Join the dark side
“He has grown strong. Only together can we turn him to the Dark Side of the Force.”
Dedicated to my dad.
Photo by Michael Marais on Unsplash
Study and work hard
When I was a kid, my dad always used to say, “Study and work hard, so you’ll have a better life than me”.
He was a talented plumber who had to work physically demanding jobs since he was sixteen. Plumbing in the second half of the last century meant carrying heavy sinks and full metal bathtubs up small staircases and working for hours in awkward positions that were not kind to his body. After over fifty years of this, his body was wrecked, and he had to retire in his early sixties with artificial knees, ripped biceps tendons, and worn-out joints that caused him frequent pain. Being raised in the midst of World War II, for him, success meant having food on the table, a roof over his head, and modest vacations. Owning a small townhouse that needed extensive renovation was a major achievement in life. Money was scarce or at least treated like that, and pleasures and experiences were often sacrificed, even as there was money.
My dad passed away a few years ago. I am not sure if he was proud of the careers my brother and I pursued. From his perspective, working a desk job, becoming a manager, leading teams, living abroad, earning a higher salary than he ever did, and owning a larger house at a younger age would likely have checked many of his boxes for a successful career.
But success isn’t just about money, job title, or material possessions. And even a desk job can take a significant toll on your mental and physical health if you focus on the wrong things. So, I invite you to explore with me what may matter beyond these external markers of success when it comes to a career
Let’s journey to a galaxy far, far away … and become an “Evil Overlord”.
Career – Why it matters to you!
“Now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.”
– Dark Helmet, Spaceballs
In the 70s, when the first Star Wars films graced our screens, the villains were clear: the Empire, Darth Vader, and the Emperor were evil overlords hell-bent on crushing the resistance with their power and the ultimate weapon of the Death Ray. Yet, despite their despicable actions, something was fascinating about their drive to increase their influence, status, and fame, and prolong their reign.
As I reflect on the start of my career, I realize that I was once similarly motivated by external markers of success:
- Making more money
I aimed to cross the six-figure annual salary mark before I hit my thirties (back in the nineties). - Climbing the ranks to gain more power and influence
I progressed from developer to project lead, to line manager, to department head, and so on. - Increasing my status and fame
I worked hard to get promoted within the internal ranking system. - Gaining access to the secret Death Ray
Okay, just kidding, they did not give me that… yet, I am still working on it.
But over the last few years, I have come to realize that these external markers only feed my need for validation from others, and do not necessarily bring me true happiness or fulfillment. They are easy to observe and are often defined as criteria by standard norms in our society (next to Instagram or TikTok fame). However, if I look deep within, I find that these are not the aspects that bring me true joy. To find purpose in my career, I have come to realize that I need to focus on what truly matters to me. These things include:
- Value & Impact
how can I make a positive impact in the world and for whom does it matter? - Autonomy & Freedom
how can I make choices that align with my desires and passions? - Belonging & Relatedness
who do I want to interact with and who do I want to serve? - Growth & Mastery
how can I continue to develop my skills and become proficient in areas that interest me? - Curiosity & Novelty
what can I learn and discover to bring creativity and excitement into my life? - Achievements & Experiences
what challenges can I overcome and what experiences can I have that will shape my story and create lasting memories?
So just thinking about the next position, job title, or salary increase does not do the trick for me. I like to envision my future self and how I want to live in two, five, or ten years. This vision is broken down into four categories:
Work
What kind of work do I want to do?
What responsibilities do I want to have?
Who do I want to work with?
What are the working conditions like?
How much do I need to earn?
Rest
Where do I want to live?
What activities do I want to do in my free time?
How do I want to feel physically and mentally?
What is my family situation like?
Impact
How can I contribute to the world and make a positive difference?
What do I want to be known for?
Play
What experiences do I want to have?
What skills and traits do I want to develop?
Who do I want to form relationships with?
By answering these questions, I gain a clearer picture of my desired future and can align the necessary steps to progress toward my aspired career/growth.
It is important to note, however, that becoming a “Savior of the Galaxy” will likely require a different path than becoming an “Evil Overlord” – but you do you.
Steps - What you can do!
Below, I would like to suggest some specific steps that can be taken to pursue a career in life and business. While not exhaustive and not necessarily in a required order, they can still serve as points for reflection.
Clarify your context
“Your path you must decide.” – Yoda, Star Wars
After completing the exercise of envisioning your future self, the subsequent step involves assessing your current situation and understanding how you arrived at this point in your life. While this may seem obvious, it requires a significant degree of candid self-reflection. Using the same four categories (work, rest, play, impact) as before, inventory your current situation and determine what aspects you enjoy and do not.
It is important to take responsibility for your circumstances and identify the likely causes based on your past and present behavior, environment, and decisions. Our lives are the culmination of our past actions, so it is crucial to learn from them. Instead of blaming or criticizing yourself, take time to reflect and acknowledge the facts of the situation.
And remember, even the most notorious “Evil Overlord” had to start somewhere.
