The Three S’s – Principles for a Successful Life and Career

For the better part of the past 25 years I have studied careers, read countless books, tried to manage my own, and done my best to help a few people along the way. Now that I am older and have a bit of gray hair (way more than I want to admit!), from time to time young professionals ask for my thoughts on what it takes to be successful. I tend to be pretty frank and transparent about my own life and mistakes. I am certainly willing to share a few thoughts on what has worked in my career and where I could have done better.

Several years ago, while sharing a hamburger at Husky’s restaurant in Houston with my good friend, Matt Sanders, we discussed a few of the critical aspects for what it takes to have a good career. As I shared my thoughts with Matt, I put a few ideas on paper that seemed to resonate with both of us; so I thought it only fitting that he should share the credit for the Three S’s. If you don’t like the proposed thoughts, please blame me! The Three S’s represent: Substance, Style, and Stature.

When most of us start our early adult lives and careers we want to be noticed. We want people to accept our thoughts and ideas as being valuable and worthy of contributing to the organizations of which we are a part. What we soon come to realize is that often times our ideas aren’t nearly as impressive to others as they are to us. I know for me I found this to be very frustrating; however, as I grew in my career I realized that I lacked the “stature” necessary to be heard. Through this frustration I have grown to realize that stature is not something that happens overnight. More importantly, stature is acquired over time, typically earned through the “school of hard knocks”. As my father used to say, "it’s the area under the curve that counts" (for those of you who remember the beloved subject of calculus, this is known as integration).

This article provides a brief description of the Three S’s; providing a framework against through which most careers will progress. I encourage you to consider these concepts, but more importantly make them your own by tweaking what works best for you. If you are more senior and have responsibility for managing young professionals, do everything in your power to pour yourself into their lives and walk them through the process of building solid careers. You will be amazed at what people can accomplish when they work for managers who care about them. It’s such a simple principle, but at times so elusive for those in positions of authority.

The first “S” is substance. I describe substance as who you are and what you know. The first 5-10 years of every career need to be focused on building substance. I’m an engineer and in counseling young engineers I encourage them to work hard, which includes putting in a lot of hours to accumulate a significant level of knowledge early in their careers. The harder one works earlier in their career, the greater “launching potential” they have later in life. Using the concept of potential and kinetic energy (sorry, remember I’m an engineer!), the farther we pull back the sling shot the farther the object travels. It’s the same in our careers; early on 40 hours a week is never enough to achieve significance because that’s what the average person does. If you want to have a great career, you have to be willing to put in the hours early in your career to make that happen.

The second “S” is style. Style is how you interact with the world. While substance is related to how hard you are willing to work, style relates more to your personality. How an introvert interacts with the world is very different than how an extrovert interacts. Over time our personalities can morph; however, this is extremely difficult and takes more than just hard work. As an engineer my natural bent is to be an introvert; however, 25 years ago I married a fun-loving blonde who showed me how much fun life can be. Watching her has impacted my style as I have learned to integrate “fun” into my life as a leader at home, church, and work. You have to find what works for you. If you are a natural introvert and do not feel comfortable being in front of others, perhaps your style will be driven more by writing and using your mind to organize life and communities. If you are an extrovert, your style might lean you towards public speaking and making an impact through verbal communication. Work hard to find your style and then perfect it, including being the recipient of honest feedback from people who care about you.

The third and final “S” is stature. Stature is how you are perceived in the world. This is “piece de resistance”, the crown jewel to which all aspire. Everyone wants to have stature, but unfortunately it is only achieved after many years of hard work and sacrifice. Like the young married couple who wants the nice cars and houses owned by their parents, stature can only be achieved over time. In my discussion with Matt, we both concluded that stature is really the product of substance and style. In other words, people with stature know something others are interested in knowing (substance) and they have learned how to effectively interact with the world in a way that works best for them (style).

Reflect on where you are in your career. If you are in the early stages as a young professional, evaluate what you know and if you are working hard enough to build a good foundation for the future. If you are mid-career, how have you developed your style and are you making the impact you want in life? And for those who are recognized by at least a few in the world as leaders, how are you impacting those around you using the stature you've been given? By evaluating where you are along the way, it’s possible to pivot and make mid-course corrections to get where you want. Have fun putting the Three S’s to work for you and those around you!