Steve Job's Golden Rule on Career Success

I was recently asked by a young professional how he should go about choosing between some competing employment opportunities.

Over the years having had many experiences working inside and alongside various organisations and professionals, the following quote from Steve came to mind:

" Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

You never really know before you "get inside a new organisation" whether it was the best choice. However, once in, give it everything you've got - think and act as the CEO - in this case of your own "professional services organisation". Be very clear about who your customers are, their needs and keep score on how you are going. Continuously use feedback to improve your personal value delivery -that is value to your customers. Only once you have done this will you have given yourself the best knowledge about if you are "loving the work you are then doing".

If after this "you haven't found it", move on and keep looking. Your career success is a journey, where you go and how you travel is up to you.