One of the most influential business thinker-writers of our time, Tom Peters is back with a quick book on how to develop talent, sell it and be it. In his typical, informal `no-need-to-prepare' style, Peters declares that the new professional era is all about 'renewed individual responsibility'. The author says that in the new economy one cannot count on any job being there for you. What you can find is ways to move yourself along with your company up the value chain and into the heart of the new economy.

Structured into five sections, the chapter on talent is where he rubbishes the long-term association with an organisation as 'cubicle slavery'. To put it in his words, `Lifetime employment at a corporation (cubicle slavery) is out. Life-time self-reinvention is in. The only fool-proof source of job security is your talent. And your talent will express itself by building a scintillating portfolio of `Wow' projects. And to get on with the wow projects one has to think weird as the times demand.

So, it's all about taking responsibility of ones' professional life and taking charge of our own lives. People's professional qualities, not the character that matter now. He writes, " What coporates need is innovative, risk-taking, self sufficient entrepreneurs and not smooth-functioning organisation people," he elaborates.

The author drives home the point by citing the example of his own Wow project. "it was about rebranding my organisation, the Tom Peters Company which took about five years. The Daniel's formula can work the magic: reward excellent failures, Punish mediocre success.

On a lighter vein, Peters likes to call the USA, United States of 'Attitude' and stresses that the key factor to drive talent is attitude. The key to survival really lies in building a brand.