Are you making a career transition?
This is the situation that many of us are in these days – especially for those who are graduating this week from Northwestern University’s School of Professional Services (SPS) Master of Science in Data Science (MSDS) program.
As we move into our career transitions, it is SO HELPFUl to have a guidebook. Otherwise, we’re doing exactly what Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, advises us NOT to do – besieging a walled city. (Hint: The combined HR departments of the companies that you’re considering = “walled city.”)
Sun Tzu, Chinese general and renowned military strategist, and author of The Art of War. Best estimates for his lifetime are 544–496 BC.
So … your job search, or overall career transition, is like setting out on a military campaign.
Segue: Your Career Transition Is Like Waging a One-Person War
If you are, will be, or have been in my Northwestern University MSDS 498 Capstone class, you know that our ONLY “required reading” has been Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
Sometimes, it’s hard to translate from armies-on-the-march and chariots and horses to your campaign, with online job postings, emails, and the other accoutrements of our modern-day job search.
But … it’s a little easier to make that analogic connection when we’re watching a war being conducted on a day-to-day basis; specifically, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Former U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Officer Ivan F. Ingraham provides us with an analysis of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
“Ukrainian units are empowered to work at the lowest levels to engage Russian forces. That decentralization allows for swift action by the Ukrainians to blunt Russian advances. The top-heavy command and control that characterizes the Russian military hinders their decision-making at the lowest levels where small unit leadership is paramount.”
Ivan F. Ingraham, Former USMC Special Operations Officer. 2022. “A Marine Special Ops Commander Explains Why Russia’s Stalled Advance in Ukraine Is No Surprise.” Task and Purpose (March 10). (Accessed March 16, 2022: https://taskandpurpose.com/analysis/russia-invasion-ukraine-strategic-failures/ .)
Here’s one immediate corollary: You, being an “army of one,” can be (as Ingraham describes) “decentralized … [with an ability to take] swift action.”
In contrast, the combined HR departments – of all the various companies that you’re considering – are like Russia’s military; “top-heavy.”
You might be understaffed. (Being, as I just said, an “army of one.”) However, YOU can act very much as a “guerilla unit,” and take surprising and swift actions – and be unpredictable.
I hate to suggest being so compartmentalized in your thinking, as this invasion is horrific on many levels – but, as an exercise in developing your OWN strategy, do this:
Sit down with Ingraham’s article, on the one hand, and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, on the other. Do a cross-check analysis. The straightforward mapping will be eye-opening. (Obviously, key issues in military strategy have not changed in the past 2,500 years.)
THEN, and only then, do the cross-check analysis between the Russian invasion (or go back to the original The Art of War), and identify corollaries between Russia’s invasion and your own career-transition campaign.
With this in mind, pick up a copy of either (or both) of this week’s book suggestions.
Book 4(a): “Where Do I Go from Here?”
Where Do I Go from Here With My Life?, by John Crystal (1982), is a classic.
I’ve used this book twice, when I was making major transitions.
Warning: this book offers a substantial and in-depth process. It’s best undertaken ONLY if you have the time and self-discipline to go through the entire process, and this can (and likely SHOULD) take a few months.
At the same time, what you’ll learn – and design – and carry out, during this process will be enormously gratifying, since you’ll see that YOU are designing EXACTLY what you desire.
Erratum: In the video, I mistakenly said that this book is out of print – WRONG! You can order a fresh new copy from Amazon, as well as used copies. My bad.
Book 4(b): “What Color Is My Parachute?”
If you just need to get that job, then What Color Is Your Parachute? is for you. Originally co-written by John Crystal (author of the above-mentioned “Where Do I Go?”) and Richard Bolles, it is now co-written by Richard Bolles and Katherine Brooks, EdD. This book is updated every year.
This is the “Cliff-Notes” version of Where Do I Go?.
If you’re tight on time, and simply can’t afford the deep-dive, this book will work well for you.
The beauty with both of these books is that they help us get a sense of clarity, focus — and MOST OF ALL – direction.
This week’s YouTube video discusses these two books in a bit more depth. See the link below, as well as the links to the previous two YouTube videos in this series.
To your health, well-being, and joyous success! – A.J. Maren
Book Resources
Crystal, Richard C. 1982. Where Do I Go from Here with My Life? A Very Systematic, Practical, and Effective Life/Work Planning Manual for Students, Instructors, Counselors, Career Seekers and Career Changers. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.
Bolles, Richard N., and Brooks, Katherine. 2021. What Color Is Your Parachute? 2022: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.
YouTube Resources
See the related YouTube HERE:
Alianna J. Maren discusses two useful career-transition books in The Great Career-Boosting Reading List: Books 4(a) and 4(b). Themesis YouTube Channel (March 17, 2022).
Cite as:
Maren, A.J. 2022. “The Great Career-Boosting Reading List: Week 4.” Themesis YouTube Channel (Mar. 17). Accessed March 17, 2022.
You can access our first Career-Boosting Reading List Recommendation YouTube, on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, here on the Alianna J. Maren YouTube channel:
Cite as:
Maren, A.J. 2021. “Career-Boosting Reading List: Part 1 – Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’.” Alianna J. Maren YouTube Channel (Aug. 12). Accessed March 17, 2022.
Our second and third book Career-Boosting Reading List Recommendations were presented in a single YouTube, also on the Alianna J. Maren YouTube channel:
Cite as:
Maren, A.J. 2021. “Books 2 and 3: Great Get-Life-Together Reading.” Alianna J. Maren YouTube Channel (Dec. 15). Accessed March 17, 2022.
Famous Salonnieres
Referring to Aspasia, who inspired Socrates and other Athenian philosophers, Socrates said:
… she who is my instructor is by no means weak in the art of rhetoric; on the contrary, she has turned out many fine orators …
Reported by Plato, describing the dialogue between Socrates and Menexenus.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plat.%20Menex.%20235&lang=original
This blog is impressive; Alianna really makes you think!
Thank you for quoting my article and further for aligning it to Sun Tzu; truly humbling!
Leadership is an art and and science, and, in the sciences, leadership is applicable since the dynamics of personal interaction to achieve a desired outcome are important. Further, individuals who seek the next “best thing” (my quotes) may, in fact, be dissatisfied with their current situation because of a lack of leadership or a perception that their leaders are contributing to their frustration. Studying the root causes of issues helps develop solutions. Be analytical, have patience for the process, and you will get there!
Thanks for chiming in, Ivan, and it was great to offer up your article in “Task and Purpose” as a solid and well-balanced assessment of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The parallels to what Sun Tzu described in “The Art of War” were very straightforward!
I’m very glad that with your company, “Golden Compass, LLC,” you’re able to offer leadership training to various civilian people and organizations, using leadership principles taught in the USMC.
I invite our Themesis community members to consider talking with you using the scheduling app on Golden Compass’s website at: https://goldencompassllc.com/.
You’ve also got a useful LinkedIn profile at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goldencompassllc/.
Great to connect with you, Ivan! – AJM