Crafting a Career, Ch 41

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No plan survives first contact with the enemy. ~Helmuth von Moltke

If you take time to consider your future career plans and growth strategies, I doubt any of those plans include engaging in combat with armed adversaries.

So why quote a dead general from a distant land?

In my case, the quote pops up often in the fiction that I enjoy reading. The thought lives "rent free" in my head, as the kids say these days.

Allow me to corrupt this quote to fit to the conversation at hand:

𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚.

Or maybe more like so:

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒑, 𝑻𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔.

Ok, that one wasn't me, that was Princess Leia in Star Wars "A New Hope".

Sun Tzu talks about doing the hard work before engaging the enemy so that the battle is won before it is ever fought.

Why speak in riddles? Why can't we just say directly what it is we're trying to say here?

Sometimes we hold beliefs so closely and dearly that a direct assault on those beliefs only further entrenches our innate defenses against new ideas and beliefs (cf. the current chaos in hyperpolarized US politics).

If we share challenging ideas by couching them in riddles, sometimes the idea can slip past the implicit biases, the ones our listeners/readers don't even know that they're clinging to so tightly.

Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say

I find the Princess Leia quote so compelling because it lines up with a deeply held conviction, a core value. I'll try to put it into plain language ...

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣; 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙮𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩'𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩'𝙨.

That still leans too much on imagery. Let me iterate one more time ...

If a person consistently chooses to manipulate and control others, that person will soon find themselves alone, without meaningful friendship. Conversely, if a person chooses to open up, become vulnerable, and value diverse input from a broad community, willingly collaborating in a trustworthy manner with all the stakeholders ... almost. I almost got it.

What if I give up on this quest, and just wave my hands in the general direction of Brené Brown and her research?

Harder Than It Looks

I am circling around the idea of a dichotomy between 1.) power and control, and 2.) trust and vulnerability.

Option 2 looks scary. Option 1 looks lonely. Is there a third way?

Dodging that question, let me instead return to my opening quote.

You made a career plan a long time ago. Are you sticking to the plan? Are you revisiting the plan to revise it with updated desires and motivations?

If you doggedly and determinedly stick to the original plan without ever considering an update to that plan, I'm thinking you have as good as built yourself a coffin to live in.

It's unrealistic to perfectly anticipate such a complex reality with nothing more than an 18 to 22 year old perspective. Or 30 years old, for that matter. Be compassionate to your younger self. Recognize that you have changed, the world has changed - why can't the plan change to fit the new reality?

Conclusion

In the same way that a tyrannical approach to leadership stifles friendships, if you are too rigidly committed to aging plans your younger self made for you, then you are being unkind to your present and future self.

Unplug. Slow down. Breathe. Seek blue skies, calm waters, tall trees, stunning mountain landscapes. Anchor yourself in this beautiful world we all share. When you have detoxed enough from the frantic pace of modern life, then you have the mental bandwidth to consider a broader perspective.

What's important to you? Chase it down!

Who's important to you? Spend your time, money, and effort in demonstrating what that person's value and worth is to you.

Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10? 20? Put pencil to paper, draw up a plan, and prepare to chuck the whole thing when 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝘼𝙨 𝙒𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙄𝙩™️ pivots once more.

Crafting a career is not a one-and-done exercise. It's a process. It unfolds over time. It rarely (never?) turns out the way you expected.

Be kind, be patient - with yourself and with others! You got this!

Happy hunting!