Your Realm of Competence
Much longer ago than I care to admit, my entrepreneurship professor at Wharton asked our class to write a paper about our "realm of competence." I still have that paper, which remains incredibly valuable to me.
Here’s a full description of a career exercise so effective that I highly recommend you consider doing it for yourself.
Write three to five pages that describe your "realm of competence". Outline in sufficient detail...
Three of your strengths
Three of your weaknesses
What motivates you
Ten companies you would - or wouldn't - work for, and why
The first two questions are all about self-awareness, so at some point you may wish to show your first draft to a few people who know you well. If they disagree with your answers, try again. (Hint: self-awareness isn’t about knowing yourself; it is about knowing how others perceive you.)
To get value out of this project, take it seriously. Write it with the intention that others will read it, so make it clear and interesting. Trust me, ten or twenty years from now when you read it again, you will be extremely grateful for the care you invest now.
Here's what I learn every few years when I re-read my answers:
At age 27, I didn't fully understand my strengths. I was right about "being motivated" and "having initiative," but was way off base that I was a "natural leader" or "skilled at establishing a rapport with others."
I nailed my weaknesses, especially about being reactive. "Alone with a phone and a sales pitch," I wrote, "Kasanoff would go nowhere. He depends on external sources for motivation and support." Bingo.
"Kasanoff prefers to be involved in projects and organizations that add value to people's lives. Selling milk, cereal or soap - regardless of market share - doesn't motivate him." Bingo again.
Number four on my list of companies I might like to work for was Ogilvy & Mather; ten years later, I spent two years working there.
Once you have written your first draft, be sure to take a step that most people skip. Read what you wrote, think about it overnight, then return the next day and write a second draft. If necessary, keep editing it until you can read your answers five days in a row and be 100% comfortable with your answers.
When finished, this document will be your guide. It will tell you which opportunities to pursue, and which to ignore. It is something you can share with close friends and colleagues, to make it easier for them help you.
Finally, to illustrate the value that can emerge when you step back and perform an exercise like this, here is the very end of my paper, which I wrote in the third person...
(To increase his odds of success) Kasanoff developed the Grandfather Test, which works as follows: when faced with key decisions or opportunities, Kasanoff thinks of himself 50 years hence. "Will I," Kasanoff asks, "At the twilight of my life, be pleased with the decision I'm making today? And on a broader level, will I be satisfied that I lived life to the fullest, that I was wise and brave?
P.S. Please share this exercise with others. Almost everyone struggles to understand what they want and why.