Best & Worst Advice
🕰️ I was 28. The Best Advice.
01 September 2009 and I am 28 years old. I was working as a ‘Water Treatment Consultant’ for Rentokil - you know the ones, they normally do rat traps and pest control except I was working for the bit of the business they called ‘Specialist Hygiene’ so we dealt with legionella control.
I distinctly remember driving to the Croydon office and thinking about the speech I was going to give in front of the ‘branch leadership team’ about the work I hadn’t carried out that week.
In the weeks leading up to the meeting, I had been pushing hard to be the new branch manager. I had worked my way up from ‘regular’ sales guy to a ‘Senior’ sales guy in just 2 years, overtaking several long serving members of the team and I wanted to push to be the main man.
Even back then - I wanted to be the main guy. I had begun looking into the setup of the office and seeing/understanding what improvements I could make.
And this is where I learned what doesn’t work when it comes to leadership in sales - Every week I had to report on the following -
Visits carried out.
Miles travelled.
Quotes sent.
Orders received.
Plans for next week.
Conversations had.
Except, I found out that no-one was actually reading those reports - they sat in an in-tray for weeks on end but we were hounded on a Monday to get those reports in. The leadership team was just ticking boxes and I couldn’t work in that way.
Add into that mix that they were about to parachute in the branch manager from another office so they could run the office as a joint operation and I’d made my choice.
I had enough.
I had spent the last two weeks interviewing and I was on the cusp of being offered a new job - I’d been interviewed and the meeting had ended with ‘tell us how much you want to be paid’ so I was pretty much on the way.
I was planning on letting the team know my feelings on being looked over and quit.
During the meeting, they threw me a curveball - they offered me a different job but in their pest control division.
Shit.
I took that offer away that day and I had until the end of the week to make a decision - on the exact same day, I had the formal offer come through for the other job.
What would you do?
Here’s where the advice came in from my Grandad - he told me -
“If you want to build a career then stick with what you know, stay on the same path and see how far you can go”
Firstly - reading it back I didn't actually realise it rhymed but I made the decision to not step into Pest Control and I stuck with the career path I had chosen - I stuck with water treatment and for the next 10 years, that was my career. I worked my way up from that regular sales guy, I moved into Business Development and then hit the heady heights of what would be considered as a Sales Director role.
I reached as far as I could get and then I got offered something else.
🤬 I was 37. The Worst Advice.
Those words from my Grandad followed me for those next 10 years - I convinced myself that I’d made the best decision and that I was following a path which would bring me success and for most of that time, it did.
Experience is a funny old thing, without treading the path you can’t gain any and without it, you can’t progress your career. You can’t easily use that experience to ‘buy’ another position in a different industry as you become typecast (more on that in next week’s blog) and you can’t use it to take a step back - its a forward only currency.
Experience is a sure fire way to grow your career - the more you have of it, the more lessons you learn, the more you become known and the easier (I say this with the benefit of hindsight and somewhat privilege) your career becomes.
So 10 years after I made that decision, I was still in the bloody water treatment business - I knew my legionella counts and what they meant, I knew the best dosage rates of chlorine dioxide and I was beginning to understand and work the market to my advantage.
Except, I was travelling up to 4 hours everyday - I was commuting from my hometown in Poole, Dorset to close to Reading and I was losing my sanity. Driving that long every day is tiring.
This is where the best advice I’d ever received turned into the worst advice -
“If you want to build a career then stick with what you know, stay on the same path and see how far you can go”
I ended up going up and down the M3 every day. That’s as far as I got. And I hated it.
❓ Why am I telling you this?
Experience and your career path matter - they mean something.
Except when they don’t anymore.
Looking back (and I’m only 42 now) - I wish I had made the other decision and chosen to experiment on my career path a little more - before I was ‘the water treatment sales guy’ - I’d been in the Army for almost 9 years, I’d then worked as an electrician for a gardening firm so I’d gained a bit of experience in doing things which put me outside of my comfort zone but my life circumstances at the time I got that advice from my grandad led me to make a safe decision.
But, on the flip side, I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without that sage advice.
I am massively conflicted.
If I was to change my career now, I would do something and aim for something that I am passionate about. I see a lot of online/lifestyle/gurus (Gary Vaynerchuk anyone?!) who tell you to focus on what your passionate about and what brings you joy and I couldn't agree more but in order to find out what brings you joy, you need to experiment a little.
So if I could look back at my 28 year old self or if my (now) 17 year old son came to me and asked me for the same advice I would frame it differently -
“You need to take risks in your career - aim for things which unsettle you, do things which scare you and don’t settle for things which you don’t enjoy. Life is about a journey and in the modern employment world, you can literally do anything.”
This isn’t a mantra to focus on entrepreneurship or to grow your own business, this is about find your own lane and owning it. Don’t be afraid to make the difficult decisions if you need to and if it’s not right for you then f*ck it, do something else.
But then again, I might just say
“If you want to build a career then stick with what you know, stay on the same path and see how far you can go”
because I think what my Grandad meant was exactly what I said but he framed in a way which suited his generation.
🎁 Lets package it up.
My grandad’s sage old advice might not be right for you - but if you want to think about your next career choice (and we’re never to old to re-evaluate what’s next) then follow this path -
🚀 Action 1: Embrace Experimentation..
One key takeaway from this experience is to be open to experimenting with your career path. Don't be afraid to try new things and step outside your comfort zone. Take risks and aim for opportunities that may be unconventional or unfamiliar. By doing so, you can discover what truly excites you and aligns with your passions. Remember, life is a journey, and exploring different paths can lead to unexpected and fulfilling outcomes.
🌟 Action 2: Seek Your Passion
While it's essential to gain experience and expertise in your chosen field, don't forget to consider what truly brings you joy and fulfillment. If you're passionate about something specific, be it a hobby, a cause, or a particular line of work, take the time to explore opportunities related to it. Pursuing your passions can lead to a more fulfilling and rewarding career in the long run.
💪 Action 3: Be Courageous in Decision-Making
Don't let fear of the unknown hold you back from making bold career decisions. If you find yourself stuck in a job that no longer brings you happiness or growth, be courageous enough to make difficult choices and pursue a new direction. Be proactive in seeking out opportunities that challenge and inspire you. Remember, the modern employment landscape offers diverse options, and with determination, you can forge a unique and personally rewarding career path.
