A Lot of Bunko

I just finished reading a book that I think could change my life, and I wanted to give the readers of ComputerRecruiter the option of changing yours.

For the past 6 – 8 years information technology has undergone a major upheaval, an overhaul, and now looks as similar to the career I first inhabited and loved as a weekend in Charleston compares to a month in Bhopal.

In the downtime between assignments that inevitably comes to IT and other project professionals, many of us have a lot of time to plan and train and think and dream about the perfect job. But far too few of us actually do anything about migrating to that perfect job we envision. With good reason as, unlike IT or regulatory projects, there is no corporate sanctioned methodology designed to achieve this particular implementation. Until now.

“The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, The Last Career Guide You’ll Every Need” by Daniel H. Pink could very well be the methodology (or anti-methodology, as they case may be) you need to make this move.

In this Manga-style graphical book, author Pink walks us through a series of simple, almost intuitive points intentioned to give the reader license to choose the career path best suited to his talents and interests. Simple yet radical, as his vision leads us to question the guidance we’ve received from our elders our entire lives.

A brief overview filled with plagiarism from the book:

There is no plan – Most successful people, most of the time, make decisions for fundamental reasons – because they believe it is inherently valuable, regardless of where it may lead. They choose a job or a company that will allow them to do interesting work in an enjoyable environment, without consulting a plan.

Think strengths, not weaknesses – The key to success is to steer around weaknesses and focus on strengths. Successful people don’t work on improving what they’re bad at; they capitalize on what they’re good at.

It’s not about you – Successful people use their strengths to serve their clients. They improve their own lives, by improving the lives of their clients. They make their managers look good, they help their teammates succeed.

Persistence trumps talent – Persistence is like compound interest – a little persistence improves performance, which leads to greater persistence and greater performance. The people who achieve the most are often the ones who stick with it while others don’t. And intrinsic motivation – choosing enjoyment over expected reward – leads to greater persistence. And the cycle continues.

Make excellent mistakes – Time spent avoiding mistakes and failure leads to not trying anything, which ultimately means never doing anything. Avoiding failure is not the way to achieve success. Successful people have high aspirations and give themselves permission to fail, as a way to become better. On their way to trying something that nobody else has done.

Leave an imprint – Truly successful people ensure their lives have purpose – they use their talents to leave their companies, communities, and families better than they were before.

(My apologies to the author if my summaries have missed the mark.)

This book could prove valuable food for thought during your next downtime. The philosophical foundation that we are each different, with different talents and interests, and therefore could be successful by following our own hearts is one I wish I had heard much earlier in life.

But I believe it’s never too late for me, nor for you! Perhaps it’s time for you to explore making the transition to a career you love – and achieve success as part of the move.