Advice is for Winners

This is not your father’s self-help book. Valdes-Perez expertly weaves humorous and endearing anecdotes with compelling research on the importance of asking for advice. You will be amazed at what you learn, and you will come away with a new approach toward making all types of life’s decisions. My advice: read the book!

—     MARK J. MORRISSETTE, Managing Director, North Atlantic Capital

Advice is for Winners clearly and thoughtfully addresses a topic that is too often underappreciated and misunderstood. Building on his diverse experiences, the author brings credibility and powerful insights about advice and how to use it. Audiences from students to professionals will find this “advice on advice” to be extremely valuable.

—     EDEN FISHER, Professor of the Practice, Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Great advice in plain English from the winner who founded and ran one of the most successful high-tech companies in Pittsburgh’s history, sold to IBM in 2012. I have one piece of advice for you: read this book!

—     OREN ETZIONI, founder of four technology companies and Washington Research Foundation Entrepreneurship Professor, University of Washington

You had better read this book if you want to make smarter decisions, especially the decisions that keep you awake at night. This well-written resourceful guide should be required reading for anyone who values great outcomes and a good night’s sleep. If only he had written this much sooner!

—     ANNE C. MCCAFFERTY, Mother of Two and Hirer of Hundreds

Advice is for Winners turns into a skill something that has so far been considered an art. The author’s narrative style and numerous practical examples make the book fascinating reading.  I had also the pleasure to listen to his lecture on the topic. He is not only an excellent writer — he is also a great story teller and a passionate speaker. Highly recommended!

—     MAREK DRUZDZEL, Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh

No one knows it all. The winners are those who know when to seek advice, how and where to look for it, and how to interpret it. Valdes-Perez provides an insightful look into why so many of us often fail to put this seemingly mundane observation to practice. This book is a truly compelling read for anyone seeking to improve their decision making in life and work. As an entrepreneur myself, I strongly recommend it to anyone undertaking something new and challenging.

—     NORMAN M. SADEH, co-founder and Chairman of Wombat Security Technologies and Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

We all, at times, can miss the forest for the trees. Mr. Valdes-Perez embarks on a simple but important journey that can keep us grounded – developing the humility and awareness to ask for advice and the wisdom to know when and how to ask well.

—     FREDERICK W. THIEMAN, President, Buhl Foundation

Advice is for Winners is an invaluable career resource for students seeking internships or fulltime jobs. Dr. Valdes-Perez provides practical tips for utilizing this important but often overlooked source of information (and uses his own experiences as a new graduate as illustrations of how powerful the right words of advice can be). No matter what field or profession that you are choosing to pursue as you begin a career, Advice is for Winners is a must-read.

—     KEVIN COLLINS, Assistant Director, Career and Professional Development Center, Carnegie Mellon University

As an avid reader of personal and professional development books, this book is the first to really delve into the question “Why don’t we seek advice” when it would be so beneficial to do so. This book answers that question and provides great suggestions on how we can become much better advice-seekers.

 —     DAVE COHEN, Senior Business Consultant and Executive Board, Beth El Congregation

Raul, a committed, intensely focused entrepreneur, who built a company from a noble idea to a successful exit with IBM, has written about the pragmatic and overlooked notion of advice. It is often a lonely journey building a technology company. Raul offers practical wisdom which is highly valuable for anyone in the business of designing and deploying technology solutions.

—     AUDREY RUSSO, President and CEO, Pittsburgh Technology Council

Raul practices what he preaches in this book. As an advisor to my start-up technology company, not only has Raul offered experienced sound advice, but he has also instilled in me a deep sense of the essential importance and value of proactively seeking advice.