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This is a book about work choices and life choices, and the critical points--or defining moments--at which the two become one. It examines the right-versus-right conflicts that every business manager faces and presents an unorthodox yet practical way for managers to think about and resolve them.

When making hard professional decisions, managers often use personal values as a touchstone. According to Badaracco, however, resolving such dilemmas is not as simple as the inspirational do the right thing school of ethics would have you believe. Defining Moments reveals an alternative approach that helps managers tackle the more complex and troubling question of what to do when doing the right thing requires doing something else wrong, or leaving another right thing undone.

Drawing on philosophy, literature, and three stories that reveal the increasing complexity today's managers face as their careers advance, Defining Moments provides tangible examples, actionable steps, and a flexible framework that managers at all levels can use to make the choices that will shape not only their careers, but their characters.

Compelling, readable, and absent of ethical jargon, Defining Moments gets to the core of what makes being a manager so difficult, as it explores what it means--and whether it's even possible--to be a successful manager and a thoughtful, responsible human being.