Sure-Fire Strategies for Career
Mediocrity
We all know who they are: the folks
who aren’t going anywhere... certainly not out, but probably also not up much
either. They play to “not lose” and work to avoid failure. (After all, who
wants to fail? It can be so embarrassing and messy.) Here’s how you can be one
of them:
Spend a lot of time fighting to
lower your budget so that you can beat it and declare victory. Lots of time. Weeks and weeks of time.
Wait to see what your boss’s opinion
is and then echo it energetically.
If he hasn’t expressed an opinion, stick close to the opinions of others.
Better to “cross the street in a crowd,” as they say.
Be stingy in giving credit to others. Definitely keep the credit for yourself if at all
possible. Don’t worry that what you gain in credit today will be more than lost
in goodwill from your colleagues….and fast.
Be defensive about mistakes, and
avoid admitting them at all costs.
Look for someone else to blame. Blame them behind their backs. Hope that they
don’t find out about it….because nobody ever gossips in an office, right?
If you’re off consensus industry
views, review your assumptions until you fall neatly into line with what
everyone else thinks.
Stay in a job you don’t like.
Complain about it a lot outside of work (and a good bit at work, too.)
Be studiously non-committal on new
ideas from your colleagues. If no-one
has thought of it already, it must mean that it won’t work. Better not to
declare yourself until it’s clear which way it’s going.
Kill new ventures with budgets and
business reviews. Many great new ideas don’t
work…..until they do. And that can involve a lot of refining and “pivoting” of
the initial concept until the idea, customer, market and timing align. If not
given the space and time, an idea can be killed well before given the chance to
be successful.
Keep your highest performer even if
his / her actions don’t align with your company’s stated values. Allow him /
her to do things you would never allow others to do. I mean, you don’t want to lose those sales, do you? You have
to make your (now lowered) budget.
Give people big raises only when
they come in with another job offer.
This will keep down costs in the short-term....and make sure that everyone
spends a lot of time interviewing for a new job every few years.
Hire people just like you. Much easier that way. No surprises, no messy different
perspectives, more interests in
common to talk about in the hallway.
Being
pragmatic, there are times in our careers when we can “go for it” and take real
professional risks. And then, in many careers, there can come a time when you
have to play to “not lose,” perhaps due to family obligations. String too many
of these together over the course of your career, and you’re stagnant; act too
much like the above and you’re the Eddie Haskell of your office.
Sallie Krawcheck
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140206120958-174077701-sure-fire-strategies-for-career-mediocrity?trk=eml-ced-b-art-M-2&midToken=AQGIPog6-r4O6Q&ut=0OZ9vPChOJ1C81
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