What is “Career Fuel” and How Do I Build It?

People often ask me, "What makes some people more successful than others?"

In my experience, the most successful leaders have abundant supplies of what I call “Career Fuel”.

There are three forms of career fuel, and you are going to need all three.

Fuel #1: TRANSPORTABLE SKILLS

These are the skills that you can carry with you from job to job and industry to industry and even country to country. Transportable Skills include things like:

• Problem-solving
• Persuasive communications
• Getting things done
• Risk –taking

These are more than just jargon or technical skills that you can apply to one kind of job. They are truly transportable over your whole career. 

Build them early and keep them sharp and fresh.

Fuel #2: MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES

Meaningful experiences take us out of our comfort zones and force us to adapt. They are like anti-bodies, or vitamins that boost our immune system and help us withstand career change and adversity.

We learn when we encounter the unknown and experience the fear of failure. So, travel, work in a soup kitchen, launch a product, host an event, or pitch a new business.

Fuel #3: ENDURING RELATIONSHIPS

Perhaps the most powerful career fuel is relationships – especially those that last. They make you smarter, stronger and your impact bigger. But it’s not just about the number of 'connections' you have. You’ll also need:

• Community of Experts: people who can help you come up with better answers
• Critical Colleagues: up to 10 who make difference in your current job (boss/ peers,
• Champions: that handful of advisors, mentors, supporters, truth-sayers who are in your corner

?Transportable Skills + Meaningful Experiences + Enduring Relationships = Career Fuel

Fuel up!

To learn more about the three forms of “Career Fuel” and how to build more of them, read THE LONG VIEW: Career Strategies to Start Strong, Reach High and Go Far.