Nov 8, 2013
(Originally posted at http://therishsriv.appspot.com/post/strategic-self-improvement.html - that site might not be functional anymore)
Ever since my attempt at a startup failed, I have been thinking hard about what it really takes to make it. Eventually, I realized that success in any career is largely determined by whether you are one of the best at what you do.
Why? Think of yourself as a product. If you only have mediocre skills to offer, you become a commodity, and the only way for you to differentiate yourself is by having a better output/wages ratio.
This means that you either produce more work than the people who are paid the same amount as you (usually by working longer hours) or accepting a lower wage than someone who does the same amount of work. Your choices are often dictated by the market's output/wages ratio as well.
At the same time, you have limited choice if you wish to switch careers. If you have a crappy boss or are stuck in an office for which you are not a good cultural fit, you are at the mercy of the market if you wish to switch. Unless you provide exceptional value and are the office rockstar, getting out of a rut can be a painful process.
The solution? Be so good that they can't ignore you. If you truly wish to have a happy and fulfilling life that enables you to balance your work, family and personal commitments, you have to make sure that you provide value that no one else can. You can do this by having exceptional skills, an exceptional network, or an exceptional personality. The focus of this post is the first of those 3 - developing exceptional skills.
The very first thing that you need to do is figure out what you should become an expert at. While "follow your passion" is inspiring, feel-good advice, it is often not the most practical one. Following your passion is important, but what is more important is the ability to find the sweet-spot between your passion, your talent, and the market.
You have to be brutally honest with yourself when figuring out what you are most suited for. But once you do this correctly, you will have much greater clarity about how you wish you move forward with your career, and can start taking the first steps to becoming an expert.
Once you have decided what the field you should focus on is, figure out the skills that you need in order to add exceptional value. For instance, if you think you are most suited for Analytics, you might wish to consider the value chain for analytics and determine the skills needed at each point in the value chain.
This will help you figure out where exactly you should position yourself in the value chain, and what are the skills that you need in order to do so.
Once you have figured out which part(s) of the value chain you wish to position yourself, make a plan to gain the skills that you need. Examine both the skills you need to gain and the resources that will help you gain them. Once you make this plan, make sure that you stick to it (no matter how little time you think you might have).
