Episode 12

Vision and Experimentation

Vision is an important part of career stewardship but coming up with a career vision isn’t always easy.  You might not know where you want to be in the future or you might have lots of different ideas, none of which seems more than 15% likely. But there are specific practices you can undertake to explore and articulate your potential future life. In this episode, we learn the value of articulating the “what” before we know the “how,” how to transform vague ideas into compelling vision statements, and the role of experimentation in understanding what you really want.  Michael shares how an implausible dream led him to an exciting life living in a Taipei hospital.  To quote Larry David, this episode is PRETTY, PRETTY, PRETTY GOOD. 

The classic book Michael references is Working Identity, by Herminia Ibarra. 

Prompts for the vision brainstorm:

Come up with a list of 5-10 things you might like to do in the future – these can be experiences, jobs, things to learn, things to do, etc.  Pick one or two or three of the ones that intrigue you most and answer these questions.

• What is your job called?

• What’s great about it?  What fills your days?

• What institutions or people do you work with?

• How does this relate to what you did in earlier years of your career?

• Where do you live?

• How do your existing skills transfer?

• What’s hard or challenging?

• How are your work and life integrated?

Use the answers to create vision statements of 3-4 sentences. 

Examples of experiments:

• Reading a book or article on a new subject

• Having an informal conversation with a friend

• Going on an informational interview

• Going on a job interview

• Giving a job talk

• Shadowing a job for a day

• Taking a class

• Attending a conference

• Going to a professional event

• Writing an article

• Teaching a class as an adjunct professor

• Crafting a new positioning statement

• Hosting a dinner party for people who reflect your new interests

• Developing a business plan

• Advising a company

• Volunteering

• Being a consultant

• Serving on a board or committee

• Hiring a consultant

• Traveling

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