Explore every episode of the podcast Invincible Career - Claim your power and regain your freedom

Let me take you on a little tour of Juneau, Alaska, while I share some career advice with you. I tried to stick to the quieter residential streets instead of heading into the chaos of the cruise ships and tourists downtown.

📞 You can always schedule a free call with me.

Key Takeaways:

*Summary generated from the video transcript by Lumo AI.

* The Market Reality: AI isn’t just taking jobs; it’s preventing them from being created, making junior roles scarce and competition fierce.

* Scale vs. Strategy: Use automation to cast a wide net, but never automate your relationships with your top 10 target employers.

* The Inside Champion Advantage: Having someone inside a company vouch for you can bypass interviews entirely, as seen in a recent example where a candidate started a new role in less than a week without a formal interview.

* Relationships Are Non-Negotiable: You cannot build an inside champion without actually talking to people. If no one is willing to vouch for you, it may indicate a need for introspection regarding your interpersonal skills and reputation.

* The Seniority Edge: While younger workers face less age bias, older professionals possess a massive advantage: a robust network of senior leaders who can pull you into companies and validate your character beyond what a resume shows.

* Mutual Protection: An inside champion protects you from toxic cultures just as much as they protect the company from a bad hire, giving you honest intel on what you’re walking into.

Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career.

Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!

What I discuss in this episode (scroll up, hit play, and listen 🎧)

* Turning 60 😳

* How the industry has changed since 1993

* The tech backlash (some examples)

* Sony boycott

* Kindle frustrations

* Anthropic destroying books

* Flock backlash

* AI data center protests

* Amazon deleting movies

* BMW Spider-Man ad

* The impact of AI on every industry and role

* How ageism, layoffs, etc. are affecting both the young and old

* What we discussed in our live community meeting last week

* My recommended strategy for navigating the job market and easing out of this chaos

* Use AI to play the numbers game

* Leverage relationships to focus on high-value roles

* Make sure you stay visible and relevant

* Follow the “ripples” to seek opportunities in other industries and geographies

* Explore self-employment and semi-retirement

Some resources I mention

☎️ I’m always happy to have a chat with you! You can book a free call with me.

Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career. ➡️ Ready to create an exciting future? Book a free call today to learn how!

Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!

This summer is kinda special. I will be celebrating 10 years of career coaching. What started as an experiment turned into a real business and a fresh start after I shut down my tech startup. I’ve met some wonderful people, worked with great clients, and enjoyed the journey.

This will also be the summer I turn 60. Yikes! Just writing those words feels crazy. It sounds so old! Luckily, I don’t feel old, thanks to investing so much in my health and fitness. It also helped to step away from the stress of my old corporate job when I left in 2010 to take control of my destiny.

Stress ages you. I’ve even lost friends and colleagues all too soon, and I blame the stress of that lifestyle for contributing to the issues that took them away so young.

I’ve talked about the cycles of life before, and how I’ve noticed a repeating 10-year cycle in my life of change and reinvention. I guess that partly explains what I’m announcing this week.

⬆️ I discuss everything in more detail in the audio for this episode, so scroll up, hit play, and check it out.

Taking a coaching break

At almost 60 years of age, and after a decade of coaching, I’m giving myself the gift of stepping away (a bit). I think the time has come.

* My life and my needs have evolved.

* I’ve become a different person.

* The industry has shifted.

* The world has changed.

So, I’m taking a break from accepting new career coaching clients (perhaps forever). Of course, I’m still working with a few clients on retainer, and other engagements are in progress and will need to wind down over the rest of the year.

Also, if we’re friends, or we’ve enjoyed working together before, I may make an exception here or there. But that’s about it.

Instead, I am shifting my focus to my new Exit Blueprint business coaching and Gen X life coaching. I will also offer a few courses, workshops, and retreats throughout the year (I miss working with folks in the real world). So, even though I won’t offer new one-on-one career coaching, I will have courses and workshops:

* The Invincible Goals System (success strategies and planning to achieve your goals)

* The Invincible Job Quest (job searching, interviews, and negotiations)

* The Exit Blueprint (business design, planning, and testing self-employment)

This change will free up my time for all the side quests I’ve put on hold for years (e.g., finishing my book, writing fiction, making music again, painting, etc.). Of course, I’ll still be working out every day, hiking as much as possible, traveling the world, and visiting my children often. Life is too short!

