Email Novel Suspects Logo
Hachette provides comprehensive global distribution services in the following territories:
United States flag Switch to United States region United Kingdom flag Switch to United Kingdom region Australia flag Switch to Australia region India flag Switch to India region

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers
Go to Hachette Book Group home

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers

By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You

Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

So Good They Can’t Ignore You Open the full-size image

Loading

Contributors

By Cal Newport

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Sep 18, 2012
Page Count
304 pages
Publisher
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN-13
9781455509126

Price

$29.00

Price

$38.00 CAD

Format

  1. ebook
  2. Audiobook Download (Unabridged)

Format:

  1. Hardcover $29.00 $38.00 CAD
  2. ebook $14.99 $19.99 CAD
  3. Audiobook Download (Unabridged)

Buy from Other Retailers:

  • Amazon
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Books-A-Million
  • Bookshop
  • Target
  • Walmart

In this book with unique perspective, professor Cal Newport debunks the long-held belief that “follow your passion” is good advice, and sets out to discover the reality of how people end up loving their careers.

A focus on passion over skill can be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping. Spending time with professionals who admit to deriving great satisfaction from their work, Newport uncovers the strategies they use and the pitfalls they avoid in developing their compelling careers.

Cal reveals 4 Rules for falling in love with your job:

#1: Don’t follow your passion
#2: Be so good they can’t ignore you
#3: Turn down a promotion
#4: Think small, act big

Cal Newport’s manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation. So Good They Can’t Ignore You provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love, and will change the way you think about careers, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.

Genre:

  • Nonfiction
  • Business & Economics
  • Careers
  • Job Hunting

Cal Newport, Ph.D., lives in Washington, D.C., where he is a writer and an assistant professor of computer science at Georgetown University. He also runs the popular website Study Hacks: Decoding Patterns of Success. Deep Work is his fifth book.

  • "Stop worrying about what you feel like doing (and what the world owes you) and instead, start creating something meaningful and then give it to the world. Cal really delivers with this one."

    --Seth Godin, author, Linchpin
  • "Entrepreneurial professionals must develop a competitive advantage by building valuable skills. This book offers advice based on research and reality--not meaningless platitudes-- on how to invest in yourself in order to stand out from the crowd. An important guide to starting up a remarkable career."

    --Reid Hoffman, co-founder & chairman of LinkedIn and co-author of the bestselling The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career
  • "Do what you love and the money will follow' sounds like great advice -- until it's time to get a job and disillusionment quickly sets in. Cal Newport ably demonstrates how the quest for 'passion' can corrode job satisfaction. If all he accomplished with this book was to turn conventional wisdom on its head, that would be interesting enough. But he goes further -- offering advice and examples that will help you bypass the disillusionment and get right to work building skills that matter."

    --Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind
  • "This book changed my mind. It has moved me from 'find your passion, so that you can be useful' to 'be useful so that you can find your passion.' That is a big flip, but it's more honest, and that is why I am giving each of my three young adult children a copy of this unorthodox guide."

    --Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick, WIRED magazine

  • "First book in years I read twice, to make sure I got it. Brilliant counter-intuitive career insights. Powerful new ideas that have already changed the way I think of my own career, and the advice I give others."

    --Derek Sivers, founder, CD Baby
  • "Written in an optimistic and accessible tone, with clear logic and no-nonsense advice, this work is useful reading for anyone new to the job market and striving to find a path or for those who have been struggling to find meaning in their current careers."

    --Publishers Weekly

You May Also Like

Linked
Linked $19.95 $24.95 CAD
Do What You Are
Do What You Are $21.99 $28.99 CAD
Creative Careers
Creative Careers $17.99 $22.99 CAD
The Right-and Wrong-Stuff
The Right-and Wrong-Stuff $28.00 $36.50 CAD
Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office
Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office $19.99 $25.99 CAD

Newsletter Signup

Get recommended reads, deals, and more from Hachette

By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Cal Newport

About the Author

Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, So Good They Can’t Ignore You, and Deep Work, which have been published in over 35 languages. He is a regular contributor to the New Yorker, the New York Times, and WIRED, a frequent guest on NPR, and the host of the popular Deep Questions podcast.

Learn more about this author

▲
HBG Distribution logo
  • FAQ
  • Vendors
  • Cookie Policy
  • Report Piracy
  • Fraud Alert
  • CPSIA
  • GPSR
© 2025 Hachette Book Group | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Do Not Sell My Personal Information