Advice to Seniors

I was digging through some junk the other day in my attempt to pack my stuff, when I happened to find a notebook of loose papers. I almost threw it away without checking to see what it was. Turns out, it was notes from a guest speaker in the Business School from my senior year of college.

As I glanced at the notes, I remembered that he was actually was a good speaker. I didn't write down his name, but I remember he was at that time the CEO of the Americas of HSBC. My notes are pretty basic:

-Love what you do. It’s all that matters.
-If you’re in a game you can’t win, you’ll lose.
-Know the boundaries of the circle of competence. What do I do well?
-What do I do when I don’t have anything to do? How can I make money doing it?

I remember appreciating his honesty; we heard so many people come through the business talking about money, politics, climbing the corporate ladder. But there were small glimmers of something different- "revolutionary" ideas that loving one's day job will bring you more happiness than money. (Shocking, isn't it?)

He also had a top ten list - advice for college grads:

1. Manage your own career (60% me, 20% company, 20% luck).
2. Excessive Job Hopping is detrimental to your career.
3. Maintain a keen sense of curiosity; don’t be too complacent.
4. Gain international experience/exposure; a second language is a plus!
5. DO NOT compromise your values and principles at work.
6. Take pride in all aspects of your work. Be responsible. Take ownership.
7. Be a team champion; don’t be a star.
8. Listening is an art and a hard skill to develop.
9. To be held hostage to your job is not a career.
10. Enjoy what you do and have fun!

Even though I'm in full-time ministry, I still want to have a 'career' of sorts. Maybe that's a bad thing. I've wondered at times whether I'll get (any) skill development on a professional level working for Crusade. Whether I will or not, the spiritual and personal development is a lot more valuable to me (and I think development in these areas would help my professional skills to stand out more, anyway).

Anyway, I know this list is just his opinion, or a rip-off of another person's opinion, but I was intrigued by his very first statement: you need to take change of your own career. I know I will get great opportunities professionally with Campus Crusade (definitely comparable to my fellow USD B-School classmates of 2008); but regardless, I must be responsible for my own career development.

I don't worry as much about other items on the list (#2, #4, #5), but the rest are really important. I definitely want to enjoy my work, fostering creativity and curiosity while being responsible for my contribution to the team.

If I haven't said it enough, I'm so excited for what is in store at the Regional Office!