In the movie Fight Club (a male perennial favorite like ‘The Godfather’), the lead character works for an auto company and spouts out a formula they use for deciding whether to recall a model of their car or just let it go on killing people:
“Take the number of vehicles in the field, (A), and multiply it by the probable rate of failure, (B), then multiply the result by the average out-of-court settlement, (C). A times B times C equals X . . . If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.”
It’s a scary formula — but an apt example of how one should look critically at a decision. When I coach my clients, career change comes down to three choices:
Do nothing. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Do something slightly different. Change the dynamic.
Change radically (move or something totally new). Take charge of your life.
You need to stay ahead of the curve. So if you do nothing, eventually the marketplace is going to catch up to you and pass you pretty quickly. If you do something slightly different, you’re just staving off the inevitable, it’s catching up soon.
If you move or change your model radically, you stay ahead of the curve. Although you might be at the burning edge of the marketplace or your career path, you still are 100% in control of your destiny.
Your career or business needs to follow a Sigmoid Curve (above). The secret to constant growth is to start a new sigmoid curve before the first one peters out. The right place to start that second curve is at a first intersection where there is time, as well as the resources and energy, to get the new curve through its initial explorations and floundering before the first curve begins to dip downward (second intersection).
And that’s what it’s all about. Maintaining complete control over what you do, where you go, and what happens to you.
It’s your choice: If you let things happen to you, you are at the whim of management or the marketplace. If you take control and make decisions about your future, you have a little bit more say in the direction of your journey.
“Stop waiting for life to happen to you and begin to direct your life and explore your limits.” - Rich Gee
Extra Credit: Here's a real-life example: Years ago, I worked with one of the most energetic, positive, and professional executives I've ever met. He was a pleasure to interact with, always moving forward, always getting things done. In fact, both he and I won the organization's highest award that year. We were going places — and in less than a few months, he was gone, off to another position at another company. In fact, he's done it successfully throughout his career. Today, he's the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Fancy that.
Me? I do what I love too. Every single day.