VISIBILITY
Some talented people get lost in obscurity
I’ve been struggling with something lately. I’m having an internal tug of war between needing more visibility but wanting to recede into the shadows.
Even though I force myself to be more active online, my introverted nature hasn’t gone away. I write, speak, podcast, post, and engage because it is excellent for my career and business. But, it doesn’t come naturally for me.
That being said, my social media efforts are finally starting to pay off. People are liking and commenting on my posts. I respond, and — of course — that encourages further dialogue.
It’s mostly positive, but occasionally it turns negative. We’ve all encountered it so much that I guess we get used to it. But it’s still unpleasant. …
NETWORKING
How to feel more comfortable and get more out of them
“Your network should have people who can help you land deals, get jobs, pick up new clients, or help you learn new in-demand skills. In other words, you want to network vertically, not horizontally.”
— Zak Slayback
You may be one of those people who absolutely love typical networking events. Perhaps you’re an extrovert, and it’s easy for you to have a circle of people cluster around you to hear your interesting stories.
If so, I envy you. I am not one of those people.
However, if you’re like me and a bit more introverted, then you know the pain of trying to make small talk at events and parties. But, building a powerful network is a valuable side effect of other useful events like workshops, retreats, conferences, and panels. …
REMOTE WORK
The first company to do the right thing
Reddit announced permanent work from home this week. They also stated that they wouldn’t reduce their employees’ compensation if they choose to move away from the Bay Area of California.
“Many tech companies have taken this step amid the pandemic, but few have eliminated geographic compensation adjustments. Reddit said they will not lower the pay of employees who choose to work remotely; instead, all U.S. compensation will now be tied to pay ranges of high-cost areas such as the Bay Area.”
If you’re not familiar with the “cost of living adjustment,” employers often pay employees more to offset the higher cost of living in some locations (e.g., New York, San Francisco, London). If you already live in a location with a higher cost of living, guess what happens if you move somewhere with a lower cost of living? …
RELATIONSHIPS
Maintaining personal and professional relationships
Millions of people around the world have been working at home for most of this year. More companies are joining the ranks of those who have decided to let their employees work remotely until next year, perhaps forever.
Corporations are closing down campuses, leaving office spaces, ending commercial real estate deals and leases, and even selling off properties. REI is abandoning an 8-acre campus headquarters in Washington. Pinterest is burning $90M to cancel a lease in San Francisco.
I think a few of us knew that this “remote work thing” wasn’t going away anytime soon. I’m a cohost of The Brave New Workforce podcast, and we are predicting that this year has been the tipping point. More companies will have remote workforces of globally distributed, geographically-unrestricted teams forever. …
SUCCESS
The pursuit of happiness, success, and wealth
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been asking people questions related to money, success, and happiness. For example:
- Would you be willing to reduce your lifespan by 10 years to become extremely successful?
- Would you be willing to reduce your lifespan by 10 years to become extremely wealthy?
- Would you rather be extremely happy in your personal life, but have a mediocre career, or extremely successful in your career, but have an uninspiring personal life?
As you might imagine, I received a range of answers and clarifying questions (e.g., “When do I get the wealth?”). I wasn’t looking for the right answer. …
PERFECTIONISM
Don’t let it destroy your career
Fear of failure limits careers.
Procrastination stalls success.
Often, the curse of perfectionism underlies both.
We become obsessed with perfect performance, and this drives the fear of failure. Thus, people won’t step up to take on challenging projects, leave their comfort zone, or take any risks that could potentially lead to great rewards.
While procrastination is sometimes associated with unpleasant tasks (e.g., putting off doing your taxes), it is often driven by perfectionistic concerns too. We can’t complete an important project because it is never “good enough.” We delay sending a critical application because we fear that it isn’t perfect.
Unfortunately, life doesn’t care about your desire for perfection. Your competition won’t wait for you to get it “just right.” …
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Some of us don’t want to build an empire
Some people dream of building an empire. They want to have impact on a massive scale. They want to lead large teams and create a Fortune 500 company.
Many of these people also desire to accumulate tremendous wealth. They are never satisfied with what they have. Bigger is never big enough. They want more, more, more.
Other people are more modest. They want to work on something that matters. They want to be financially stable, but they have no desire for insane wealth. They’d rather be happy and live a balanced life.
I’ve worked within small startups and massive corporations as an employee. I’ve built my own startup and team. For a few years, I explored a vision of creating the next big platform that would eventually become a billion-dollar company. …
HAPPINESS
The gap between vision and reality makes you unhappy
Have you noticed that many of your disappointments in life — or with your career — are due to outcomes not living up to your expectations? I would also imagine that the expectations friends and loved ones have for you have caused friction in your relationships.
It’s that darn gap.
We expected more from a situation or another person than what was delivered. That gap between expectations and reality sets us up for unhappiness.
“Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.” — Edward de Bono
Having unrealistic or high expectations often leads to disappointment. …
REMOTE WORK
Roommates and children, and pets, oh my!
I didn’t use to give much thought to classifying my work before sitting down to get things done.
Work is work. Right?
Of course, there were times that I knew that I needed to crank on some designs, work on a prototype, or finish a spec without interruptions. Trying to get work done under time pressure was a nightmare in an open office space.
Someone was always coming up to interrupt me. People were talking and taking calls. A myriad of other distractions ensured that I couldn’t focus.
So, I would leave to find a quiet room somewhere on campus. If I required a more massive block of focused time, I would escape the office entirely and find a coffee shop. …
AVOID FAILURE
Too many people wait until it’s too late
Let me ask you a few questions:
- Should you put another log on the fire in your fireplace after it’s already gone out?
- Should pilots wait for their plane to crash before making adjustments to their altitude?
- Should a couple wait until their marriage ends in divorce before they find a marriage counselor?
- Should you wait to add gas to your vehicle until it has already stalled on the freeway?
OK, yes. Some of us have made that last mistake. But how many times have you made that mistake?
If you’ve run out of gas several times, then you may also be one of those people who only decide to invest in professional development after they’ve experienced a failure in their career. …
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