Career Strategy Distilled

You get one life, much of it dedicated to a career. Optimizing your career can further optimize your life. So what's the optimal approach? As the CEO of a consulting firm I had a vested interest in, and was a party to, a lot of other people's career success. Based on that, I've distilled the factors that fuel success into three essential strategies:

1. Know what you want. Life goes by faster than you think. The problem with taking things one day at a time is you run out of days. Instead, visualize your life in aggregate. What do you want your career and lifestyle to look like? Summarize that in 5-10 bullets and post them somewhere you'll see them every day. Doing this immediately changes three things: 1) you're now much more apt to recognize beneficial situations, people, and opportunities, 2) you're now much more apt to do, say and act in a way that's consistent with your goals, and 3) you're suddenly in pursuit of a tangible ideal, which is itself, very motivating and very exciting. Result: more time spent on the things that matter, less wasted on things that don't. By simply writing down what you want, you immediately become more intentional, less random, and more motivated. Your odds for success are already improved.
2. Build trust. Improving your situation almost always relies on opportunity. But opportunities don't just materialize out of thin air. Opportunities come through people, and trust is the currency that earns them, be it with clients, customers, investors, employers, employees, friends or spouse. The more widely you're trusted, the more likely opportunities will flow your way. So make it who you are to build and maintain trust with everyone you can. Be strategic, but also know that opportunities frequently come from the least likely places, so cast a wide net. People don't just hand over opportunities. They look for someone to entrust them to. Trust is the reason. Be that person.
3. Make them tell you no. I've seen very deserving people wait for years, even decades, for a meaningful career opportunity to finally come to them. Be aware of the passage of time and maintain a sense of urgency. In my experience, those who ask tend to benefit more frequently than those who don't. By asking, you convey an expectation. An expectation once stated, is hard to ignore. If you're respectful and your intentions are good, the downside is rarely perilous and often beneficial. In general, it pays to lean-in to the future you want and exert some influence because no one watches out for you better than you.

Note: For 30+ years people have repeated the phrase, "It's all about relationships." No, it's actually all about trust. Relationships without trust are just acquaintances.

With the inevitable integration of AI, building trust, and lots of it, seems like a good hedge.

Punch line: To optimize your career, decide what you want, be worthy of people's trust, and don't let the grass grow under your feet. Time just slips away. Do these three things with gusto, and the future you want is a lot more likely to be the future you'll get.

Till next week,

Dave

dave@goodnewsfriday.com

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