The ability to recognize that the winds have shifted and to take appropriate action before you wreck your boat is crucial to the future of an enterprise.

Andrew Grove

While Grove addresses this to businesses, can I tell you that your career is your business? And you the CEO?

Covid-19 is teaching everyone a serious lesson. But few are taking notes.

Why?

That’s humans for you. We don’t listen hard. We don’t read between lines. So history keeps repeating itself.

According to a post on BBC.com, nearly 200 million people could end up out of work during this covid-19 pandemic.

And if you’ve not lost yours, how can you stay guarded so you can control your career journey?

That’s what Grove has given us – not answers but questions to trigger our minds.

1). What do you think the nature of your industry is going to be in two or three years?

Go online and type the future of work… (type your field). Open the first five pages and read for yourself.

2). Is this an industry you want to be part of?

This is a self check and it’s good we’re at home. Think about your future and career. Do you still want to be part of this field? Are you sure? You want to switch?

3). Is your employer in a good position to succeed in this industry?

“How can you motivate yourself,” he asked, “to continue to follow a leader when he appears to be going around in circles?”

I’ve thought about this and sure I know my decision relation to this. Don’t be sentimental here. Think. It’s your career remember and your life.

4). What skills do you need to progress in your career in this new landscape?

“On the other hand, when there’s a fundamental change in the industry and you don’t change your skills,” Grove said, “you will lose at both winning companies and losing companies. That is a situation that can be classified as career inflection point.”

Very key.

The first question will give you a clue to this. As you check the future of work in that field, you’ll see the skills needed.

5). Do you have a role model of the person who has the career today that you want to achieve?

Also important.

No sentiments here again. I repeat, no sentiments. Who can you follow in your supposed career? Who can show you the way in your chosen field of pursuit?

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My final take is one of his quotes from the book:

The sad news is that, nobody owes you a career. Your career is literally your business. You own it as a sole proprietor. You have one employee: yourself. You are in competition with millions of similar businesses: millions of other employees all over the world. You need to accept ownership of your career, your skills and the timing of your moves. It is your responsibility to protect this personal business of yours from harm and to position it to benefit from the changes in the environment. Nobody else can do that for you.

Andrew Grove

Can you turn it to goodnews?