The book's 11 chapters are structured round an acronym, FORMULA. Whatever aspect of your life -- working out why you work, learning to communicate, getting another job or whatever -- is under discussion, Mulligan takes you through a seven step programme. The advice is to focus, organise, revise, motivate, utilise, liberate and act -- in that order.

There's a chapter on Company Culture or what Mulligan calls "the way things are done round here." She also offers practical strategies for dealing with colleagues and deciding whether you have got what it takes for management or self-employment. And remember that "Technology is the thief of time" because "find a way to do something in half the time and you can do twice as much." A chapter on doubling your income is, however, disappointingly unoriginal. Mulligan has no wealth-enhancing quick fixes.

This is life coaching as well as work coaching so its final section focuses on balance. You have to look at your health, your spiritual life and your relationships with family and friends as well as earn your living. Where are you now and where do you want to be?

Mulligan's emphasis is on positivity. Learn to say "I will get in shape" not "I will lose weight." Better to vow to "improve my financial position" than to "get out of debt." Accepting personal responsibility comes into this too so its: "I allow myself to be undermined" rather than: "My colleagues undermine me."

Useful summaries end each chapter and there's a helpful index. The writing is refreshingly accessible and jargon free. --Susan Elkin