The Corporate Ferris Wheel

The world is a gigantic Ferris wheel. You heard that before? Here’s what I mean, if you’re on top of the world and decide to throw a paper ball (to use a subtle example) at the person diametrically below you remember that when the wheel turns the person you threw the ball at can return your gesture (but they might prefer an object different from your paper ball).

Next time you think about your career remember the “Gigantic Corporate Ferris Wheel.”

It’s not about being friends with everyone or “sucking up” to ensure that everyone “loves” you—for one thing you will never reach this level of consensus.

The thing is that your actions, accomplishments, and deeds have the “Gigantic Corporate Ferris Wheel” effect and you shouldn’t ignore them. You might think that the world is huge and that nobody will remember what you did when changing jobs or industry.

But this is an illusion! More than globalized, the business world today is connected and allows for fast checking very easily. I usually receive resumes that don’t match the information included in the professional’s LinkedIn account, or Facebook or even a quick search on Google (have you already searched your name on Google?). It’s not difficult to find out who your co-workers, assistants, or bosses were at a certain point in your career. And it’s also easy to find out that those professionals are in your contact network, in a platform such as LinkedIn. And sometimes we even know them, which makes it easier to check references.

So here are some tips in order to make the best of your ride in the “Gigantic Corporate Ferris Wheel,”

1)    NEVER LIE. Not in your resume, interview, size or authorship of projects you managed or participated. It may work in the short term. ONLY in the short term;
2)    When resigning from a job, always value the “don’t burn your bridges” adage. Finish your last projects at the company and don’t just cross your arms and “coast”!!
3)    Value your word and commitment. For instance, accepting a job offer which involved a lot of work and time from a company’s top management and then changing your mind might have serious consequences for you;
4)    Harming other professionals in order to get advantages in the short term leaves a mark in the career of those professionals and might have repercussions for you in future;
5)    This may sound funny, but don’t “create” characters to increase or aggrandize your experience or professional accomplishments.

As Profeta Gentileza[1] used to say, “Kindness Generates Kindness.” Believe me, this works for everything in life. Even your career.

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[1] Translator’s Note: José Datrino, better known as Profeta Gentileza, “Profet Kindness,” was a sort of preacher in the Rio de Janeiro urban landscape who became famous in the 80’s for inscribing his peculiar writings on the columns that supported an overpass in the city. He would walk around wearing a long white gown and long beard. His preaching and writings were about love, kindness, and respect for humans and nature. He has been immortalized in songs, such as this one by Marisa Monte, Gentileza, with English subtitles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tfbw6818Ls)

 

How to build a successful career

Many executives I talk to ask me, “What do successful professionals you interview have in common?”

Despite always answering that when it comes to someone’s career there’s no right or wrong, or success formulas, there’s is something I think successful professionals have in common.

If competence is a combination of Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSA) part of the answer lies in this concept. The philosopher Ralph Emerson once said, “Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

And I truly believe in what Emerson was saying. In essence your career success depends on your attitudes, but it’s also built upon how your attitudes are perceived by others.

And it’s no use thinking, “I don’t care about what others think of me,” or yet, “I’m not here to make friends but to do my job,” because your most important personal marketing is actually done by others, and in this sense it’s possible to say that perception equals reality.

Having a successful career is closely related to how others assess you, so each work day and each step you take in your career is a chapter you write about it, which others will read and tell as stories.

You can’t dissociate one from the other. Your career will be what you make of it. There’s no use blaming it on your boss or company; it’s in your hands.

Yes, I know your company is not perfect, that your boss isn’t nice, that your team is difficult, that nobody sees the world like you do, and that sometimes it REALLY feels impossible, but as Michael Jackson used to sing, it’s about “...starting with the man in the mirror...”

GOOD LUCK!!

What the best executives are made of?

It’s nothing new that the market lacks professionals with high levels of qualifications and that discussions on the role of education in a country’s development abound.
Nobody will deny that one of a country’s sustainable growth pillars is quality education. However, how do we explain when very well educated professionals with extensive experience can’t be placed in new jobs?

How about recent M.A. and Ph.D. graduates who find it hard to get rehired? So what’s this story about lack of qualified professionals all about?

Maybe the big issue is that when the market says it can’t find skilled professionals it’s not about technical or academic qualifications (especially when we’re talking about managing or executive roles). Currently, there’s a lack of professionals in the market who possess competencies solely and exclusively learned from applying what they’ve learned in quality academic education.

To put it in simple terms, check out the movie clip below:

“Slumdog Millionaire” tells the story of a boy who grows up in an Indian slum and wins a television game show by giving the right answers to general knowledge questions based on his own life story. In sum, his entire life, his entire story provides him with the right answers.

Drawing a parallel here, this is how excellent executives get made. They’re those who learn from their daily experiences and consider everything as a learning opportunity. Of course we can’t ignore the relevance of academic education, but what corporations actually look for are the answers that practice has taught professionals.

When you look at it this way, your professional experiences (good and bad), when well used, may help you win “one million rubies” and make you successful.

Taking professional experiences and turning them into learning moments require a lot of resilience, emotional intelligence, empathy, patience, humility, and hard work. This type of competence is hardly learned in grad school.

And success—in my experience—might even be fortuitous, but luck usually finds those who are well prepared.

So, take a chance. The greater the risk, the higher the return. And know that everyone is afraid of making mistakes. After all, is there anyone out there who truly believes they’re ready for life?

GOOD LUCK!!