Cal Newport introduced me to a term called "Career Capital" in his book "So Good They Can't Ignore You". This concept suggests that the workplace is a supply & demand system that requires a transaction to take place if we want to get what we want.
So, if I want a good paying job with great culture and all the things that I perceive would reduce the "pain" found in my previous work experiences... then I must bring something to the table that reduces the "pain" that company has experienced in previous employees.
This ability to reduce or alleviate pain points is the "career capital" that determines your value.
Unfortunately, many people assume that their experience should automatically equal value and they feel like since they have done 'such-and-such' for such a long time, they should be valued by their potential employer (or current employer if seeking a promotion).
the truth is, however, that time on the job does not equal increased skill and knowledge by itself. I once worked in a seniority minded company where every job was bid on and the person with the most seniority got the position or schedule they bid on regardless if they were actual the best person to be successful in that position. It was horrible!
We used to joke amongst ourselves that, Some people have 20 years of experience, BUT others just have 1 year's experience 20 times!" Ibn other words, they may have worked here a long time, but they have never grown past that first year. Other than their ability to keep showing up... they are no more valuable to the company now than they were 20 years ago.
Cultures like this do not foster an environment of growth. Why should I better myself through sacrifice and hard work if it does not matter? Those that were growth minded would better themselves. but rather than using those new skills to better the current company, they tended to move on to other opportunities which reduced the quality of the remaining employee pool.
I have been able to excel with a growth mindset in every other place I have worked due to their merit based cultures. These companies recognized that every time I invested in myself; I was also investing in the success of their business. When I improved myself, their employee pool was improved as well. Whenever I learned something new, pondered and brainstormed solutions to something old, created something that led to efficiency and productivity, etc., I was reducing a pain point; therefore increasing my value.
So how does one develop CAREER CAPITAL?
Obviously the first thing that comes to mind is education. Many times it takes some proof of education to even get the interview. Interestingly, most times the topic of the education isn't as important as the fact that you completed a degree of some type. At the most basic level, a degree at least adds a few basic items into your CAREER CAPITAL box. It adds proof that you can stick with something hard. It adds proof that you have been exposed to thoughts beyond your natural experiences. It is typically proof that you have been exposed to competing ideas, cultures, and thoughts without reacting in a way that kept you from completing the requirements of the task. It at least implies that you have developed at least some "soft skills", people skills, emotional intelligence, etc. that allowed you to work group projects together and live life together without getting kicked out!
Unfortunately, many people believe that once they have their degree, their personal development has been completed other than the job specific training ordered by their employer. The problem with this mindset is that it just puts you in the "big pool" with all the other fresh graduates who have been hired and who are also just completing the basic requirements for keeping their job. In other words, other than having enough CARRER CAPITAL to get hired, you have no value distinguishable from everyone else in the pool going forward.
Be a LIFELONG LEARNER!
Here is a tip for success... MAKE WHATEVER REQUIRED TRAINING THAT IS OFFERRED BY YOUR EMPLOYER THE BASEMENT/FOUNDATION OF YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN; THEN GO ON TO BUILD A TOWER!
The development they offer is not your plan! It is just the start. IF EVERYONE IS DOING IT... IT IS NOT SETTING YOU APART!
Do this instead and you will soon outpace others until you are "swimming" in your own pool.
GET THE DEGREE/CERTIFICATE that opens the door to your desired interview. (I do not suggest that college is automatically the way you should go in every situation. Know the industry and environment that you are interested in and see if a degree makes sense for you. If a degree is not the desired "value" needed for your path, then this step for you would be discovering and completing the requirements that will get you the interview.)
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS/NETWORK. God or bad, their still remains a lot of truth in the old adage, "It's not WHAT you know; but WHO you know that matters." I would say that 3 of the last 4 big opportunities I have had were significantly helped by who I had a relationship with, and in one of them I already had the job before I even had to do the formal interview and necessary paperwork. A few things to keep in mind... 1. You are always on "stage"! It is nearly impossible to keep your thoughts and actions private these days. 2. Value takes years to build, but only seconds to lose! it is much, much easier to fall off the ladder than to climb it. So be careful. 3. The world is small and you will need every bridge you ever built, eventually! I am amazed at how often I have ran into the same person over the years in different contexts. Someone who at one time had no bearing on my career is now standing right in the middle of the road I want to take. I figure that if I always leave others better than i find them, then I will never have to worry about who is in my path. 4. Loners succeed in the movies, but never in the workplace. It may be possible to have a great idea by yourself; but it is nearly impossible to bring it to the market by yourself. Always be building your team and network.
