The Peter Principle states a person will be promoted, at work, until they are one level beyond their maximum skill level. This explains how a star salesman can be promoted up to a less-than-mediocre manager, and a million other Michael Scott quality examples. If you’ve ever said, “how did this loser get this job,” you've … Continue reading The Peter Principle Is Funny, But Also A Key Insight Into Our Professional Identity
Tag: career
“We Game The Things We’ve Given Up On” – Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell has been re-examing some of the ideas he popularized in his book Outliers. He took a visit to Adam Grant’s classroom at UPenn’s Wharton School to run an experiment: Could a group of college seniors and recent graduates identify what shared but rarely discussed privilege they all had in common? I won’t spoil … Continue reading “We Game The Things We’ve Given Up On” – Gladwell
I Got A *NEW* Job!
I had been living in the "Bring your whole self to work! Uh, except those parts. And those too, and yeah - maybe just this tiny piece of you works for us come to think of it, so file these TPS reports and see you Monday" world for too long. I've started a new version … Continue reading I Got A *NEW* Job!
5 Unusual Questions To Have A Career Worth Loving (Via Josh Spector)
Josh Spector shared a list of 5 unusual questions that have lead him to a career he loves. They’re so good I’m summarizing them here too. Ask and answer these honestly. I’ll add a few notes at the bottom particular to my side hustlers, work for my self’ers, and team leaders. How do you feel … Continue reading 5 Unusual Questions To Have A Career Worth Loving (Via Josh Spector)
Podcast Of The Week: Will Smith, Before The Slap
This is the Will Smith conversation I needed. Pre-slap I was evangelizing the book as maybe the best non-business business book I’d read so far in 2022. Post-slap I had a lot of “arghs” “ughs” “icks” and “what” meets “why” feels. Jon Caramanica and Soraya Nadia McDonald get into the career arc of Smith, how … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Will Smith, Before The Slap
If You Want To Get Ahead, You Have To Learn Their Language
Everything’s a peacock feather. Or, as Rory Sutherland says, “A flower is just a weed with a marketing budget.” The bigger the corporate ladder, the fancier the terms. If you want to climb it, learn the terms and learn what they really mean. Likewise, if you want to climb any ladder, figure out the words … Continue reading If You Want To Get Ahead, You Have To Learn Their Language
The Best Career Advice I’ve Ever Read
This is the best career advice I’ve ever read, via Josh Brown: Make yourself useful to smart, successful people. That’s how you should spend the first ten years of your career. Surround yourself with smart, successful people and then bet on them. That’s how you should spend the next ten years. And then you’re done, … Continue reading The Best Career Advice I’ve Ever Read
I Did It Hemingway
Sometimes you do the work and the work kicks your teeth in. Then, on the good days, you smile a bloodied and toothless smile, lay your head down, and go to sleep so you can do it again tomorrow. The Old Man And The Sea has long been one of my favorite books. When I … Continue reading I Did It Hemingway
How French People Sing Along To American Songs (And What It Can Teach Us About Impostor Syndrome)
As my sister-in-law explained it to me while we listened to a bar band in France play standard American bar band songs, When French people like a song but don’t speak the language, we call the made-up words we sing along with “yaourter.” It means “yogurt,” or “to yogurt.” When you’re yogurting you’re just doing … Continue reading How French People Sing Along To American Songs (And What It Can Teach Us About Impostor Syndrome)
Podcast Of The Week: Making The Big Leaps With Angie Colee
Angie Colee is a marketer and coach I greatly admire. A big part of the reason for my admiration is her "get back up and keep fighting forward" attitude. She's taken some amazing career strides very publicly in the past several years and it's been remarkable to follow along. Angie recently appeared on the Copy … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Making The Big Leaps With Angie Colee