Don’t Get Stuck on the Job

I had an interesting conversation with a tech entrepreneur. She was diving into her next creation after a long period of standstill. She was impatient to get back to the world of start-up.

She wanted to create and build without the politics of running a business and, above all, the hiring and management of the team.

At this stage, she could only imagine creating ventures going forward – to go on 18-month journeys and then move on. She would only stay with one venture long term if XYZ happened.

We decided our focus should not really be ‘on the job’ – the actual nitty gritty of starting or growing a business – but on being clear about which aspects of day-to-day working we actually love.

By gaining this clarity we get better at really discovering what roles best suit us and in what businesses. For example, part of my enjoyment of start-ups is finding a way to do something completely new that others have not done before. Now I know this I could find ways to do this in a more mature business.

Think about the few times in your current and recent jobs when you were truly flying and thriving. Think. Who were you working with? On what? To what timescales? With what budget? What signs? What outcome or result? What are the themes and lessons? What role should you be in?

If you would like to receive these generally bi-monthly Thrive in Five newsletters, sign up here.