It is impossible to live without failing at something. Unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.
That is a quote from JK Rowling, British author of the famous Harry Potter’s series.
Although it’s important to fail and fail gloriously in life, this episode talks about real failure. We thought we would do a twist on the top 5 things young professionals need to do to succeed and flip it around and list all the things you should do if you want your career to come down hard, crashing and burning – in a bad way.
Here is our top 5 list:
1. Only consume content that confirms your belief
Ross says only read blogs you agree with, only read the news that shares stories on topics you care about, stay in a world that makes you feel comfortable.
How to succeed: Invest time and energy reading books, blog posts and news sources that don’t always agree with you, even hang out with people who don’t always share your opinion. Kristine says you have to do this actively, don’t rely on your social feeds to be unbiased – they are built to only show you want you want to see.
2. Doubt yourself everyday
Keep making self-deprecating jokes, they will eventually become truth. Clare says being the humble person in the room helps you get friends, but doesn’t help advance your career.
How to succeed: Talk about your successes. Empower yourself.
3. Be a gossip
Hang out by the water cooler, if your office still has one, and share all the stories you hear, regardless if they will hurt someone else’s reputation.
How to succeed: Julia says, learn to listen. Listen and absorb, so you have your thumb on the heartbeat of the office, but don’t spread rumours. No one trusts a gossip.
4. Never learn something new
Just coast, do the same thing every day and never learn anything new. Who needs new skills, am I right?
How to succeed: Kristine says you don’t have to go and get another university degree or take a bunch of expensive courses. Simply reading new things – books, blogs, etc. – can help you learn new things and new points of view. The way to move up in your career is to bring something new to a team.
5. Never proofread your work
Who needs to edit your work, no one right? And spell check, what is that? We are communicators and writing isn’t so important… right?
How to succeed: Julia says you lose credibility if you don’t proofread and make mistakes in your work. Julia says read your work out loud and it helps catch typos and awkward sentences. But wait, Ross completely disagrees – you will have to listen to the episode to find out what he says.
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