide with clearly written pragmatic actionable concepts but implicit in her text is a belief of continued learning with some healthy laughing along the way.”~ Al Emid, Radio & News Magazine Producer, Financial Journalist and Canadian Best-Selling Co-Author of What I Have Learned So Far and Financial Recovery in a Fragile World (and upcoming release Investing in Frontier Markets: Opportunity, Risk and Role in an Investment Portfolio)

“Every sentence of this book offers sage suggestions for keeping your job safe and yourself protected. From heightening self-awareness to championing a positive attitude and fuelling your workplace passion, Suzen has thrown enough seeds on the soil to grow a whole new crop of quality, secure and forward thinking professionals. The bonus? This volume is transferable to private life and personal relationships, too!”~ Nina Spencer, International Keynote Speaker and Canadian Best-Selling Author of Getting Passion Out of Your Profession (and 2014 release of A Time to Creep, A Time to Soar: Lessons learned for work and life from climbing Kilimanjaro)

“The way Fromstein presents her pertinent and significant ideas in Suits and Ladders is exemplary. She combines essential information with real life case studies to create a comprehensive, easily understood guide. Suits and Ladders is a perfect handbook for all employees and an essential manual for University and College grads."~ Zel Spillman, A1 Career Coach.com, executive search, Co-op Consultant, Masters Accounting, University of Toronto, Canada

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2013

About the author

Meet Suzen Fromstein, APR, M.CInst.M

Suits and Ladders: Ten Proven Ways to Keep Your Job Safe (with a few jokes thrown in) is Suzen Fromstein’s debut Kindle e-book. Suzen interviewed 102 mid-to-senior level managers (51 men and 51 women) and consolidated their wisdom into one informative, easy to read, entertaining survival guide. Her second e-book: Inform, Influence and Entertain Like a Pro, The Seven Deadly Sins of Public Speaking will be available shortly.

Forever the optimist, Suzen swears Killers, Coffins & Cadavers, a comedy e-book on death and dying co-authored with standup comic Michael Nemiroff and comedic actress Elaine Smookler will be published at some point - whether in this lifetime or the next remains to be seen. Until then she will continue to speak and write about more mundane subjects like career, relationships and the rapport-building power of laughter.

Prior to embarking upon her speaking and writing career, Suzen was the Director of Communications at The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC), the mutual fund industry’s trade association and taught business presentations skills at a local community college.

Before entering corporate life, Suzen owned and operated The Write Connections Inc. and worked with such notable organizations as ABN Amro, Colliers International, BMW Canada, Desjardins Financial Security, Fidelity Investments and The Canadian Marketing Association.

Suzen lives in Toronto, Ontario with her cat Nikki.

Reviews

[Bryan Cacciatore]

The way this book was put together had me intrigued. The business books I usually read are of a single person's success and how they got there and how you can supposedly achieve the same. This was different as it was more of an overview of what 102 successful people went through to get to where they are. Instead of being a individual how-to story, it shows the similarities of what worked and what didn't work to get to where they got in life. This set Suits And Ladders apart from the bulk of what is out there.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about the book was the way it was written and how each chapter took a different look at digging your heels in. The research that went into the creation of the book was also well documented in a way that makes it easy to follow. When you then add in the humour of the author, it makes for a book that you don't want to put down. It is very rare that a book about business keeps my interest and has me reading the whole thing in a couple of sittings instead of over the course of weeks while reading something more captivating.

While the topic could end up very dull, pretentious, and/or preachy, Suits And Ladders finds the perfect balance of easy to read, different points of view, and quite bit of humour making it a fun and enjoyable read. I recommend this book for anyone that is in the business world that wants to get ahead, or at the very least make sure they are safe where they are.

[Jane Blanchard]

Suits And Ladders by Suzen Fromstein is down-to-earth advice gleamed from 102 corporate workers. Having worked in the corporate field over thirty years, this advice seemed very basic and simplistic until I realized that Ms. Fromstein's targeted audience is those starting out or in transition. For them, this advice is invaluable and on-target.

Ms. Fromstein's humor and casual writing style makes it easy to focus on what is important. Case studies help the reader understand the concepts and takeaways at the end of each chapter summarize the chapter's significant points.

This is a great book for learning the ins and outs of corporate culture. It would make a great gift for those entering the corporate world or having difficulty adjusting to it.