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Careers Are Not A Ladder – They’re a Jungle Gym
It’s that time of year. You know, the time when young adults don funny dresses and hats, walk across a stage and suddenly and very clearly enter a new stage in life. Graduation is one of those moments that is clearly marked for you as “life changing”. It’s also the time when some very smart, amazing and successful people take the time to impart their wisdom.
A portion of the wisdom Sheryl Sandberg imparted to Harvard’s graduating class of 2012 really struck a cord with me. So much so, that I posted it verbatim below. You can read the rest of her speech here. It’s a worthwhile read.
EXCELLENT CAREER ADVICE: ‘GET ON A ROCKET SHIP’
So I sat down with Eric Schmidt, who had just become the CEO, and I showed him the spread sheet and I said, this job meets none of my criteria. He put his hand on my spreadsheet and he looked at me and said, Don’t be an idiot. Excellent career advice. And then he said, Get on a rocket ship. When companies are growing quickly and they are having a lot of impact, careers take care of themselves. And when companies aren’t growing quickly or their missions don’t matter as much, that’s when stagnation and politics come in. If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on.
About six and one-half years later, when I was leaving Google, I took that advice to heart. I was offered CEO jobs at a bunch of companies, but I went to Facebook as COO. At the time people said, why are you going to work for a 23-year-old? The traditional metaphor for careers is a ladder, but I no longer think that metaphor holds. It doesn’t make sense in a less hierarchical world. When I was first at Facebook, a woman named Laurie Gohler, a 1997 graduate of HBS, was working in marketing at eBay and I knew her kind of socially. And she called me and said, ‘I want to talk with you about coming to work with you at Facebook. So I thought about calling you, she said, and telling you all the things I’m good at and all the things I like to do. But I figured that everyone is doing that. So instead I want to know what’s your biggest problem and how can I solve it.’
My jaw hit the floor. I’d hired thousands of people up to that point in my career, but no one had ever said anything like that. I had never said anything like that. Job searches are always about the job searcher, but not in Laurie’s case. I said, you’re hired. My biggest problem is recruiting and you can solve it. So Laurie changed fields into something she never thought she’d do, went down a level to start in a new field and has since been promoted and runs all of the people operations at Facebook and has done an extraordinary job.
CAREERS ARE NOT A LADDER–THEY’RE A JUNGLE GYM
Laurie has a great metaphor for careers. She says they’re not a ladder; they’re a jungle gym. As you start your post-HBS career, look for opportunities, look for growth, look for impact, look for mission. Move sideways, move down, move on, move off. Build your skills, not your resume. Evaluate what you can do, not the title they’re going to give you. Do real work. Take a sales quota, a line role, an ops job, don’t plan too much, and don’t expect a direct climb. If I had mapped out my career when I was sitting where you are, I would have missed my career.
You are entering a different business world than I entered. Mine was just starting to get connected. Yours is hyper-connected. Mine was competitive. Yours is way more competitive. Mine moved quickly, yours moves even more quickly. As traditional structures are breaking down, leadership has to evolve as well. From hierarchy to shared responsibility, from command and control to listening and guiding. You’ve been trained by this great institution not just to be part of these trends but to lead. As you lead in this new world, you will not be able to rely on who you are or the degree you hold.
You’ll have to rely on what you know. Your strength will not come from your place on some org chart, your strength will come from building trust and earning respect. You’re going to need talent, skill, and imagination and vision, but more than anything else, you’re going to need the ability to communicate authentically, to speak so that you inspire the people around you and to listen so that you continue to learn each and every day on the job.
Posted in Work
5 Fabulous Things
So far, it’s been a great year with many new experiences. Here are five that I’m excited about:
- Laser Hair Removal. A combination of the perfect candidate (dark hair, fair skin) and new technology, I’m officially obsessed. Hopefully, it will last!
- Spring. I knew that I’d experience living through my first winter this year, but I forgot that I’d also live through my first real spring, summer and fall too. Watching the daily evolution from winter to spring is pure magic.
- Candles. I gave them a try due to work. Unexpectedly, I’ve come to really enjoy burning a scented candle when I come home from work or on lazy Sunday.
- Outdoor malls. Because of work, I “have” to visit a lot of malls. I have a newfound appreciation for the ones that are outdoors.
