Often when I get asked what I do, I say that I work for Cisco in the Healthcare team – although this is accurate, it doesn’t give anyone the first clue about what I do. Nor, should my employer define who I am.
At our very core, each of us are entrepreneurs, not necessarily entrepreneurs that will start a new business, but ones that can analyse risks, make decisions and if needed, change strategic direction.
In today’s work place, we need to adopt the mentality of a start up.
The marketplace of work has changed, about 40+ years ago a job was a job for life. IBM, among others were renowned for it – you join as an apprentice, you work hard, you get promoted, you become a manager, you become a director, then you retire – that was the treadmill of the corporate world.
That however is now changing; job security is not as commonplace as it use to be, and a change in corporate direction could result in redundancies – Cisco has been in the spotlight for the past few years for workforce reduction.
So the concept – treat your career like a start up – think of how you can build your competitive advantage, create a strategy, adapt and pivot if needed and how you build a professional network.
Plan A, B and Z
Someone once said to me: fail to plan, plan to fail. If you know what you want your career to look like, if you know where you want to go, work how you get there – call this Plan A.
Also work out ‘a what if ‘plan; what happens if I get approached by another company offering me X job – what would be your criteria for saying yes.
I was speaking to a VP at Cisco last week and he said he had just been promoted to a sales manager at his old company, and 8 months in role it was going well. He then got approached by Cisco, was offered an Account Manager role – a down grade in responsibility – but he chose Cisco. Because of Cisco’s growth potential at the time, he was promoted to being a Sales Manager after a few short years. This is your Plan B. Life outside the immediate opportunities.
And Plan Z – if everything fails and I am left unemployed, what would be my plan? Make sure I have savings to cover me for the time out of work, move back in with your parents or stay with friends… whatever rock bottom looks like, have a Plan Z.
Build Your Professional Network
Something else which is important and, that we often neglect, is the power of a network. The people you connect with on LinkedIn, Twitter or at conferences – these become invaluable to you.
I know I have used my network in the past to seek out expertise – I had a particularly tricky situation with a start up I was mentoring which required some expertise knowledge – I looked through my contacts and found someone who might be able to help.
However, a network is stronger when you give something back to your network.
A great example of the power of the Human network is that of the Alumni’s of Harvard and Stamford Universities and the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley. The bonds formed at university have followed them into the valley, and now each recommend investments to others and support each other in their business ventures – some have even created a VC firm called Greylock Partners.
Whether you bring job opportunities, information or even investment opportunities- when you bring value to your network, people will want to stay connected with you.
What’s next
Start to take the entrepreneurial approach for your career now. Start to think of your own plan A, B and Z. Build your network – go a look through Linkedin contacts and think what can I offer someone – then mail them to pass the information or and see if they are free for a coffee.
Cisco Early in Career Network Book Club has just finished reading Reid Hoffman Book The Start Up of You: Adapt to the future, Invest in Yourself and Transform your Career where a lot of these thoughts are discussed – if you enjoyed this post, please comment below and if you want to buy Reid’s book you can buy it from Amazon here
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Andy, why don’t you just be up front and tell them you’re in sales. Much more accurate!