Know your gaps
“Change is the essential process of all existence.” – Spock, Star Trek
Once you have a clear idea of your current and desired future state, the next step is to develop a plan to bridge the gap between them. This is commonly referred to as a strategy, but I prefer to think of it as a journey. To chart a successful course, I like to reverse engineer the end goal and identify the critical steps needed along the way.
To do this, I consider three key dimensions:
- Knowing what I can do
- Knowing what I cannot do, need to learn, and improve upon
- Anticipating what will be important in the future
I then break these down into three main aspects:
- Experiences: What experiences do I need to gain to guide my actions?
- Skills: What skills must I develop to enable my actions?
- Conditions: What conditions do I need to create to set the context for my actions?
By considering these dimensions and aspects, I gain clarity on the specific intermediate goals I need to target to achieve my desired outcome. This often involves unlearning, learning, and adjusting my current skills and behaviors, as well as seeking opportunities to gain these new experiences and shaping my environment and supporting conditions.
The journey may not be easy. It is a continuous cycle of experimentation and course corrections, involving planning, doing, acting, and checking. Through small steps taken in iterations as quickly as possible, progress will gradually accumulate over time.
Develop breadth & depth
“Your focus determines your reality.” – Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars
When pursuing new skills and experiences, there is always a balance to be struck between breadth and depth. It is a matter of choosing whether to become a specialist or a generalist. Being a jack of all trades and a master of none isn’t particularly useful, but having knowledge that’s too limited can also be a hindrance. It usually depends on the context you’re in and what you want to achieve.
For me, there are two main questions to consider:
- What do I need to learn to see the big picture and truly understand how value is created?
- What do I need to learn to be able to speak and act at an appropriate level with the people I am interacting with?
In my profession, this means understanding the larger business context while still being able to communicate effectively with development teams about their daily challenges, without needing to be an expert coder myself. It is usually enough to grasp the fundamental concepts and principles and only dive into the details when necessary.
As an “Evil Overlord”, for instance, I only need to know when it is beneficial and how to press the button on the Death Ray, not the physics behind it (however, recharging time may be a topic I like to dive deeper into).
Hone your evergreen skills
“The Force will be with you, always.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars
Throughout my career journey, I have found that different skills were required in different phases, ranging from technical design to leadership and change management. It is natural to learn and forget skills as they become less relevant in the current context. However, I have also discovered a handful of skills that are consistently in demand, regardless of the job or position. These skills are essential for any knowledge worker and can be honed for any future endeavor.
I call these skills “evergreen” because they remain relevant and valuable over time. My shortlist includes:
- Communication: Effective writing, speaking, and presentation skills are essential for conveying ideas, messages, and preserving knowledge.
- Problem-solving: The ability to approach problems and apply the best methods to solve them is invaluable.
- Abstraction: Simplifying complex details into abstract concepts can help discover hidden patterns and principles.
- Creativity: Tapping into your creative mind allows for the discovery of novel solutions to previously unsolved challenges.
- Analytics: Analyzing situations based on evidence, data, and facts helps apply the scientific method of experimentation and determine likely cause-effect relationships, which are key to improving anything.
- Structuring: Effective execution of concepts, work, or any non-trivial challenge requires the ability to structure them properly.
Investing time in developing and honing these evergreen skills is always a wise choice, as they are transferable to a multitude of future situations.
Deal with the messy stuff
“Compassion: that’s the one thing no machine ever had.
Maybe it is the one thing that keeps men ahead of them.”
– Dr. McCoy, Star Trek
In both our personal and professional lives, we are constantly interacting with others. Success in these interactions often hinges on our ability to navigate through messy and complex situations that involve unspoken emotions, expectations, and differences in beliefs and values.
To improve my social skills, I have found the following abilities to be particularly useful:
- Empathy: By putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes and understanding their emotions, we can address underlying problems instead of just the symptoms on the surface.
- Conflict Resolution: Recognizing conflicts and properly approaching them allows us to resolve differences in opinions and interests through constructive dialogue.
- Negotiation & Persuasion: Even the best ideas and solutions can fail if they are not presented convincingly while taking the other party’s interests into account. Knowing how to convey our intentions and create mutual purpose is crucial for successful negotiation.
- Self-Leadership: The most important person in our lives is ourselves. Developing self-regard, -awareness, -management skills can help us regulate our thoughts and actions to better handle any social situation.
Resilience: Failures, defeats, and exhaustion are inevitable in life, but by developing a healthy identity and a broader perspective, we can build resilience to overcome any obstacle – so far we all have survived 100% of our bad days.
These skills are not innate but can be honed through deliberate practice and active engagement with social interactions. Even “Evil Overlords” have fun at a party once in a while.
Gain visibility & reputation
“I find your lack of faith disturbing” – Darth Vader, Star Wars
While creating value and having an impact is important, it is equally essential to be visible and recognized for your contributions. Being invisible may not benefit your career in the long run, as gaining influence requires being seen. Building a reputation, getting to know others, and being known by others are key assets.
This does not mean you should focus on pure networking without purpose but on building real connections with people with whom you interact on a consistent basis. Create intimacy and liking through regular meaningful interactions that bring value to both parties.
And sometimes it can even help if people find you scary, as it means they take you seriously. But do not try to be scary all the time, even as an “Evil Overlord”.