- Gel Nail Polish. I’m still a little on the fence as to how good it is for your nails, but wow! does it stay put. It’s the perfect solution for long trips or conferences when you need your nails to look fabulous for extended periods of time. However, getting it off is a whole other story.
Posted in Personal
10 Scares, 100 Discoveries: 10 – Italy
For me, 2011 is about a year of change, fun and new experiences. With that in mind, I decided to create my own adventure, 1 Year, 10 Projects, 100 Discoveries. This post is part of that project. You can see all 10 Scares here and the entire project here. Enjoy the experiences, I sure am!
My break from the corporate world in 2011 taught me a lot of things. But, the most important lesson I learned was about slowing down. It was a lesson about enjoying life, unplugging and stopping to eat lunch without having to check your Blackberry. When I returned to the corporate world, I promised myself that I would take a long, European-like trip every year to remind myself to slow down and enjoy life even more than I already was.
True to my promise, I booked an eight day journey to Italy at the end of March 2012. Rome, Venice and Florence were cities on the original European trip list that I didn’t quite get to cross off. Since I enjoy scaring myself, I (kinda) asked my boyfriend to join me, for the entire trip.
Join me he did. He joined me for site-seeing, running and of course, shopping. He joined me for a breakfast of gelato every morning, pizza for lunch and pasta for dinner. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the sites were spectacular.
But, is it selfish of me to say it wasn’t a trip I liked? I can’t quite put my finger on it – maybe it’s because I’m too used to traveling on my own. Or maybe I just didn’t like Italy. Or maybe the second time is never as good as your memories of your first European trip. Maybe I wasn’t burned out enough from my job to take such a long vacation 🙂 Whatever the reason, I came back feeling unfilled, unrested and with a lot of pictures of places many people only dream of going.
Posted in 10 Scares, 100 Discoveries
10 Moments, 100 Discoveries: Moment 1 – Green Rivers
In 2011, I set out on an adventure of 100 Discoveries. I thought I could finish in a year. But, the reality is, you should never finish an adventure like the one I created. With that in mind, this post is part of that project. You can see all 10 Moments here and the entire project here. Enjoy the moments, I sure am!
I’ve always wanted to experience St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago. Countless parades, week long parties and of course, an entire river that turns bright green? Who wouldn’t want to experience that at least once? It’s similar to wanting to experience the ball drop in Times Square, Spring Break in Cancun or a bachelor party in Las Vegas.
As luck (pun intended) would have it, I “had” to be in Chicago that weekend for work. Extending for a day and inviting the boyfriend to join me sounded like the perfect plan. I booked the Westin River North, a hotel looking directly over the Chicago River and had a wonderful start to a fun weekend.
What I didn’t realize was St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago wasn’t just any holiday, it was THE holiday. The party started in the early morning and didn’t end until late that night. It was like New Year’s Eve, Spring Break and Halloween all rolled into one. To say it was crazy, would be an understatement.
However, my favorite part of the trip was my first ever visit to The Bean. Or, more accurately named, Cloud Gate. Crazy, I know, that as many times as I’ve been to Chicago I never quite made it to this famous monument, but it’s true. The reality? It’s even more spectacular and fun to walk around than any pictures make it seem.
Posted in 10 Moments, 100 Discoveries
Inspiration #1: Invisible
I love Mercede’s Invisible car campaign to promote their new car that has 0 emissions.
If you can figure out a way to make a care “invisible” you can do anything.
Posted in Advertising, Creative, Linkfest, Marketing, Video
Work Life Balance
I stumbled on the below story a few years ago. It’s stuck with me ever since. But, now more than ever it seems appropriate. I spent most of 2011 working for myself and doing a job that allowed me to work from anywhere; to travel the world. Six months ago, I stepped back into the Corporate world, into a desk job. The goal? To get back to the job that allows me to work from anywhere 🙂 Ah, the irony.
The Mexican Fisherman & American Business Man
A vacationing American businessman standing on the pier of a quaint coastal fishing village in southern Mexico watched as a small boat with just one young Mexican fisherman pulled into the dock. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. Enjoying the warmth of the early afternoon sun, the American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.
“How long did it take you to catch them?” the American casually asked.
“Oh, a few hours,” the Mexican fisherman replied.
“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” the American businessman then asked.
The Mexican warmly replied, “With this I have more than enough to support my family’s needs.”
