Challenge Factory challenges old career thinking

Many of our clients are facing big decisions about their careers. They are looking ahead and wondering if they should pursue a promotion in their current company or look outside, if they should keep on a corporate path or change sectors, if they should retire and what they will do ...  [Read more...]

Many of our clients are facing big decisions about their careers. They are looking ahead and wondering if they should pursue a promotion in their current company or look outside, if they should keep on a corporate path or change sectors, if they should retire and what they will do once they’ve left their current company. They worry about how they will make these choices, when the right time is to make a move and how others will react.

Last Fathers’ Day I shared three business lessons I had learned from my Dad. It was one of our most popular articles and received attention for months after it had been posted. I mentioned that my favourite lesson was his belief that: “You don't have a problem until you have a problem.” 

Knowing the right time for decision making is critical. Trying to solve a problem too early means that there is no way to know the important variables and make a good choice. You waste energy anticipating what might be and planning for situations that may never happen. 

In an October 2012 interview, reporter Michael Lewis asked President Barack Obama what advice he would tell his successor if they only had 30 minutes together. Here is what he said: 

“You also need to remove from your life the day-to-day problems that absorb most people for meaningful parts of their day. ‘You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,’ he said. ‘I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.’ He mentioned research that shows the simple act of making decisions degrades one’s ability to make further decisions. It’s why shopping is so exhausting.”

Knowing which decisions actually need your attention and which are distractions is critical. When it comes to career transition there are many options, opportunities and activities you could pursue. Structured programs, like those at Challenge Factory, help ensure that you make the key decisions at the right times. The methodology, resources and community focus your attention on the right activities at the right time, reserving energy for family, career and self along the way. The result is an enjoyable, exciting and positive process that energizes you for the future.

Whether you are in charge of a country or your own career, there are simply a limited number of problems that are actually ready for your attention at any given moment.  

I remain convinced that Dad was right. Some decisions are right in front of you and need a response.

The rest can be solved by others or still need time to unfold before they are ready for you. 

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