Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 44
the center of a network more than two million strong people. In other words, it’ s likely that someone you already know, knows someone who could help you. This is the POWER of extended network
Risk:
Our education system penalizes students for making mistakes but in the real world, you don ' t know what the best plan is until you try and making mistakes is part of that learning process. Learn by doing. Not sure if you can break into the pharmaceutical industry? Spend six months interning at Pfizer making connections and see what happens. Curious whether marketing or product development is a better fit than what you currently do? If you work in a company where those functions exist, offer to help out for free. That’ s exactly what I did at Apple, my first job after grad school. Whatever the situation, actions generate useful lessons. Actions help you discover where you want to go and how to get there. In college, the most successful students make the fewest mistakes but the most successful professionals learn to take intelligent risks. You may assume that you get career stability by minimizing risk. Ironically, in a changing world, playing it safe is one of the riskiest things you can do.
Rather than avoid risk, take intelligent risk. It will give you a competitive edge. For example, do not dismiss jobs that pay less in cash but offer tremendous learning. Prioritize plans that offer the best chance at learning about yourself and the world. Do not dismiss a career path just because you keep hearing how risky it is. It probably isn’ t as risky as most believe, which means there’ s less competition for landing the opportunity. In these opportunities, the worst case scenario tends to be survivable. When the worst case means, losing a little bit of time or money, or experiencing some discomfort, IT IS A RISK YOU SHOULD BE WILL- ING TO TAKE. If the worst-case scenario is the serious tarnishing of your reputation, loss of all your economic assets, or something otherwise career-ending, don ' t accept that risk. There will always be uncertainty about career opportunities and risks. The best opportunities are frequently the ones with the most question marks. When it’ s not clear how something will play out, many people avoid it altogether. Take intelligent risks and you will find the opportunities that others miss!
So, CONGRATULATIONS on the hard work you’ ve put into your education thus far, but your learning has just begun. Graduation is not the end of learning. We are all WORKS-IN PROGRESS. Each day presents an opportunity to learn more, do more, be more in our lives and careers. In the world of work, every day is exam day. If you’ re not growing, you’ re contracting. If you’ re not moving forward, you’ re moving backward. So,
Develop your competitive advantage, build your network, and take intelligent risks. If not now, When?