Paving a Path for Success: Why working backwards is a proven way to move forward

I’m uniquely privileged to work with many talented individuals every day, but what I find particularly fulfilling is helping others to find out where they want to be and help them pave their path there.

Finding success has a whole lot to do with your ability to be introspective and driven in your pursuit.  Here are a few guiding principles I use to help others chart a plan for success and fulfillment:

1.    Get to know yourself (in a corporate environment)

Being introspective is not just a critical life skill, it’s absolutely essential to getting ahead in business, too. Getting a better understanding of what motivates you in the workplace is an important place to start: are you a generalist, or a functionalist?

I am a self-proclaimed generalist, meaning that I’m motivated by growth in scope and expansion of responsibility. Some might call these folks (myself included) ‘jacks of all trades’, but they are most likely to strive for leadership roles. Functionalists, on the other hand, are the true SME’s (subject matter experts). They specialize in a specific area and are motivated by constantly diving deeper and honing their craft. These folks are likely to be the data scientists and engineers of the world.

Why does this matter? Whichever side of the fence you land on, understanding what you are motivated by is critical to zeroing in on your goals.

2.    Map your path (starting from the finish line)

You know what they say: ‘the best place to start is at the finish’.

Much like in building a business plan, starting from where you want to end up can help you to chart a direct path, and most importantly, one that’s free from distractions.

Early in my career, I was motivated and hungry, and as a result I said yes. A lot. While that gave me a lot of great experience, it caused me to deviate from my true intention. The second you get clear in your goals and start working backwards from that point, you’ll find that your actions (while more limited) are more strategic to achieving your goals.

3.    Pursue your passion – and don’t let the unknown stop you

This last one’s important. Once you know where you want to be and you’ve got a plan to get there, you need to do what’s going to ignite your passion. As a leader, I’ve found that more often than not, passion outweighs skill in almost every scenario (in the corporate world). People are often surprised when I say that I don’t look at resumes when hiring, but here’s why: a resume will tell me what you’ve done and what you know, but it won’t tell me what you can’t do and what you don’t know (see Nassim Taleb Antilibrary).

Part of paving a path to success is accepting and embracing what you do not know and tirelessly pursuing to close the gap. Some of my most successful hires have been people who pushed themselves far outside the bounds of what they’ve done in the past.

If you are taking on work and roles that don’t scare you a little bit, I would urge you to reconsider. Doing over and over what you know well will make you appear to be an expert, but it is both safe and stale and kills any room for innovation. The more you’re willing to take a risk and push yourself in pursuit of your goals, the more likely you are to succeed.

As leaders, we are responsible for shaping both the success of companies and the people who work for them. Helping others chart a path to achieve their goals is one simple way to do that, and an area that I’m extremely passionate about. So much so, that I sat down with Mark Bedard from the Sunnyside Up Media to talk about it at length. Listen to the full episode.