Career Advice '08

Career advice ’08An overview of the important lessons

found in Dan Pink’s latest book.A presentation (of sorts) by Garr Reynolds.

Concerned about your professional future?

Need some guidance?

This book can help!

Garr Reynolds presents an overview of Dan Pink’s latest book (with some expanded material thrown in).

CareerLessons

Six

From Dan Pink

presentation by Garr Reynolds

Introduction

こんにちは、ガーです!

...um...

Hi! I’m Garr!

I live here.

In JAPAN!

そうです、ね!I live here.

Let me tell you about a very cool book by Daniel H. Pink.

Let me tell you about a very cool book by

Call him Dan!

Daniel H. Pink.

Here it is

Not actual size.

Actual size.

Have you read Dan’s other books?

Have you read Dan’s other books?

Not actual size.

Have you read Dan’s other books?

Actual size.

Have you read Dan’s other books?

They’re awesome!

Actual size.

I spent the day with Dan once in Japan.

Here’s a map of Japan (just in case...).

Dan Pink

Some guy who looks

sort of like Dan Pink

Dan’s a smart guy. And a generous guy too.

wait—that’s me...

Some guy who looks

sort of like Dan Pink

Dan Pink

Dan’s a smart guy. And a generous guy too.

Dan gave a great prezo to my biz students!

Dan gave a great prezo to my biz students!

Dan’s a kick-ass presenter!

Dan’s new book is fantastic! Buy onefor yourself and every student you know who graduates this year.

Seriously —

get it now!

Dan’s new book is fantastic! Buy onefor yourself and every student you know who graduates this year.

I read the book over lunch in Osaka...see?

YUM!

(You gonna eat that?)

Anyway...

As you can see, it’s presented in Manga style. Very cool and effective!

This is Johnny Bunko, the main character.

Johnny

This is Diana,the “career advisor.”

Diana

Here’s my summary of the key lessons from Johnny Bunko by Dan Pink.

Here’s my summary of the key lessons from Johnny Bunko by Dan Pink.

I added a little of

my own spin to

some of the tips...

The context

Question:

Is this you?

Basically agood person.

Listened to your parents.

Took all the advice...

Followed conventional wisdom...

Studiedhard.

Did what you were supposed to do...

You got a decent job!

Nice shoes, Jack!

You got a decent job!

working

hard!...and you’re

BUT!

BUT!

BUT!

BUT... BUT...BUT...

BUT...

BUT...BUT...BUT...BUT...

You’re not satisfied...

You’re beginning to wonder:

In fact...

Was everyone wrong?

Time to rethink“conventional wisdom”

CareerLessons

Six

From Dan Pink

Time to rethink“conventional wisdom”

CareerLessons

Six

From Dan Pink

Wish I knew this 20 years ago!

Time to rethink“conventional wisdom”

CareerLessons

Six

From Dan Pink

Wish I knew this 20 years ago!Man, it’s never

too late!

Lesson 1

There is no plan.

1

?

Does this sound familiar?

Get busy

Pay your dues

Suck it up

Up you go!

I’ve got

the

plan, S

tan!

Problem is...

You can’t map it all out.

Your career path.

You can’t map it all out.

Well, you can try, but it

usually

doesn’t work out the way you

planned it.

Your career path.

Your career path.

That career p

ath reminds

me of something

...

You can’t map it all out.

Your career path may look like this

Think of it this way...

A plan is like a path.

wait—that’s me...

Great, so show me the path!

A plan is like a path.

wait—that’s me...

Great, so show me the path!

A plan is like a path.

OK, but you may not

like the answer ...

The path is..

there is no pathThe path is..

wait—that’s me...

D’oh!

Funny you should

mention “doh.”

The way (doh)

There is no set path...

but there is a way.

The key to the way?

Make smart choices

Right. Don’t just let stuff

randomly happen...

Two types of reasons for your career choices:

Two types of reasons for your career choices

Instrumental reasons

Fundamental reasons

Two types of reasons for your career choices

What’s the difference?

Instrumental reasons

Fundamental reasons

Instrumental reasonsBecause you think (hope?) it will lead to something else whetheryou enjoy it or not.

Because you think it is inherently valuable (regardless of what it

may lead to).

Fundamental reasons

Most successful people make decisions for

Right. Dan says not all of the

time, but most of the time.

Fundamental reasons.

Sounds foolish?

Enlightened Pragmatists

Think:

Example:

Steve Jobs

Huh?

Huh?

Bear with me a second...

Huh?

Google Steve Jobs’ speech at Stanford ‘05

Bear with me a second...

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me.Steve Jobs on studying calligraphy and learning about typography as a college student.

“

”

Steve Jobs on the path:(connecting the dots)

—Steve Jobs

“”

You can’t connect the dots looking forward...

...you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever...it has made all the difference in my life.

