Lakewood Ranch author shares advice for young professionals

When Lakewood Ranch's Tim Carnahan, 71, received a copy of his self-published book “Under Development: A Commonsense Approach to Being Your Best (A Young Professional's Guide),” he didn't try to hold his emotions.

“I just held it and cried,” Carnahan said. “It was my life, you know?”

Carnahan’s book does not contain studies. It is simply the world according to Carnahan — things he has learned through his own experiences as a longtime businessman. He has been a mentor to both his coworkers and other professionals who have sought his advice. 

Currently, he is a financial consultant for the Thirteen Group, but he has held executive roles at several businesses through the years, including Save Mart and Grand Union supermarkets.

This book is targeted toward young adults who are plotting their future or who feel stuck in a current job. It discusses many ways for young workers to make themselves more marketable. It also would like to prompt the readers to assess their talents honestly.

“Learning is just not somebody sitting with you and instructing you,” said Carnahan. “Learning is observing, having emotional intelligence and reading the room.”

Carnahan wanted to share his expertise with young students and professionals who might not know where they want their careers to go. 

“I left three times as much on the cutting room floor because I wanted 100 pages,” Carnahan said. “I wanted something that a Gen Z-er could read in two hours, take 10 points away that potentially could change their lives, and then move on with it.”

Carnahan has been a mentor to an estimated 1,000 members of his different staffs in some way or another for 40 years. He continues to mentor those who seek him out. He said he has mentees who range from their second year in management to CEOs of companies.

He has 11 mentees currently. Some are local, while others reside in New York, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington DC.

Molly Killian is one of Carnahan’s longtime mentees who lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia and works as the director at the Stand Together Foundation.

The pair worked together for two years in Washington D.C. at the nonprofit organization, Americans for Prosperity. Killian was inexperienced in her role of chief of staff, so Carnahan provided support and advice when needed. 

“A personal touch was that he was compassionate, kind and careful, and never pushy, always just thoughtful,” Killian said. “One of the big Tim-isms that I've taken with me in my life is 'tough on issues, soft on people' and I think that was very much exemplified in how he coached and mentored.”

Killian said she can hear Tim's voice throughout his book when she reads it. She said he is a very active listener and the book is a manifestation of his decades worth of listening, and distilling the information into themes.

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“I think the book reads pretty quick, pretty punchy, and not preachy, which I appreciate,” Killian said. “Tim never made me feel young or inexperienced, even though I was. He always made me feel like I had a seat at the table with him.” 

Killian said she wanted to maintain a relationship with him even after they were no longer coworkers. They have kept in touch with each other for the last 10 years and catch up with each other about once a month.

Carnahan said the writing process for his book was a long one, about four-and-a-half years. He would write and walk away while pursuing other hobbies. There was a spurt where he went to Siesta Key beach for three hours a day for six months to write early in the morning. When he was satisfied with his 100-page book, he started looking for publishers. 

“I'm not Stephen King,” Carnahan said. “They're not paying me in advance to write a book.” 

Carnahan decided on Fulton Books, which he described as a “one stop shop” for all he was looking for. He self-funded his book with the goal to get it out by June for graduation this year and he accomplished that as his book was available online starting on April 25. 

Carnahan started out in the grocery industry and studied accounting in college.

“What I found was having store experience going into the office was almost the best education I could have had going in there,” Carnahan said. “Everybody in the stores thought the people in the office were nuts, and everybody in the office thought people in the store were nuts.”

Carnahan knew in his mid 30s that developing people who worked for him would be a top priority. 

“I think I was a much better collaborator, a much better corporate culture person, a much better problem solver, and a much better process development person than I was an accountant,” said Carnahan.