For A Successful Career, Develop Yourself And Embrace Opportunity
In 2001, I was named the CEO of Cree, a publicly-traded technology company, at the wise old age of 34. It was not the best timing as the dot com bubble had recently burst, and the country was entering a recession. I didn’t fully appreciate the opportunity that I was being given, or the challenge I was taking on at the time. I was too busy trying to figure out how to become a CEO and deal with the chaos that often increases in times of economic uncertainty.
After more than 16 years as CEO, growing the business and building a global technology company, people saw our success and began to ask me for career advice. They wanted to know what the “secret” to my success was, and how they should go about developing their own career plan. While I understood their interest, the reality was that I never had a career plan, and I don’t believe in them.
As foolish as that might sound to some, it is actually more common than you think. If you study many of the most successful people in business and in life, you often will find a similar approach. And while I had goals, they were more philosophical than specific. I knew I wanted to try and make a difference in the world, but I didn’t try to define it any further than that. I focused my energy on solving the problem in front of me and then moving on to the next one. What I learned is that you don’t pick opportunities; they pick you — often at the most inconvenient times. But it’s not random, what you do each day matters, whether you realize it or not. The key is learning to answer the door when opportunity knocks.
I should note that I started my career journey believing that climbing the career ladder was a process, like most everyone else. Early in my career at Hewlett-Packard (HP), I worked hard to earn more responsibilities, but I only applied for promotion once. Although I made it to the final two, I didn’t get the job. I was told that while I was very qualified, I was still young and needed to be patient and wait for my turn. From that moment on, I determined that the traditional approach to career success was flawed, and I was going to find my own way.
The organizational psychologist Herminia Ibarra may have said it best: “You learn who you are through practice, not through theory.” Simply put — you can think about your career all you want — but until you get in the game and start doing — you won’t know what you’re good at and neither will anybody else. Focus on the tasks at hand, complete them to the best of your ability, and then be ready to see where it takes you. In my experience, there is no shortage of opportunities for people that work hard and know how to make a difference.
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Over the last several months, we hosted a range of incredible guests on the podcast. We’ve gone back through our previous episodes to pull out some of their best advice for developing yourself. If you do that — I’m confident that your career will follow. And remember, successful people create successful careers and not vice versa.
Please check out the episode in the above link. If you have an opinion on these topics, please feel free to email us through the contact page. The best ideas often stem from the intersection of different points of view. The episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!