COMPLETE ALL THE REQUIRED AND OPTIONAL TRAININGS OFFERED IN YOUR FIELD AND BY YOUR EMPLOYER. 95% of you competition will stop with the required training. so this is an easy way to become the top 5% where you are at. Believe me, good leaders/managers will know who stepped up when it is time for a new or better opportunity.
READ! Even just 30 minutes a day will expose you to about 25 books a year. You don't have to memorize the books, but go into each one with the mindset that you will take a way AND implement at least one idea from each book.
WRITE! In whatever capacity is available, have an influencer mindset. Get your thoughts and ideas published somewhere. Company newsletter, company or industry Facebook group, your own blog, new policies from a work group you got one, etc.
SPEAK! Find your voice and use it. If you have been invited to "the table", then you need to have a voice there. Board meetings, staff meetings, trainings, company or industry podcasts, etc.
PAY ATTENTION TO WHO IS HURTING AND WHAT IS CAUSING THE PAIN. Then find a way to lessen that pain through the role and opportunities you have. Start reading, writing, and speaking about the answer to this problem
One word of caution...
Always make sure you are excelling at your job requirements before stepping out to solve these other identified problems. Managers and leaders have a hard time hearing great ideas from average or below average employees. However; when you absolutely "ROCK" your job and you exceed your KPI's (Goals), you will get opportunities to be heard (as long as you are not also a jerk).
ANOTHER TIP!
Create "margin" in you work day and work week by being intentional about your work. In other words, if you allow your daily work to consume your 40 hours; you will not be able to take advantage of the other opportunities that come your way and you will not be able to build your value by helping others.
Research tells us that the average office job has about 3 hours a day of actual work that we have been conditioned into stretching out to 8 hours. Although their are things outside your control such as incoming phone calls, boss emails, meetings, etc. You can approach each day with a "Completed by noon" mentality. Books like "DEEP WORK" by Cal Newport can help you learn time-blocking and distraction free work time that will help you get the most important things done in 4 hours a day so you have time "on the clock" left for personal development, relationship building, problem solving, content creation, etc.
If you are still reading, then I imagine that you definitely have the growth mindset going for you!
One thing that has held me back in my pursuit of growth and that I want to help you avoid is LACK OF BOUNDARIES AND FOCUS.
Because we "Personal Development Junkies" love to consume content and we have a wide range of interests, we can spend a lot of time on things that do not move the needle on the things that add the "right" value on things that our future opportunities are looking for.
We tend to be generalists; not specialists. I think being a generalist is super valuable; however, the value of it is in how it helps us discover areas where we can specialize, and in doing so increases our perceived and practical value to others.
Here is what I mean...
Early in your career i want you to just try and explore stuff. Think WIDE rather than DEEP right now. Let me stop and say something about parenting for a minute. Parents, please do not make your children choose and focus on any one thing at a young age. Let them explore and experience a lot of things. Let them try AND quit a bunch of things (it won't make them a quitter later in life, I PROMISE!). Actually, what will make them a quitter later in life is the burn out and resentment that comes from years of forced singular focus in a topic/theme prior to even becoming an adult.
Encourage lots of topics, themes, experiences, etc. Start education after high school with more of a general studies emphasis and think in broad spectrums and categories. Through this process it is likely that you (or your children) will start to identify a focus (Pain in the world you want to relieve) that you are drawn to (Beyond just a paycheck). This is when you start to specialize and set yourself apart from the crowd. This is when you decide on continuing education to a Master's level or beyond. This is when you start to develop your identity and "Personal Brand" (What you will most likely be known for in the world professionally).
Here is an example from my own life.
My early interests before high school graduation (the ones I can still remember) were: Race car driver, mechanic, Restaurant owner, bodybuilder, architect, MLM sales guru, Health & Fitness, Real-estate investing, Options trading, Martial Arts guru (Ninja!), Magazine publisher. et. al.
