Why Treat your Career like a Startup
The way in which you must manage your career has changed significantly over recent decades. Previously, individuals may have been guaranteed a career for life once chosen at high school, but as the world and the economy has changed, so has the work required to forge a good career.
Career-minded professionals must now treat the activity rather like a business enterprise. There is no longer any room for complacency, nor can you make any assumptions that something will or will not happen. Approaching your career with an entrepreneurial spirit is a healthy and productive way to manage your career.
Keeps you thirsty for growth
By adopting a 'beta' mindset, you will never become complacent and will always assume that you are learning and growing. This is highlighted on theForbes website, on the basis that, “each day represents an opportunity to learn more, do more, be more and grow in our lives and careers.” Many careers fall flat or grow stale because the individual is set into a particular mindset and no longer has to think creatively about what to do next. This mindset forces you to accept that you have more to learn and keeps you focused on what to do about it.
Retains your competitive edge
In a depressed climate, competition for jobs is at its most fierce. In the business world, startups must adapt and grow or die and you can liken your career to this. Seeing yourself as a business asset helps you continually focus on what your competitive advantage is. What is it that you can bring to a role that others cannot? In answering that question, you can help shape your resume and your development plan to ensure that the response keeps getting better.Gigaom.comdescribes this process, "learning about your competition isn't necessarily about competition itself, it's just another way of staying ahead of your game."
Develops decision-making capability
“What would you do if this was your business?”
As a career individual, you will be presented with decisions throughout your career and some professionals are too detached from the commercial realities to make the right, risk-based decision. Assuming that every decision that you make is tied into your value as a business, rather than a person, can help you make the right choices. This applies on a personal level (what are you worth? What is your time worth?) and on behalf of the businesses that you might be working for. Developing commercial awareness is an intrinsic part of establishing your career goals.
Creates a sense of urgency
Startups must consider the financial implications of every decision and this is very often driven by tight timescales. Managing your career goals in this way keeps you focused on the time required to achieve what you want to achieve. Without any pressure or targets to deliver something by a certain time, your chance of success is reduced. A startup business leader must deliver on his promises NOW or run the risk of alienating a customer. Your career should work to the same ethos.
Image:Art Market Blog
