Lessons from Christopher Columbus and Steve Jobs for Your Career

“The western route will never work.”

“No one has ever done that before.”

“What makes you think you are right?”

These are some of the words Christopher Columbus heard. He knew there was a sea route which was shorter to Japan. It is a fact we know today that he was wrong in these calculations. He knew the easterly ‘trade winds’ would aid his fleet of ships. This not only proved correct in speeding his ships toward the Americas, in the other direction the westerly winds aided his safe return home to Europe.

There is a time and a place in your career when you just know. You know something or you see something and no one else does. It may be a solution to an ongoing problem. It may be the resolution to a bottleneck in a manufacturing process. You might have a connection in another company who if partnered with your company would both greatly benefit. What do you do?

The majority below the C-Suite actually do nothing and they say nothing. ”I just keep my head down, low profile.” “Not a time to make waves.”

Well folks, you will not hear any agreements from this corner! I totally disagree!

It may be a fact companies are not going on hiring sprees. In general, companies want to retain, let me repeat that, want to retain, their key and quality employees. So wake up and smell the coffee!

Consider first what people have said about Steve Jobs. “He was very demanding. Best product, bes design, best quality and best delivery. He wanted perfect…”

Now flip this around to your situation. Start out by writing an email to yourself and layout your proposal. Your concept, your idea, whatever it is, describe the current situation, your proposed solution, and the results you see from taking these action steps. Send yourself the email. Allow some period of time to go by. Not long, either an hour or a day depending upon the urgency of the matter. Go back to your email and now read it through as if you were the person you are going to send this to. Are there points you are not addressing? Is there a key aspect you are ignoring?

Once you are certain you have this right. Send the email. Copy your immediate Manager if they are not the person you are sending this to as an fyi. This is being proactive and engaged as an employee. You will feel better about your work and you will be recognized as a key employee.