Back in business school all of a year or so ago, I remember reading a class note discussing the approaches of various time management systems. The basic message was this: there are various methods of managing your time, each with their own relative strengths and weaknesses, but these differences are ultimately minor. What is important, though was having the discipline and constancy to actually enact and diligently apply the system you chose. That note pretty much broke me of my habit of looking for the perfect personal organization/time management book or gadget. No one trick or gizmo was going to change my behavior, only I was going to.

So I didn’t find it too terribly presumptuous when I read the subtitle of Daniel Pink’s The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, and after reading it, I agree. It looks like I have now broken the addiction of seeking the perfect approach to my career as well. Dan Pink first got on my radar with Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind. Free Agent Nation was one of the first mainstream analyses of the way work changed with a knowledge based economy and the end of linear career paths, especially those dominated by lifetime careers with a large, paternal employer. While both were definitely sustainers for my own fractal career path, A Whole New Mind really cemented the concept that the synthesis of both right brain (creative) and left brain (rational) thinking was the real differentiator in success and innovation. Besides, he used to be Al Gore’s speech writer when he was Vice President. That gives him super wonk credentials in my book.

Johnny Bunko is its own synthesis of right and left brain thinking. Drawn in Japanese manga format by young hotshot Rob Ten Pas, Pink succeeds in blending what could be another tired how to book into something accessible, memorable and super fast to read. It took me maybe an hour, and a week later, it still pops into my head when I see a situation at work that reminds me of its advice. I wouldn’t be spoiling anything by listing the very simple six rules, but that would give you an excuse not to read it and you’d forget the rules anyway, right? There’s a good hook in who delivers the “career secrets” in the book. The mentor is a cute manga vixen with an MBA. Her name is Diana and the book jacket describes her as “part Cameron Diaz, part Barbara Eden,” a description scientifically designed to appeal to mid-career males. Does anyone under the age of 35 still know who Barbara Eden is anyway? I am curious how the book would appeal to women – of course my wife won’t go near anything that smacks of a business book, so I can’t test it at home – but the whole manga thing really seems to play better to males than females, at least that’s what I intuit.

Regardless of your gender, you won’t be disappointed. And think, you’ll never have to plow through another one of those what-color-is-your-parachute career guide/pop psychology books again. Think of the time you’ll have to google “I Dream of Jeannie” while you’re taking a break from your cool job.

Buy it at your local bookstore.