💡 Stop Playing Pinball with Your Career (Issue 643)

Why luck is a terrible career strategy

“I’ve just gone where my career has taken me. I don’t have a vision or a plan.”

I asked, “And are you happy with how that has been going?”

They shrugged. “Sometimes I get lucky, and it's good. But lately? It’s been pretty bad, and it seems to be getting worse.”

A surprising number of people treat their careers like a game of pinball. Sure, there are some decisions you can make that give you a little control over where the little silver ball goes.

But mostly, you are at the mercy of the machine. Bounced this way and knocked that way until you eventually slip right down the center and lose.

Photo by Heather McKean on Unsplash

I encourage my clients to treat their careers like a game of pool. As you gain more skill and experience with the rules of billiards and the laws of physics, you can control where the ball goes with pretty impressive precision and even set up your next shot. You still don't completely control the table (e.g., where some balls are set up and align with the pockets), but you most definitely have more control over the game of pool than the game of pinball.

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

Stop hoping that your career will be knocked around and bounced into a great random outcome. Start planning and being strategic with your shots so you can end up winning more often than you lose.

I teach strategies for career planning and job searches in my workshops (and with my 1-on-1 clients, of course). But at a high level, this is what I mean:

• Create a vision of where you want to end up at the end of your career (i.e., what does ultimate success look like?).

• Use reverse planning to step back from that ideal end state—year by year.

• Identify the next best move to put you on that path (i.e., what should come next for your career?).

• Define your ideal role (e.g., plays to your strengths and what you enjoy most, while avoiding what you hate).

• Define your ideal employer (e.g., sector, industry, small business, startup, larger corporation, a nonprofit, university, research lab, government agency, etc.).

• Define your ideal boss (e.g., supportive, mentoring, helps you grow).

• Activate your network (e.g., people who can help you find opportunities).

• Establish your inner circle of peers and personal advisors (e.g., five people you respect and trust outside of your current employer).

• Find a more senior mentor for advice, growth, connections, and support.

• Be intentional with the strategy, plan, and timing of your next move (e.g., a promotion, new job, career pivot).

Would you like to talk through your career plans with me? You can schedule a complimentary call.

---

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!