Newsletter and podcast

So, what happens with this newsletter and podcast? That’s a great question.

I’ve written almost 700 articles to share my advice on the job search, interviews, getting promoted, dealing with bosses and coworkers, and generally making yourself so valuable and known that you get to call the shots in your career. My podcast episodes date back over six and a half years. I know many people aren’t even aware of half of what I’ve written and shared in my podcast.

So, I’ll resurface more of my evergreen advice and freshen up details to make sure they are relevant for today’s working world. If something ignites my passion (or anger 🤣) about a recent event or topic, I’m sure I won't be able to resist writing about it. But I don’t think I need to write any more articles about how to interview, using AI for this or that, or how to bypass all the BS that is keeping people from finding better jobs.

I’ve shared the secrets to all of that so many times. I know some people listened and landed great gigs. Others ignored it, kept trying the same old approach, and wondered why it's not working.

Literally yesterday, I saw someone post…

“Hey, I don’t think the traditional job search and application process works anymore! I’ve been struggling to get any interviews for almost 2 years. Now, I’m bypassing recruiting and automated systems to connect with people directly and get my resume into the hands of hiring managers. It’s working!”

🙄 Sigh… It makes me so weary. Seriously. You just realized that? Even though I’ve been beating that drum for 10 years?!? And I know you’ve seen my articles that I post every week for those 10 years.

Okay…

I guess you can lead a horse to water, but… Yeah, I’m done leading horses to water and watching them not drink—over and over again. Either you get it, or you don’t.

I want to have more fun with the podcast. I want to invite more entertaining guests and have enjoyable conversations with people who have wisdom to share and stories from their amazing careers and lives. I’ll be dipping into my network that I’ve grown for over 30 years and reconnecting with some fun and familiar faces.

So, I guess that’s that!

* 60 years of life (soon).

* 20+ years in my tech career.

* Another 10 years of career coaching.

It's time for a new adventure!

I’m excited about focusing on business coaching and life coaching. I’m really, really tired of American corporations and the games they play. I had to live it during my own career. After that, I had to hear horror stories and try to help people navigate their careers. So, now I’d rather help good people live more amazing lives through self-employment, early semi-retirement, and chasing more adventures before time runs out.

Thank you for being a reader and a listener! I will still be writing articles and recording podcast episodes. That won’t change. And I still have the community for the few people who enjoy the support and encouragement of like-minded peers.

A big thanks to those of you who became clients! And for those of you I never got a chance to work with, sorry. I guess it won’t happen now.

But maybe I’ll see you in one of my courses, workshops, or retreats. Or, you may be one of those few brave souls who decide to take the same leap I did, escape the 9-5 world, and create your own path. If so, check out my Exit Blueprint business coaching.

Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career.

Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!

I recorded a podcast episode for my recently updated article on navigating the first week after a layoff.

Written version linked below…

Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career. ➡️ Ready to create an exciting future? Book a free call today to learn how!

Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!

Do you feel you spend your days working in your job and trying to keep everyone happy, but you never have the time to invest in yourself?

Unfortunately, that’s pretty common. In this episode, I talk about the need for you to take time away from the office to focus on your career development, leadership development, and/or personal development.

Episode summary

* Start Investing in Yourself: Who is focusing on making you happy and helping you future-proof your career? If your boss isn’t, we will.

* Virtual Burnout is Real: We’re all tired of sitting behind the Zoom screen. That’s why I’m moving beyond online workshops to bring more training and experiences back into the real world.

* 3 In-Person Events I’m Planning:

* The Invincible Job Quest: A 1-2-day workshop in the real world for navigating your job search, practicing interview techniques, negotiating salaries, and more.

