In the vein of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, a practical guide to help young professionals recognize the ideals and subconscious behaviors holding them back in their careers.

Many ambitious young professionals today find themselves disengaged and disillusioned. Accustomed to steady progress and consistent recognition, they now feel stuck, ineffective, and overlooked. They aren’t sure whether the problem lies within themselves, their managers, or the capitalist system. While these challenges are unique to the early career stage, they are incredibly common. Pino G. Audia, John A. Byrne, and Marshall Goldsmith have seen this pattern repeatedly—among MBA students, new managers, consultants, and analysts; in both corporations and startups; across industries and continents.

The cause is neither bumbling managers nor broken pipelines, they argue. It’s the “idealism paradox,” where even the smartest, most hard-working people become trapped by their own beliefs. The qualities that made them so promising—faith in hard work, honesty, and fairness—can also blind them to the realities of power, perception, and persuasion within organizations. But you don’t have to abandon your ideals to succeed; you need to learn how to pursue them effectively.

Office Intelligence teaches young workers how to recognize when their expectations and assumptions are undermining their progress—and how to adapt their behavior without losing their integrity or sense of purpose. It identifies common misconceptions and explains:

• Why hard work isn’t enough;
• Why you can’t expect your manager to look out for your best interests;
• Why people pleasing derails progress;
• Why the impulse to quit is usually about purpose, not the job itself;
• And more.