This week’s book learning is part 4 of a 5 part series from ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’ by Cal Newport. (Parts 1, 2, 3)
Cal Newport’s 3rd principle is simple – control is one of the most important things you can bargain for (and not a promotion!). Why?
-> “Great Work” is defined by 3 traits: Creativity, Impact and Control. A job with these traits, especially control, is rare.
-> If we want something that’s both rare and valuable, we need something rare and valuable to offer in return .
-> These rare and valuable skills are our career capital.
-> And, the craftsman mindset leads to acquiring career capital.
Example: Steve Jobs gained a bit of control in his life when he sold out the first bunch of Apple I at the local computer shop.
However, to get even more valuable control, he needed to increase the value of what he had to offer. So, he took on $250,000 in funding from Mark Markkula, and worked with Steve Wozniak to produce Apple II – a new computer that was unambiguously too good to be ignored.
Cal warns that it’s dangerous to pursue more control in your working life before you have career capital to offer in exchange. Else, you run into a hard truth of the real world – it’s really hard to convince people to give you money.
So, just because you are committed to a certain lifestyle doesn’t mean you’ll find people who are committed to supporting you.
To those enthralled by the myth of a true calling, there’s nothing more heroic than trading comfort for passion. The passion theorists indicate that the biggest obstacle between you and work you love is a lack of courage to follow your dream. The downside of this is that it strips away merit.
In reality, great work doesn’t just require great courage, but also skills of great (and real) value.
So, what about “missions”/”callings” then? That’s in principle #4 – coming up next week..
Here’s to looking for control vs promotions this week!
A Learning a Day 