My #1 Piece of Advice for Getting Ahead in Your Career
Regardless of where you are in your career journey, there is one strategy that will never fail you in getting to the next step.
This is a two-pronged strategy that I’ve used several times throughout my career to get promotions, start a business, get hired at a new company, and excel at my hobbies.
The first part is fairly straightforward: find the white space.
It’s the second part that sets high-achievers apart from the rest: step into the white space.
What is “white space”?
White space is an area of business that hasn’t been explored or mastered yet. Think of it like a blank canvas that needs to be painted.
Some examples of white space could include:
I’ve been amazed to see how quickly Artificial Intelligence (AI) achieved mass awareness over the past two years after decades of research and development. While every company recognizes the potential for ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms though, few seem to know how to access its full potential. In other words, there is a ton of white space right now! New technology paradigms come rarely, but becoming knowledgeable in a new and emerging technology like AI, and finding new use cases for it, can be very profitable!
An added benefit of white space is that it eliminates the benefits of incumbency you find in established technologies and markets. Becoming an expert in something new puts you on a level planning field with the “old hands.” Being an early bird in these niches means less competition, more room to maneuver, and a chance to become a pioneer.
Where I’ve utilized white space in my own career
Sometimes it’s easiest to learn by example, so I’ll share some specific points in my career where I’ve stepped into the white space to find success.
During my time at IBM
When I was at IBM, I drew upon my past experience learning about microprocessors (and using them to build my own computer in the 1970s!) to automate IBM’s circuit testers and make them easier to use.
I leveraged the automation white space to create a prototype automated tester and present it to the relevant teams. Seeing and acting upon that opening enabled my reputation to grow rapidly at IBM.
I was seen as someone who “thought outside the box” and it differentiated me from all the other engineers who had stayed in the “colored-in spaces” that were well-known and understood—and unimaginative and limited.
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In my own business
In 1980 I left IBM with the intent to start my own business. As I brainstormed with my family and friends, I noticed there was a lot of white-space potential to use microprocessors to control and automate machines outside semiconductor manufacturing - everything from scales, to medical systems, to large machines. And with that Expedition Electronics was born! We kept pursuing the white space as our business offering developed over time.
In my personal life
As you may have seen in a previous newsletter, I am a champion dairy cow farmer! But my success in showing my cows came from looking for the white space.
Before I started my farm I noticed most champions at the Addison County field days were Holsteins, which are the most prominent dairy breed. I thought that pursuing the market “white space” with the Brown Swiss breed might set me apart in competitions.
Spoiler alert: it did!?
Why the white space is so important
The white spaces are always where the greatest opportunity lies, if you have the courage to seek them out and pursue them. I say courage, because if it didn’t take courage, more people would do it.?
People don’t naturally look for the white spaces because we are creatures of habit and everything and everyone around us encourages us to stick with what works, to follow the accepted and prescribed paths to success.?
A wise person recognizes that the future will undoubtedly be different from the past. They are aware of the accepted paths but not limited to them. Like a pioneer, you must blaze your own way. Sometimes, it will keep you in those well-worn paths, but sometimes, you will spot something off the trail, maybe on the horizon, and you need to be brave enough to explore it if you feel there is value in it.?
That first step into a white space in your career will be scary. It is completely unknown, and all the external forces are arrayed against you. But once you achieve success with that first white space, you gain the internal fortitude to know you can do it again. Each subsequent success compounds your courage and, if you successfully execute on those opportunities, your value to your organization and those around you will accelerate and be unbounded.
Looking for more career inspiration?
I share a lot more about my career journey, including the different white spaces I’ve sought out, in my forthcoming book, Breaking Through the Silicon Ceiling. Here are some ways you can incorporate the book into your own career journey:
Sincerely,
Chris King