Imagine sitting in a café with a notepad and talking to a corporate senior who has been there, seen it, and done it. Over a cup of cappuccino, the senior narrates his wisdom about crafting a career that “doesn’t just pay but also gives you joy.”

That’s how you could feel reading Pavan Soni’s Design Your Career: Lead Self, Lead Others, Lead Change — inspiring and actionable.

Soni lays down six rules, and we explain them with examples.

Rule 1: Life is long; pace it well: Imagine you’re at the starting line of a marathon race, and the crowd surges forward at the whistle. Do you sprint? Definitely not if you want to cross the finishing line. Similarly, find the deep motivations that drive you in a career — and pace yourself. Remember, he isn’t giving up when someone steps away from a high-stakes corporate job to mentor start-ups. It’s just pacing for the long game.

For example, Dhoni gave up Test cricket in 2013 to prolong his career by a decade.

Master the craft

Rule 2: Deserve before you desire: You have to earn your seat at the power table. It doesn’t get handed out like in a dinner.

Take a junior analyst who wants to lead strategy meetings, but his PowerPoint slides are full of errors, and he simply reads out from there.

Obviously, he needs to master the craft. Similarly, if you want to sit in the corner room, first become indispensable. The book urges us to build credibility before seeking rewards.

Rule 3: Own your career, or somebody else will: Remember the gym coach constantly reminding you to attend practice? Or the mother who repeatedly follows up on her kid’s homework. In a corporate career, no one will set the pace for you.

Instead, it is a long-term portfolio that you have to assiduously build. You have a combination of good stocks in a portfolio of stocks, and you don’t necessarily follow the trend. Similarly, treat your career as an entrepreneurial venture and stay away from the passive “go-with-the-flow” decisions.

Rule 4: Focus on high-leverage activities: This one hits the bull’s eye if you’ve spent long nights in busy work that felt productive but wasn’t.

Like the long hours you spent reading parts of a subject for the exam, but no question came from there! Soni talks about the ‘Zone of Freedom,’ a space where your choices make the most impact. He tells you to focus and shows you how to do it.

For instance, delegate tasks that are outside your core zone. It’s like deciding not to wash your car but spending that hour learning a new skill.

Rule 5: Think strategically, act decisively: Soni introduces “future back” thinking, where you imagine the future you want and reverse-engineer the steps to get there. It’s like a young designer sketching out her dream studio and then identifying the skills, networks, and portfolio pieces she’ll need.

Stephen Covey wrote this three decades ago: Begin with the end in mind. The idea may not be novel, but many don’t follow it, so it needs repeating.

Take responsibility

Rule 6: Leadership is a choice, not everyone can make: Leadership is about taking responsibility. Leaders shield, support, and inspire. Imagine a manager who takes the blame for a missed deadline so her team can focus on solutions. Only some are destined to be CEOs. And not every need to.

One of India’s best batters, Sachin Tendulkar, gave up captaincy. If your heart is there, go for it. If you think you are not cut for it, be the best in whatever you are now doing.

Design Your Career doesn’t give you a checklist; it hands you a compass. It’s for those willing to take charge of their lives, make tough choices, and do the work.

The reviewer is Director, ICFAI Group