Friday, April 29, 2022

Hero Job

Being well-rewarded for your skills and knowledge doesn’t make you irreplaceable. Typically, commercial projects are not pushing the boundaries of human thought. Money is very pragmatic. Breakthroughs are normally collective. 

We like the idea of heroes, and we provide massive rewards to be those heroes (when the monetary stars align). When planning your own career, you need to have a view of the broader context... beyond a specific "hero job". 

If the job is in a publicly listed company, you can look at the investor relations pages to see the company report (for example, Google’s Alphabet is at https://abc.xyz/investor/). You can see what the company is doing beyond your role. Beyond that, look at the industry structure. What are the competitors doing? The wider you look, the more resilient you are going to be if you start getting an idea of the generic skills and knowledge needed. 

The less you make it about you, and defining “who you are”, the more you can listen and respond to the needs of the broader container. Gradually you can be less attached to the specific grade, role, boss, or performance review cycle that you have or are in, but that can’t last. 

When you talk to people about work anxiety, whether you are in academia, a business owner, an employee, or a consultant... the stress often boils down to people dynamics. How do you get along with the hierarchy you are a part of, and the relationships you have? 

Even though good business ideas are very much about containers and counting, they include a human element that can’t be separated. Vulnerable voices in our heads grappling with a sense of self-worth, and fair treatment.



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