After an interesting discussion at ad:tech, Mike Pubentz forwarded me this New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell: How David beats Goliath.
Gladwell’s conclusion in this article is that “When underdogs choose not to play by Goliath’s rules, they win…”
This core truth was underscored by a recent acquaintance’s career update. I see her a couple of times a year at dinner parties and several dinner parties ago she asked me about becoming a project manager. Why on earth a successful PhD scientist would want to join the accidental profession was beyond me, but I dutifully described the process and experience required to get an entry-level job in the field. And the significant drop in remuneration she could expect as a beginner.
Fast forward 18 months and she was excited to share with me that she now has a job as a Project Manager at an equivalent salary as before. How? She found a company that was willing to take her on as an intern for a year. While there, she took on as much responsibility as they would give her, which considering her background and experience was significant – honing her skills and learning the tools.
At the end of that year, with some significant successes as a PM to point to, she found a job in her previous field as a PM with a salary commiserate with her previous role. And, with her education and experience, she’s running circles around other PMs there that have far more experience in project management.
Read the article and ask yourself: “Where are you playing by rules that don’t suit your strengths?”