Career planning is a delusion created by wishful thinking. The idea that
an individual can precisely steer his way from job to job in a rapidly
changing society is unrealistic. Instead, a man should have long-term
goals and let his career develop according to market opportunities.
How people drive themselves into disappointment
If
you keep your eyes fixed on a point in the horizon, chances are that
you will overlook possibilities that arise in your immediate
environment. Rationality demands having a long-term vision, but
implementation details should be modified to fit current opportunities.
Have
you ever wondered why indifference is the usual reaction to innovation?
Is it not amazing that potential customers, who would be so well served
by a new service, are not even willing to listen to a sales pitch? The
world is barren land for dreamers, but an endless source of
opportunities for problem-solvers. Conventional wisdom preaches that
where there is a will, is a way. Possibly, but who wants to walk a path
leading to constant disappointment?
If you are about to start a
new venture, please remind yourself of the fact that there are 70%
chances that you won't survive beyond the fifth year. Some markets show
even higher failure rates for new products or services, as it is the
case of packaged foods, soda drinks, and restaurants.
Statistics
tell us how hard it is to attain business success. The same level of
difficulty applies to career planning. Is there a way to predict if a
new service is destined to be buried by consumer indifference? How can
we ensure that we only launch products that have a reasonable good
chance? What strategy maximizes our probability of having a satisfactory
career?
The inexpensive solution to an expensive delusion
The answer is to discard the myth of perfect planning at
the same time that we avoid random moves. Never put all your business
resources into making new stuff and throwing it blindly into the market.
Never concentrate all your career expectations on a single path. In
those cases, hoping for the best is bound to reveal itself as an
expensive delusion.
History has repeatedly proven that new
undertakings enjoy the best prospects of success when they are aligned
with strong demand in the market. Such demand is frequently shown
through factors such as annoyance, dissatisfaction, and misery.
The
ideal business or career situation consists of serving customers who
are deeply annoyed by a problem. Rigidity is an expensive delusion.Take away your eyes from rigid career
objectives and look at the world as an entrepreneur. Ask yourself who is
dissatisfied with existing solutions and see if you can propose
something better. Find a distribution system that is miserably
under-utilized and figure out how to improve it.
Hitting trouble
spots doesn't guarantee commercial or career success, but it is as close
as you can get. Instead of making unrealistic plans, seek out fields of
activity where annoyance has become apparent. The angrier the potential
customers, the more receptive they will be to new solutions. Do you
remember the irritation at airport check-in lines before the adoption of
electronic ticketing?
Broadness brings efficiency, and flexibility victory
When you detect dissatisfaction in the
market, take good note. The more inefficient the current solution, the
higher the value that you can add. Commercial and career success are all
about adding value. Do you remember that, not so long ago, it was
impossible to deliver packages overnight?
Remember that
inefficient distribution systems may also offer extraordinary
opportunity. The less profitable the current method, the more avidly it
will embrace innovation. Thousands of retail locations have seen their
value doubled thanks to fast-food franchises. Discard the myth of career
planning and, instead, see if you can see solve a burning problem.
Those who prove able to alleviate long-standing pain can attract
enthusiastic customers.
Accepting reality can be a difficult
undertaking. Maybe for that reason, Nature has endowed us with two eyes
and two ears to perceive the world and only one mouth to contradict
ourselves. Stick to your strategy, but shun rigid plans that might
prevent you from taking swift action when unexpected possibilities
arise.
Your long-term goals should be broad enough to allow you
to move forward in good or bad markets. Broadness brings efficiency, and flexibility victory. Abandon the myth of strict
planning and the expectation that you should reach a specific career
goal before you reach a particular age. You are a unique human being and
so is your situation. From time to time, luck may offer you the chance
of rapid advancement. When such opportunity comes up, seize it.
For more information about rational living and personal development, I refer you to my books.
[Text: http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com]
[Image by trishhartmann under Creative Commons Attribution License. See the license terms under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us]