“

”—Steve Jobs

There is no plan.

1Discussion

Lesson 2

Think strengths not weaknesses.

2

Conventional wisdom:

to make sure your weaknesses don’t hold you back.

Focus where you areweak

BUT!

Successful people do not work so much on what they are bad at, they focus on

Based on research byMartin Seligman and Marcus Buckingham

capitalizing on what they are good at.

Identify what you aregood at and make *that*

insanely great.

Who wants to be mediocre?

Your Passion Your Strengths

Your “remarkable”(Your “insanely great”)

Find your

remarkable.

As marketing guru

Seth Godin would say...

Seth Godin action figure

Find your

purple cow.

moooo

よろしく、ね！

Hey, that cow speaks Japanese

*and* it’s purple. Remarkable!

よろしく、ね！

Bottom line is...

You are not “average”

So just remember...

Your strengths!focus on

Think strengths not weaknesses.

2

Discussion

Lesson 3

It’s not about you.

3

It’s about adding value.

It’s about helping the client.

It’s about using your strengths

and talents in the service of others.

e.g., helping your customer totally kick-ass!

Improving your own life by improving the lives

of others.e.g., helping your team in ways they

didn’t even know possible.

Your mission?

Your Passion

Your Strengths

What the world needs

Use your strengths, do what you love...And do work worth paying for that solves a problem or helps others.

Use your strengths, do what you love...And do work worth paying for that solves a problem or helps others.

Solar battery? Remarkable!

It’s not about you.

3Discussion

Lesson 4

Persistence trumps talent.

4

Yes, talent is important　　　　 (which is why you must identify your strengths).

But talent alone will not get it done.

...

The world is filled with talented people

who didn’t persist, who gave up...

The world is filled with talented people

who didn’t persist, who gave up...

...and were passed by people with less talent but with more grit and persistence.

present.pp

t

Think:

Continuous improvement.

Continuous improvement (Kaizen)

改善

Even small improvements

matter...

Step by step...

Keep moving

forward

How are you motivated?

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic

Motivation

Kaizen

The more intrinsic motivation you have, the more you are likely to persist.

The more you persist, the more

likely you are to succeed.

Persistence trumps talent.

4Discussion

Lesson 5

Make excellent

Mistakes5

.

If we learn from our mistakes,

then can’t we learn even more from

our big (excellent) mistakes?

...we’re not talking careless

blunders here, but the “m

istakes”

you made when you thought big and

took a chance.

present.pp

t

If we learn from our mistakes,

then can’t we learn even more from

our big (excellent) mistakes?

present.pp

t

No pain, no gain!

...we’re not talking careless

blunders here, but the “m

istakes”

you made when you thought big and

took a chance.

If we learn from our mistakes,

then can’t we learn even more from

our big (excellent) mistakes?

So, why not...

ThinkBIG

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

—Michelangelo

“

”

If you’re not prepared to be

wrong, you’ll never come

up with anything original.

—Sir Ken Robinson

Take a chance

Make excellent

Mistakes5

.

Discussion

Lesson 6

Leave an

imprint6

.

When you get older, you may have some questions...

Did I make a difference?

Questions you’ll be asking

Did I contribute?

Did I matter?

Problem is...

Most people get toward the end of their lives and they don’t like their answers.

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

“

”— Sydney J. Harris

We’re on this planet for a

very short time...

Why not make a difference?

Why not make a contribution?

“We are about contribution,

that’s what our job is …”

— Benjamin Zander

Teacher, firefighter, lawyer, doctor,

social worker, business person,

entrepreneur, scientist, programmer,

designer, and on, and on, and on....

We all want to make a contribution. (Otherwise, why get out of bed?)

No matter what your career path looks like...

Make a dent in the universe.

Leave an

imprint6

.

Discussion

Review

There you have it. That’s some of the key points in Dan Pink’s latest book.

Let’s review...

There you have it. That’s some of the key points in Dan Pink’s latest book.

• There is no plan.

• Think strengths, not weaknesses.

• It’s not about you.

• Persistence trumps talent.

• Make excellent mistakes.

• Leave an imprint.

One more thought...

You spent so much on your education...

You spent so much on your education...

prepared?but are you

For the price of a few of these...

...you can get this creative and important book by Dan Pink

$100,000

$15

You’ve already spen

t

this much, what’s a few

more dollars?

This was an overview by Garr Reynolds of Dan Pink’s latest book (with some extra stuff thrown in).

CareerLessons

Six

From Dan Pink

presentation by Garr Reynolds

Got any more tips you’d like to add to the list of six??Got any more?

presentation by Garr Reynolds

Linkswww.danpink.com

www.johnnybunko.com

Linkswww.danpink.com

www.johnnybunko.com

And checkout my Website too

:

www.presentationzen.

com