The businessman then became serious, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
Responding with a smile, the Mexican fisherman answered, “I sleep late, play with my children, watch ballgames, and take siesta with my wife. Sometimes in the evenings I take a stroll into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, sing a few songs…”
The American businessman impatiently interrupted, “Look, I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you to be more profitable. You can start by fishing several hours longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra money, you can buy a bigger boat. With the additional income that larger boat will bring, before long you can buy a second boat, then a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of fishing boats.”
Proud of his own sharp thinking, he excitedly elaborated a grand scheme which could bring even bigger profits, “Then, instead of selling your catch to a middleman you’ll be able to sell your fish directly to the processor, or even open your own cannery. Eventually, you could control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this tiny coastal village and move to Mexico City, or possibly even Los Angeles or New York City, where you could even further expand your enterprise.”
Having never thought of such things, the Mexican fisherman asked, “But how long will all this take?”
After a rapid mental calculation, the Harvard MBA pronounced, “Probably about 15-20 years, maybe less if you work really hard.”
“And then what, señor?” asked the fisherman.
“Why, that’s the best part!” answered the businessman with a laugh. “When the time is right, you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”
“Millions? Really? What would I do with it all?” asked the young fisherman in disbelief.
The businessman boasted, “Then you could happily retire with all the money you’ve made. You could move to a quaint coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, play with your grandchildren, watch ballgames, and take siesta with your wife. You could stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play the guitar and sing with your friends…”
The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, “Isn’t that what I’m doing right now?”
The moral of the story is: Know what really matters in life, and you may find that it is already much closer than you think.
10 Scares, 100 Discoveries: Scare 9 – Lasers
For me, 2011 is about a year of change, fun and new experiences. With that in mind, I decided to create my own adventure, 1 Year, 10 Projects, 100 Discoveries. This post is part of that project. You can see all 10 Scares here and the entire project here. Enjoy the experiences, I sure am!
It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for almost 10 years. Yet, the thoughts, feedback and naysayers stopped me from it, until today. Today, I decided to throw out all the reviews and try it for myself. What could it hurt?
If you read any studies about happiness, they all say the same thing- things don’t buy happiness, experiences do. Looking back on by 2011 project, experiences more than the shoes and purses I bought made me happier. With that, I figured that today’s experiment was the equivalent of buying a purse.
While the rumors of the pain of laser hair removal were scary, the reality wasn’t too bad. If it does what it’s supposed to do, than it will be worth every penny and whiff of burning hair 🙂
Posted in 10 Scares, 100 Discoveries
10 Commitments, 100 Discoveries: #10 – Me, Myself and I
Hi, I’m a self proclaimed commitment-phobe. But, I’m also one that is working very hard to change. Honestly, it’s one of my toughest struggles. But, I am proud to say it is one that I am chipping away at slowly but surely. One day, when I tell my kids of my fear of commitment they will just laugh and say, “No way, not you!”
With the commitment, 1 Year, 10 Projects, 100 Discoveries, I’m working to show myself that commitments are like trains; it doesn’t matter where they’re going. What matters is deciding to get on. Discoveries “#60-69″ are about commitments and plans. This post is part of that project. You can see all 10 commitments here and the entire project here. Focus on the plans, I sure am!
If you glanced at the archives of this project, you’d see that I’m a few short – 20 to be exact. A year ago, before starting this project, I would have asked myself, “Where did I go wrong?” I would have beaten myself up for not writing exactly 100 posts. But, the me today? Well, this girl, looks back and sees an incredible journey filled with amazing experiences, cherished memories and life-long lessons. She sees the bigger picture vs. the one on the surface.
Admittedly, with some of the changes this year brought, I was a little too wrapped up in life to write about it. I also decided that writing about some things were a tad boring, like my original plan to trial 10 different beers. I think I might have done that a few times over with my newfound love for beerfests 🙂 And, there were a few, like Paintball, a new tattoo and Karaoke where the timing never quite worked in my favor. Those three, by the way, are still in the works!
Yet, I’m still a few short. Maybe I did it on purpose. Maybe being a few short gives me an excuse to never stop doing what this project helped teach me – to live passionately.
Upon a woman’s death, the Greeks didn’t write obituaries. Instead, they only asked one question, “Did she have passion?” This project was one of passion, one that I will continue to live out for many years to come.
Posted in 10 Commitments, 100 Discoveries