Act consistently
“When will then be now? Soon.”
– Dark Helmet & Colonel Sandurz, Spaceballs
Developing your career is not something you do only at certain moments in life. It is a continuous process, and the key is to do it deliberately and with intention. Not taking action is also a decision, and it can prevent you from achieving your goals.
To make progress, it is important to be clear about where you are now and where you want to go and to identify the skills and knowledge you need to acquire. However, having this knowledge is not enough. You need to take action and implement what you learn.
Some people may make excuses about not having enough time or opportunities to develop their skills. But if you’re truly committed to improving yourself, there are always ways to find the time or create opportunities even outside of your regular job.
Start by asking yourself what one thing you can do tomorrow to move towards your goals, and take action on it. Remember, small steps taken consistently over time can lead to significant progress.
Be ready
“Engage!” – Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek
Another key to success is seizing opportunities as they arise, even if it means taking a leap of faith. I remember feeling both excited and nervous when I was offered a job abroad, as well as when I made the switch from the healthcare to the industry domain, as it meant diving into unknown territory.
It is important to recognize that every opportunity comes with a certain degree of risk. However, the key is to choose the opportunities that have a higher potential reward-to-risk ratio in your favor. I personally find the best opportunities are the ones that push me out of my comfort zone, as they often come with the potential for significant personal and professional growth.
Another crucial aspect of seizing opportunities is creating the freedom to pursue them. This requires making yourself somewhat expendable in both your professional and personal life. For me, this involved putting plans in place to ensure that my responsibilities could be handled by others when necessary.
Do not let your current situation or obligations hold you back from pursuing the opportunities that will help you reach your goals.
Attitude – How you can approach it!
While having a clear goal and the necessary skills is important, it’s equally crucial to act with purpose and intention. Here are some ideas that I find helpful in cultivating the right attitude for pursuing a meaningful career.
Value Orientation
“Listen! We’re not just doing this for money …
We’re doing it for a shitload of money!”
– Lone Starr, Spaceballs
At the core of any business – and actually of life, in my opinion – is the idea of creating value. Value is created through the resolution of relevant problems for others, utilizing your skills, experiences, and interests in collaboration with other people. I’m convinced that sustained success can be attained by prioritizing value creation and generating results, rather than promoting personal interests. This approach minimizes the dependence on external validation and emphasizes internal abilities and contributions.
Be constructive, be helpful, and dedicated to creating value.
Curiosity
“Fascinating” – Spock, Star Trek
We all have our own unique frame of reference that shapes our beliefs, values, and experiences. This diversity can be both a blessing and a curse. It can be challenging to accept and appreciate different opinions that may conflict with your own worldviews. However, it is important to approach these differences with an open mind and in the spirit of the Hegelian Dialectic, which involves the interplay of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. This means being receptive to new perspectives that you may have previously overlooked.
Be curious, be open-minded, rather include than separate.
Mastery
“Things are only impossible until they’re not.”
– Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek
To be taken seriously, it is essential to have a deep understanding of your subject matter. Striving for expertise in the areas that interest you sets you apart from the crowd, who may only possess a basic understanding. Balancing breadth and depth of knowledge is critical, but it is vital to have a strong foundation in your core value proposition.
Your sh#% you must know (even if Yoda never said it, I still consider it true).
Imitation, Replication, Adaptation
“Who’s more foolish? The fool or the one who follows him?”
– Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars
You can learn from your own mistakes, or you can learn from the mistakes of others. One way to learn effectively is to find role models who are more experienced and further ahead in life than you, observe and replicate their techniques, and then adapt them to your unique circumstances. Apprenticeships and mentorships are excellent ways to accelerate your learning and growth.
Shu Ha Ri – learn from the real masters.
Consistency & Perseverance
“Patience you must have, my young Padawan.” – Yoda, Star Wars
Success requires hard work, and mastery takes time. Improvement comes from consistent repetition and perseverance in deliberate practice. It may require long hours and dedication, but without it, there can be no progress.
Try, fail, learn, pivot, and repeat until you succeed.
Doing
“Do, or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda, Star Wars
Ultimately, it all comes down to taking action. You may have all the knowledge and skills, but if you don’t apply them, they are useless. You can know everything, but can you do everything? Value is only created when stuff gets done. So, overcome procrastination and self-doubt, accept that you will never feel fully prepared, and start doing. Many people think they know how to do things better, but few actually do them better. Don’t be stuck in the know part, be the one who acts on the do part.
Can do, will do.
To boldly go ...
… where no man has gone before. This brings us to the end of our journey in a galaxy far, far away. I hope you enjoyed the ride and the quotes as much as I did.
As a parting thought, I would like to share the following conclusions:
- Career can be seen as growth in experiences, skills, and interests to create more value and impact in your life and the lives of others.
- No one can develop you, besides yourself.
- Others can assist you, but it is your responsibility, what you want to achieve and how you want to accomplish it.
- Becoming an “Evil Overlord” will not be achieved overnight. It necessitates effort, consistency, and time.
- Be prepared to pay the price.
That’s it for this time – may the force be with you!
