Is a lack of interest good for your career?

Looking back at my school career, I distinctly remember being told to “pay attention” or to “listen” and yes, in hindsight, I must have been a total pain to teach. However, this lack of attention was, I now realise, more a total lack of interest. 

As humans, when not interested we tend to switch off, we daydream, we fiddle, and we mess around. But for some of us this is also the trigger we need to innovate and develop a way of becoming interested and inspired again. Funnily enough, the terms ‘develop’ and ‘innovation’ are two key buzz words used when discussing what it takes to become an ‘entrepreneur’. 

So does this then mean that entrepreneurs can be spotted by their tendency to lose interest easily? And can it be a real positive? 

An excellent and oft-repeated example of this is that of Richard Branson. Branson was uninspired and no longer interested in traveling with the majority of airlines due to the dreadful customer service - jumping through interminable booking hoops before you got anywhere near actually sitting on the aircraft! However, this led to a far more innovative and inspiring form of flying being formed; the Virgin Group - something which has held Richard Branson’s attention ever since (obviously). 

Speaking from personal experience, I would say my short attention span and lack of interest has been key to my business success. When I’m uninspired and uninterested I will instinctively look for an alternate way of approaching the subject. For instance, when I was asked to do a presentation in front of my University class the following week, I decided to record a video in my halls. This video contained the same information I was planning on delivering to my classmates, however, it also allowed me to edit elements in, and take things out which I would not otherwise have been able to do. I could also re-take elements and not have to rehearse what I was planning to say as perfectly as others had to. This was because I was genuinely not interested in presenting to a hungover and uninspired class who had already listened to 15 other dreadful presentations and that, as such, led to an innovative approach…

I can see the parallels in the above analogy in my own life. When I started PinPointMedia, I could foresee, even whilst at University, how pitching, re-pitching, costing, re-costing and losing to another production company or individual would quite quickly drive me to distraction, uninspire me and lead to my losing interest in that area. However, I used this foresight to develop a far more efficient way of producing videos for businesses over a shorter timescale, at a lower cost but to equal levels of quality. This therefore meant that the entire process from proposing a concept to completing it was far more efficient and far more enjoyable for all involved. Which led to more business and the growth we see today - not to mention keeping me more than interested! Like Branson, this was industry innovation driven by foreseeing my own lack of interest.

Ultimately for me, regardless of what I turn my hand to there will always be a time whereby I am no longer 100% interested in that subject, that approach or that area. This is something entrepreneurs regardless of industry or career face. It is important however to become aware of this and to understand how to turn it into a competitive advantage. I now channel this lack of interest into an ability to diversify a service, a product offering or entire market, ultimately re-engaging me and my interest in bettering or growing this area. Others however may look to change career path, change the sector they work in, or even change where they live. 

We all at times lose interest. However, it’s how we harness that loss or lack of interest that defines who we are and what we do. 

I would love to know what inspires and what motivates you. If you’re an entrepreneur, what fuels you? Email me at [email protected] or comment below. 

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