Your top career growth reads of 2024

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Dec 30, 2024

Ethan & Jason here—we hope you had a spectacular holiday. Welcome to this week’s *free article* of Level Up: Your source for executive insights, high performance habits, and specific career growth actions.

Upcoming events:
(Jan 9) Live Executive Coaching with Ethan Evans—Client is a VP of Product Management
(Jan 29) Level Up Career Talks: Driving a Culture of Innovation
Both events and the video recordings are exclusive to newsletter paid subscribers. Checkout our new referral program where you can win a 3-month comp of our newsletter.
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A recap of some of your most popular reads in 2024, categorized by career growth.

I want to become a bar raising executive

I want to get promoted

I want to manage up more effectively

I want to be a better manager

I want to develop more executive presence

I want to be more productive & high performant

I want to successfully network & build relationships

I want to land a leadership role at a rocketship startup

What a Series B Co-Founder looks for in their Leadership Team with Dee Murthy (Co-Founder, Ghost)

I want to get hired

A few of Ethan’s popular phrases

“Be bright, be quick, be gone.”
“Results are the currency of credibility.”
“If you want to be trusted, be clear and reliable.”
“Better to lose big and switch companies than to stay stuck in the middle.”
"Disagreements are more easily resolved when we treat those who oppose us as people to be persuaded, not as enemies to be vilified."

Reading (or listening on Audible) is your best secret tool for growing your career. While no one book will instantly transform your career, the weight of continual investment in yourself will make all the difference over the arc of a career. There are many great books available. Here is a list of the books Ethan has found to be the most valuable in his career.

Most popular Level Up Career Talk

Executive 1:1s Using Them Well

In this 64 minute Career Talk, Ethan explains the Amazon way, executive expectations, executive 1:1s, how to use (and avoid ruining) a skip level 1:1, what a good "regular" 1:1 looks like, the manager's perspective, and answered audience Q&A (newsletter paid subscribers were invited to join this talk and ask questions live).

Note: Career Talk classes are topic-specific presentations by Ethan. While these on-demand classes are available individually for purchase ($59 each)—all are free to paid newsletter subscribers ($354 value).

It was great getting to know more of our community members

Level Up Community Meetup in Seattle—read more here

Level Up Community Moderators “Get to know each other” event—read more here

End the year strong and get prepared now to make 2025 even better.

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Comments members have published about the newsletter (thank you!):

"Helped me up level"
"Great career advice at every level"
"I would be getting a top class mentor"
"The teachings from Ethan Evans are gold."
"Your advice is straight to the point, concise, unpretentious"
"Lots of useful info on moving up in the career that actually works"
"I've purchased two of your courses and your advice is actionable and timely."
"I appreciate Ethan's honest take on careers and his extreme ownership mindset."
"Actionable and practical advice that I find highly relevant for this stage of my career."
"I have found your writing and courses to be very valuable and help me learn and grow in my career!"
"It's rare to have the combination of an experienced leader and the passion/skill to coach. Definitely worth the money!"
"Your YouTube videos have been super helpful in navigating recent circumstances in my career."
"I attend to your stuck in the senior ... cohort and it was a life changer. Now I'm hungry for more."
"It's so valuable to hear from leaders who are willing to share their candid opinions, true stories of experiences and lessons learned."
"You are one of the few people who shares genuinely actionable, helpful, experience-based advice."
"I like getting your insights in the long game of growing as an Engineering Leader"
"Level up by Ethan's newsletter and the Breaking through Executive course has really helped me grow into my Senior Manager role in this tough environment. Looking forward to utilizing further insights and actions to grow towards Director role."
"Thank you for adding value to my career growth. Be it straight truths, showing me the how, or the explicit call to action; I find them immensely helpful. It helps me better respond and navigate situations equipped with your prior experiences - mistakes and all, and adapt well."
"I have been reading your free newsletter for several months. I have decided going into 2025 that I would cut back on newsletters and only keep the valuable ones. Upgrading to paid was a no brainer. I am excited to keep learning!"
"Appreciate all you are doing to build community and support people in their careers. It's like having a mentor for many, but feels personal. Excited to connect with others."
"Your online courses are great and I think this is a great resource to reinforce, and build off of, those learnings."
"Ethan, I follow your posts on linkedin, and even the free ones are very insightful. To sign up for the paid subscription is the obvious next logical step. Thanks for sharing your experiences!"
"I've been following you on LinkedIn for a while and your straight talk on how to navigate the executive level resonates. I'm excited to unlock more through this subscription."
"Hi Ethan, Your tactics and strategies are super helpful. Clear and concise message of what matters in the corporate world. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with the world."
"I was recommended this substack by leader in my org. I read content here and felt this will be useful to my career growth. Especially as I look to take a step up from Senior Manager to Executive, I felt this content will help learn critical skills I am missing and I will need."
"Ethan is a great leader and have great insights to grow from a Manager to executive and to navigate the complex realms of leadership."
"Ethan, I am so grateful for the knowledge you share for those of us ICs navigating our career paths in big tech. Good managers and great leadership is a thing of the past and seeking out coaching, skills and tooling to get to the next level has been dependent on resources like what you provide. Keep being a leader and supporting our growth. You have my vote - paid subscribed! 🤜💥🤛"
"I have looked up to you as an amazing leader, since we overlapped in Amazon Appstore. Your commitment to spreading knowledge and sharing your experience is something I want to support and learn from!"
"Love his content on career growth. Looking forward to learn from his insights, experiences and apply them to my career. His content resonates a lot with me."
"I have followed your posts on Linkedin and think they are super insightful"
"Really appreciate your clear, specific perspective and guidance on career matters. Very helpful to remember."
"Your content is awesome and I loved my first networking call. Looking forward to participate in more events. thanks"
"Hi Ethan, I support your work because you are very generous in sharing your knowledge of LinkedIn and you represent the perspective of a wise and seasoned leader. Looking forward to exploring additional resources."
"I have found your posts and newsletters have immense value. And I want more and be part of your community!"
"I heard your advice on many topics and found it to the point, very valuable."
"Jason did a good job answering my questions by email. I am interested in your content and the career community"
"I trust Jason's recommendation."
"Ethan's writing has been instrumental in providing valuable tools and guidelines. His insights have been a guiding force as I strive towards my objective of becoming a VP (or possible CEO). Thank you for sharing your wisdom and contributing to my professional growth!"
"I love your work and I get to learn so much from your writings"
"I loved your talk on Lenny's. I hope to be coached by you someday."
"I want to be around likeminded individuals :-)"
"Continuing to grow as an executive and learning from shared experiences. Love the thought provoking topics"
"You provide unmatched value! Looking forward to the content."
"the various features you offer have value, and I think it's a great idea to pay a monthly fee for a managed group run by professionals. I don't have time to waste on random, unproductive encounters in groups open to the general public."
"Ethan is among the very few creators that have walked the talk and offer a massive value for any leader craving for a career change. Even for seasoned leaders, it is hard to fathom by ourselves the straightforward lessons Ethan teach with no sugarcoating. Not signing up would be negligent to my career growth and financially irresponsible based on my own experience after going through his program."

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