Out-of-the-box Experience

In 1995, I had been working on a product development team at American Express for over four years. The company had paid half of my tuition for an MBA at the world's top-rated international business program. I called the name of someone in HR asking what they wanted to do with me now that I had gained even more abilities. I was paid so little that I would soon be unable to make student loan payments.

I was told that my skills would be unwelcome because I had no ovaries and my skin color was too light.

So I quit, moved my family overseas, and had many marvelous experiences. Amex continued to promote groupthink by promoting people of various demographics who all shared the same education and background. Their diversity policy discouraged diversity. So the information age passed them by, and the company, while still iften profitable, is not innovative. Diversity SHOULD mean hiring from diverse experience, not diverse skin tones.

If you work for a firm that pushes diversity rather than merit, you might need to create your own diversity policy by exposing yourself to real diversity. Get out of your narrow market and go experience something new. Move overseas and teach English, if you must. 

Follow Your Passion

Recently, any self-help guru you give starts with this advice: "Find your passion. The motivation and success will follow."

But finding that passion is more difficult than it sounds. Some people discover it early. But for almost everyone else, it is a wild goose chase. For most people it requires trying lots of things, and that can take many years. Sometimes that is too late. Sometimes those many years on a crooked road can lead to tremendous frustration. Folks can wonder if their "passion" exists.

My advice is, and has always been, to do the opposite. 

Find a thing you can do competently. Then become passionate about that thing. Gradually develop expertise in a tiny area of that thing. (Hopefully that expertise will be in an area that nobody else wants to do.)

I am not saying "finding your passion" is impossible or is unwise in hard times. In any environment it is not the best strategy unless you are one of the lucky few who fall into it. Everyone else can look for it, but don't sit on your hands until you find it.

The Chicken and the Pig

Over the past 15 years, I have assisted hundreds of people to rebuild their careers. I have created multimillionaires out of six people.

In the beginning, I usually share with consultees the Parable of the Pig and Chicken.

A pig and a chicken were roommates, but neither were employed and they needed some money for rent. So they headed out to 'pound the pavement' early one morning.  

The pair passed a restaurant with an advert in the window: HAM AND EGGS, $4.50.

The chicken became excited. "That is our new plan! We can do this! You have ham, and have eggs. We can sell breakfast sets."

"That sounds fine for you," Pig responded. "For you it is a contribution, but for me it is a full commitment." 

And that is my contract with you. I make a contribution to help you. But you will be making a full commitment.

What we're reading

The Western World has become so focused on finding our natural in-born abilities that we lose sight of the fact that we can improve with hard work. A few years ago, I was hugely disappointed by Marcus Buckingham's Now, Discover Your Strengths, which is designed to help you discover your talents, based on the idea that you cannot be happy unless you do. But it doesn't help you discover tangible talents, and it perpetuates a misconception.

The growth mindset, in fact, fundamentally separates resilient, successful people from those who coulda' shouda' done.  That's what I'm reading about in Carol Dweck's Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Okay,  I cheated and skimmed the last half. But to do all the books I do, that is how I do it.

If you want to learn similar concepts, but want an enjoyable read, try Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success.

More ideas

Reason number 46 that starting a business in a rural area is more difficult is scalability.

Scalability is a word made popular by venture capitalists in the late 1990s as a critical criterion for investing. It essentially refers to the ability to easily replicate transactions. Pouring concrete foundations can only be done one at a time. To scale up and double the transaction, you need to double your workforce, almost double the amount of equipment. You save a little on administration costs, such as bookkeeping. and advertising. That is not an easily scalable business.

A scalable business is eBay. Once they pay for a software writer and server space, they can handle 10,000 customers for not much more than the effort of covering one customer.

In small towns, you have fewer potential customers. So scalability is a challenge.

So what?  Do you need to become huge?

If you have reached critical mass, if you are profitable enough to earn the living you need, then you are big enough. Any more growth is icing on the cake.

Wha'cha gonna do?

Let's depart from philosophical discussions, and talk specific ideas.

Etsy.com started off quietly, referred to as the eBay of handicrafts, but is now much more than a boutique. People earn good revenue through side businesses selling their handmade goods over the store. Being more focused than eBay has been their strength. (example: our shop)

Think Etsy is too large?  Try Wedzu, a handicraft sales-enabling site, like Etsy, that focuses only on wedding-related gear.

This is something YOU can do from your tiny town, out there "on the edge of the prairie."

Independence and Success

The Nauvoo Commuter recently sent a daughter away to attend university. The dictum given and repeated for several years was that she would be financially independent once university studies began. She would be responsible for all of her living and education expenses. She would be an adult.

Once the day of reckoning approached, she was sure that sugar daddy would soften up and pay out. I almost did. The temptation was strong, but forbearance won the day.

So she buckled down and reached down inside of herself and rose to the occasion. She made a valiant effort to earn scholarships. She worked three jobs all summer.  She became an adult.

And so it is with all of us. When forced to do so, people can overcome tremendous difficulties and succeed. They creatively solve problems and hurdle barriers. They find better ways of doing things. They become entrepreneurs. Out of the current recession will arise winners who blaze new trails.

Why you should get an MBA

I have advised thousands of people on career development. And this is what I normally tell people. 

You should enter and complete a full MBA program if you can answer yes to ALL of these questions:

1) You have no possibility of earning income during the next two years.

2) You are accepted to, and committed to, a top-ranked program.

3) Completion of the program will guarantee an immediate increase in salary, prestige, and upward mobility.

4) Your age is under 26. 

The value of an MBA has continually slid since the early 1970s. If you are an accountant, and think you can use an MBA to move into the investment world with requisite financial management skills, then you might consider it. 

Many better options exist. Consider them first.