Confused, Not Lost

I was in Rome a while ago, and I needed to backtrack to find a place where I had been about 20 minutes before. As an American, I’m typical — I find the ancient cities of Europe a marvel of small alleys leading to magnificent piazzas punctuated by grand churches — and everything looking the same!

Never being “lost,” I found myself momentarily “confused” in a tiny street of small shops and restaurants. The problem was, even if I did ask someone for directions, I couldn’t really accurately describe where I wanted to go — until I saw them: postcards.

I discovered the other best use for postcards: not just to tell your far-away friends, “Hey, I was here,” but to tell someone close by, “Hey, this is where I want to go.” It worked perfectly. I picked up the picture of my destination and said to the shop-keeper, “Where?” (English seems to be the second language of Rome.) It turns out that I was only a short walk away — down another alley.

How is this a career lesson? If you can’t describe where you want to go, you can’t ask anyone for help getting there. If you want to be a major gifts officer, but you can’t articulate that to someone, getting that job is much more difficult.

So tonight, on the way home, or sometime after supper, instead of watching television, take a few minutes to describe your ideal job. Create a “picture” on paper — right down to what you’ll do day-to-day and how much money you’ll make. That way, next time you’re a bit “confused,” you can take that picture to a sympathetic friend and ask “Where is this?”

Look Poverty in the Eye

When was the last time you saw poverty? It’s not a pretty sight, huh? Like a lot of Americans you might ask, how can people live that way? Honestly? I do too.

You have to be brave to be poor. Think about it. If you don’t have much, you need to think of creative ways to survive — not all of which make sense to the uninitiated. For example, did you know that cleaning supplies are not paid for under many government assistance programs? Who would have thought that being clean was a luxury?!

The career point here isn’t to make you angry or sad or to spur you to social action (although feel free if you’re moved to do so), but to remind you that when you have less, you get creative — even in your career. So don’t bemoan your lack of resources, but get creative so that you can move ahead despite the obstacles. You’ll feel better about yourself and others will be amazed — and that’s an excellent career move!

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

How do you get to know what you don’t know if you don’t know what you don’t know — you know?

It’s pretty tough when someone suggests that you “don’t know what you don’t know” (DKWDK). Rarely do they say it to your face. It’s pretty much an after-the-fact observation — like after an interview. What sparks that observation? You would think it was either something you said or something you didn’t say. (Did I cover all of the bases there?) Maybe you said something that was off target or not based in fact. It could be that you missed a point entirely, right?

Wrong. Almost anytime I’ve heard someone say that someone DKWDK it’s triggered by the interviewee’s arrogance, not by missing or misstating a point. In short, saying that someone DKWDK is a comment on an interviewee’s interview skills. It’s not the facts that you don’t know, but how to convey them when you do and acknowledge them when you don’t.

Clearly this is career concept. Knowing something doesn’t make you “ruler of the world,” and not knowing something isn’t worth hiding. Both approaches don’t serve you well — long term and short term.

So next time you don’t know, remember that you do know what you can know if you know to say that you don’t know — you know?

Do You Have a Hideout?

Do you have a hideout? I don’t know about you, but like a lot of kids, I thought hiding out was fun — sometimes alone or other times with friends. It was cool to go somewhere — even under a blanket tent in the living room — to “hideout.” (Okay, just to be clear, the “blanket-tent” thing ended at about 10 years old, tempting though it may be these days!)

But even today it’s nice to have somewhere to go un-noticed. That’s not deep in the woods or cloistered in a monastery (although I understand that a number of monasteries offer retreat time to the public) — even a coffee shop will do.

Being able to “hideout” can be a great career move. Unplugging for a short while can refresh your perspective.

But hiding out doesn’t have to mean reading a book or writing that great American novel. It could be just as refreshing bringing one or two projects that require your focus and doing just that — focusing on something that’s a challenge in a fragmented day and coming away with a great sense of accomplishment.

So grab the biggest blanket in your house, anchor one end to the couch and the other to the overstuffed chair (What? Did you think I forgot?) and spend some time hiding out. Really, it’s a career move!