The career of a top chef in North Carolina had a great lesson for how to succeed against competition. Her lesson: Don’t.
Stumbling Toward Purpose
Katie Button forged one of those career paths that only makes sense looking back in time. She began with a biomedical engineering Masters degree from L’Ecole Centrale in Paris and then entered a PhD program in neuroscience. What seemed at first to be a traditional path then veered off…hard. Despite being in a top program at the top of her original field she felt directionless. She wanted to connect more deeply to her work. At that moment, of all the things, she reignited her love for food.
Despite loving food, she had zero experience cooking. So she made a commitment and started over by serving in restaurants. She eventually found her way into the kitchen and was told to get more experience first. Using her unusual academic credentials to intrigue business managers she opened doors. She found work in the U.S. that eventually landed her a coveted internship at the legendary El Bulli.
Once she contributed and learned at El Bulli she had want MBA’s would describe as “optionality.” At each stage, Katie had avoided the trap of a traditional path. She crafted stories that highlighted her differences (not her similarities). Those stories opened doors that were previously closed. And she succeeded because she competed against no one else like her. She defined a niche she wanted to play in and won.
The Common Mistakes
Most people take a linear approach to their careers. And while that linear path is clear, the trade off is that everyone else can see it too.
Because we tend to think of careers as having “appropriate” paths we usually find ourselves surrounded by people who look a lot like us. We had the same goals. Trained in the same programs. Go to the same restaurants. Read the same books.
But if you want to succeed, it is wise to take the startup approach and Compete against Non-competition. Compete in spaces where there’s no one like you. Where what you are good at is scarce and valued. Where you are different and noticed on account of it.
Ms. Button did this by not opening a restaurant in cities like NYC, LA or Chicago. She went to Asheville, North Carolina. There she was could stand out. The competitive landscape was less intense. Her strengths and story had no competition. She could dominate her story space. She could create and win.
//HomeWRK
Schedule 15 minutes to consider the path you’re on and who your competition became. Are you surrounded by people with similar stories going after the same roles at the same organizations? What’s made it tough to get to where you want to go?
Now, make a list of industries, organizations, and cities in which your story would have no competition. Think wide. Be a little crazy.
What would your story sound like in those spaces? Who could you tell it to? There’s really no risk to it.
***Want some feedback on your thinking? Share your first version on our LinkedIN Page and I’ll respond with tips to improve it.