In my 20's I added these to my interests, Insurance agent (did this for a year), Railroad engineer (became one for 8 years), pastor (Became one for 10 years), psychology (got a Bachelor's Degree, along with Pastoral ministries and counseling), personality science, house painter (Did this for 6 months), Roofer (did this for a few months in the Arizona heat!), buy and sell muscle cars (bought a few and lost money on every one!), buy a franchise like Blimpies sandwiches, family counseling, et.al.
There were many more interests that are now flooding into my memory as I write this list that are taking me down memory lane. Some like creating a "how to fix your credit" 20 page report to sell through small newspaper want ads by mail; selling phone cards that allowed you to send a portion of your phone bill to a charity of your choice; as well as a dial up internet provider that automatically blocked access to questionable websites so your kids could be safe online.
So what's the point? It's that although it scared the people in my life who loved me that I was late into my 20's and still trying a bunch of stuff; It was through exploring all of these things that I realized what I was good at, what resonated with me in a deeper way, and would hold my interest long enough to invest in. One theme that always seemed to develop was "Helping People". I was always drawn toward the things that helped others mentally, physically, and/or spiritually. I stayed in college for 6 years at the Bachelor level while I majored in three areas since I still wasn't sure if I would eventually Pastor a church or be a Licensed Counselor, or both. I finally graduated after one of my professors told me to stop paying for college at this level and go on to a Masters, LOL.
So I began to specialize.
All those other interests began to fade as I moved forward with the focus narrowed down to a couple of options. I also knew that I could do both at the same time if I wanted to and there was no hurry to drop one or the other.
I stepped out an accepted some interviews with a few churches and received an offer that resonated with my family and was solidly within what I felt like God was approving. Although I never did go on to become a licensed counselor, the psychology and counseling degree opened doors that have led me on the path to what I am currently doing to this day. The degree opened a door to an interview in the area of social work around poverty alleviation and education (HELPING PEOPLE). This led to starting community gardens; building a network of people and resources in my community and a collaboration that made a huge difference. The degree PLUS the experience in this first social work job opened the door to the next interview that led me into case management and then supervisor and then director over the years helping families affected by developmental disabilities.
Once I became a supervisor a new interest sprung forth and I went on to get a Master's degree in Leadership which opened the door for the Director's position. Due to the staff development experience and personal effort to grow in this area, I was able to later even become a coach/consultant in the area of Professional Team development.
Getting back to the point...
Although in real time I may not have recognized it; looking back, I can see where each step made me aware of issues (pain points) in the industry. Each time i recognized one of them i grew my knowledge/credentials/network until i could do something about it. Each time I completed this cycle, a new opportunity presented itself that led me to a better position for myself, but also to a better platform for recognizing the next set of "pain points" that I could work on. This wasn't always flawless for sure! I had set backs and self destructed at least a couple of times; but after a little time to mourn and fuss about it, I always chose to learn and grow again. I worked to maintain the relationship and network even if the position could not be saved. In retrospect, even in loss I was in many ways able to keep and even grow my Career Capital.
BE ENCOURAGED...
You don't have to have it all figured out early in life.
There is no ONE RIGHT THING you are supposed to be doing.
You can become passionate about many different things and don't need to know your passion to get started.
Life is longer than you think. You have time.
You can completely implode and still come back stronger and better.
What makes it easier...
Value relationships
Do what you say you will do, but even better and faster.
Take risks.
Quit when you discover it's not for you, BUT NOT JUST WHEN IT GETS HARD.
Don't say you are sorry unless you plan on actually being sorry. Being sorry comes with action steps.
If you want to speak up (listen a little longer); If you want to wait (Speak now!) Our best path is usually the opposite of the one we feel like traveling.
Increase your exposure to people, ideas, experiences, etc. THEN slowly narrow them down to what you CHOOSE to represent your identity (brand). Be willing to review this regularly as you grow and learn.
So, What is the secret to success then?
I guess considering all we have explored together, and the fact that none of us are perfect; the secret to success is:
SEEK TO RELIEVE MORE PAIN THAN YOU CAUSE!
Continue to grow and develop and improve your “being a pain”/”relieving pain” ratio, and you will eventually NO DOUBT succeed!
Blessings!