This is why you will FAIL to have a great career…
For those of you who are not yet familiar with this, RDS is a pyramid-shaped framework with 11 tenets and 3 foundations. When applied properly, these principles help businesses and even individual professionals achieve their organizational and career objectives. Any ideas on what today’s topic is? Keep reading below to know more about this career-driven insight from one of TED Talks’ best speakers.
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This is why you will FAIL to have a great career… Are you having a great time in your current career? Yes? No? Just… okay? Well, whether you’re on the positive side or negative side of the spectrum, this article is for you! Here, we won’t talk about or remind you about the top-ten-things-you-need-to-do-to-have-a-successful-career. Instead, we’ll tackle the topic the other way around: We’ll talk about why you will fail to have a great career so that through this, you will truly understand how to achieve success in this area of your life.
Larry Smith is an economics professor at University of Waterloo. As a well-known storyteller and advocate for youth leadership, he has also mentored many of his students on start-up business management and career development. The most notable start-up Smith advised in its infancy is Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone. Throughout his three-decade career at University of Waterloo, Smith has inspired countless students to take up the mantle of economics with his passionate and homespun tales of economic wizardry. He has also coached and mentored various students on startup business management and career development strategies. In fact, the topic of career success consumes Smith! He is frustrated with today’s college students and is upset because most of them pursue specific careers for the wrong reasons—money, status, fame, etc. According to Smith, those students won’t succeed. Why? It's because for Smith, the only way to have a great career is to do what you love. Sure, there is nothing wrong with wanting to earn money, upgrade one’s status in life, or be famous through choosing a specific career path. However, these are not long-term goals nor the correct formula for career success. Smith believes there’s something else more important than these superficial goals. This led him to channel his frustration into an inspiring, passionate, and humorous TEDx lecture in 2012 titled, “Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career.” Why Money, Status, and Fame Fall Short of the Definition of a Great Career Think about this: If you’re not happy and passionate about the work you do, you might fail to have a great career… and if you’re not having a great time at a great career, it will be harder for you to generate enthusiasm through your job. That’s why Smith believes that career, happiness, and the ability to inspire people are connected. According to him: “Wasted talent is a waste I cannot stand. My students want to create technology. I want them to create really ‘kick-ass’ technology. I want them to be passionate about what they’re doing.” Smith’s premise is simple: There are plenty of bad jobs—those “high-stress, blood-sucking, soul-destroying” jobs. Then, there are great jobs, but very little in between. … but that’s not the REAL issue. For him, you will fail to land a great job or enjoy a great career because you are afraid to follow your passion. Smith also observes that no matter how many people tell someone to pursue his or her passions or dreams, that person will still decide not to do it. Why? EXCUSES. Many excuses are holding people back. “My passion doesn’t generate much revenue.” “What I really enjoy doing is not what my family wants for me in my career.” “I can ‘fake it ‘til I make it (pertaining to forcing oneself to do something that isn’t really in line with his or her passions).’” The problem with such excuses is that they keep coming until you’re paralyzed. In the end, you not only get to pursue your dreams, but you also fail to at least do something worthwhile in your current career. So, what is Smith’s advice for this? Find and use your passion. Following your passion takes COURAGE, especially if you don’t see the results as quickly as you’d like. In the words of American host and TV producer Oprah Winfrey: “You’ve got to follow your passion. You’ve got to figure out what it is you love—who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams.” Following Your Passion and Career Driven Strategy (CDS) In his TEDx lecture, Smith cited former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ famous commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005. Here, Jobs encouraged the students to pursue the path they really love by saying that since their work is going to fill a large part of their lives, the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what they believe is great work. Smith agrees with Jobs, but believes the advice often falls on deaf ears. He says it doesn’t matter how many times people download Jobs’ Stanford commencement address because they will still decide not to do it. The reason? “You’re afraid to pursue your passion. You’re afraid to look ridiculous. You’re afraid to try. You’re afraid you may fail.” So… what do Professor Joel Litman and Dr. Mark L. Frigo have to say about this dilemma through the lens of CDS? According to them, one of the root causes of the failure to have a great career is failing to define what “personal wealth” means to you. Personal wealth includes many facets:
If you don’t define and understand your “personal Wealth,” you’ll lack the anchor or compass that will help you make good decisions about your career and avoid bad ones. Besides, if you weren’t already in your current career, would you enter it today? If not, what are you going to do about it? You see, defining your “personal wealth” goes hand in hand with pursuing your passions in life. By knowing both of these, you’ll have the ability and intention to make the necessary changes to make your career—and life in general—better for you. So, the bottom line? Define your “personal wealth” and follow your passion! Otherwise, you risk failing to have a great career, as Smith puts it. — If you’re looking to gain a better understanding of Return Driven Strategy and Career Driven Strategy, we highly recommend checking out “Driven” by Professor Litman and Dr. Frigo. Click here to get your copy and learn how this framework can help you in your business strategies and ultimately, in ethically maximizing wealth for your firm. Hope you’ve found this week’s topic interesting and helpful. EXCITING NEWS AHEAD The world of work has shifted, and there’s no going back. The barriers to entry have never been lower for talented professionals to work independently, and today’s massive external workforce is hardly a pandemic-produced fad. Business owners can only survive in the new work landscape by partnering with this deep talent pool. With decades of experience in both small-business entrepreneurship and executive management at PwC, I truly believe that the future of work is independent. With that, I’m happy to share with you that my book, co-authored with Walter Scott Lamb, is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Free Birds Revolution: The Future of Work & The Independent Mind This is an essential read for both independent professionals and corporate executives. Here, we provide educational and practical guides to unpack the ever-growing workforce and offer you crucial ways to become a client of choice. Click on the link above to pre-order your copy. Let this book help you future-proof your career and organization in the new world of work. Ever since establishing a division that develops and publishes sports titles, Electronic Arts (EA), has cemented itself as one of the most recognizable names in the sports video games genre. Learn more about EA’s split with FIFA through the lens of RDS in next week’s article! |
