'The Start-Up of You' by Reid Hoffman: a brief

Differentiate or Die:

In a world where "a million people can do your job", chart a career path that sets you apart from other professionals. You  don't need to be better than all professionals. You just need to be better in a local, professional niche.


3 pieces(one that does not work without other) of comprise your position in the market:

  1. Assets: What you have going for you now. Your soft assets (like knowledge, skills, connections) and hard assets(like cash in the bank)
  2. Aspirations & Values: Where you might like to go in the future
  3. Market Realities: What people will actually pay you for
One way to upgrade your competitive position is by upgrading your assets - i.e, investing in yourself.

Plan to Adapt:


Entrepreneurial career planning and adapting is about being flexibly persistent; always ready to adapt, but also persistent in driving towards set goals. You will never have complete certainty; identify areas of incomplete knowledge about yourself or your industry and make plans that will help you fill those gaps.


Prioritize learning over profitability, so should you prioritize learning(soft assets) over cash salary(hard assets) for the majority of your career. In the long run, you will likely lead a more meaningful life, as well as make more money.


Craft a experimental Plan A, an alternative Plan B, and an unchanging, certain Plan Z:

  • Plan A: What you are doing now. Your current implementation of your competitive advantage.
  • Plan B: You pivot to B when your plan is not working or when you discover a better way toward your goal.
  • Plan Z: You shift to Z if something goes seriously wrong. It's the lifeboat you can jump in if your plan fails and you need a re-load before getting back in the game.
People you spend time with shape the person you are today and the person you aspire to be tomorrow. Finally, remember that relationships are like any living thing; if they are not getting stronger, they are getting weaker. Strengthen relationships by sending articles, making introductions, collaborating on projects, and staying in touch.

Conclusion:


Start tapping into your network. Start investing in skills. Start taking  intelligent risks. Start pursuing breakout opportunities. But most of all, start forging your own differentiated career plans; start adapting these rules to your own adaptive life.


ref:

The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_hC-3L4eq17dF9EX0MyQ1MtcjQ/view?usp=sharing_eid