* Provide your input on the format and agenda

* The Exit Blueprint: A 2-day deep-dive for experienced professionals to plan a future strategic transition into semi-retirement through self-employment (without draining your precious nest egg).

* Learn more about planning your escape business

* Provide input and sign up to be notified

* The Leadership Retreat: A weekend escape to rewrite your leadership operating manual, navigate leadership challenges in the age of AI, define your legacy, and plan what comes next for you.

* Learn more about these retreats

* Provide your input on the agenda

* Note: Leaders Need Off-campus Retreats: Corporate training sessions frequently fail because you can’t be completely honest and vulnerable in front of your boss or peers (who are often your competitors). My upcoming retreats offer a confidential, safe space with peers from other companies where you can be yourself and truly solve your toughest leadership challenges without fear of political fallout.

* Join Us in a Beautiful, Fun Setting: To get started, we are looking at locations around Lake Tahoe and the Bay Area in California. We want places where we can enjoy nature, disconnect from the demands of the office, reconnect with your purpose, and redefine your future.

Not sure which event is right for you? Have questions about any of this? Schedule a free call with me to chat more about it!

Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career. ➡️ Ready to create an exciting future? Book a free call today to learn how!

Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!

My guest for this episode is Peter Morville. Peter is a pioneer in the fields of information architecture (IA) and user experience. His bestselling books include Information Architecture, Intertwingled, Search Patterns, Ambient Findability, and Planning for Everything.

He has been helping people to plan since 1994, and advises such clients as AT&T, Cisco, Harvard, IBM, the Library of Congress, Macy’s, the National Cancer Institute, and Vodafone. He has delivered keynotes and workshops in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. His work has been covered by NPR, The Economist, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

In 2024, Peter founded Sentient Sanctuary, a nonprofit think tank and animal sanctuary, and wrote a philosophical IA novel, Animals Are People. He blogs at intertwingled.org.

Peter’s IA book has been on my shelf since 1998, when I was a young designer first learning how to design websites (after designing software at IBM and Apple). So, I’ve been a fan for a long time! He has some intriguing thoughts on the future of tech and the impact of AI on careers, so I know you’ll enjoy this episode.

Summary

Speaking of AI, here’s an AI-generated summary of our podcast transcript. It’s kinda good for tasks like this, right? We talk, it listens, and then it summarizes.

* AI skepticism has been earned. Peter spent 25 years professionally advising clients to be skeptical of AI hype, and then ChatGPT changed his mind. The lesson: evaluate each wave on its own merits rather than defaulting to either enthusiasm or dismissal.

* We’re in the fog of war. No one (not the CEOs, nor the researchers) can see clearly beyond the next year or two of AI’s trajectory. The smart career move is to keep your eyes and options open rather than betting everything on one prediction about how this unfolds.

* Question the motives behind the hype. When tech executives insist AI must permeate everything, consider who profits. As I put it: the CEO of Nvidia telling everyone to use AI is like the CEO of Oreo telling us to eat 50 cookies a day. Follow the money before following the advice.

* Technology follows fashion cycles. Peter’s observation that tech trends work like fashion is underappreciated. You fight the fashion at your own peril (e.g., resisting Agile during its rise). The skill is learning to ride the wave strategically while waiting to see what actually remains when the dust settles.

* AI disruption is exponentially faster this time. Unlike the Industrial Revolution, where ripple effects took generations, this wave is hitting engineering, design, legal, medical, and other white-collar jobs simultaneously. Robotics will soon follow for blue-collar workers. Speed is the new variable that makes historical analogies imperfect.

* AI as a coding tool has a hidden failure mode. We discussed a cautionary tale. A veteran CTO went “all in” for 90 days only to find AI-generated code nearly impossible to debug when it broke. Productivity gains can mask a dangerous loss of deep understanding.

* Your identity is not your job title or employer. One of the most powerful moments: Peter’s deliberate effort to give up being “the information architect” after 25 years, and my coaching exercise of asking people to introduce themselves without mentioning their company or title. The people who can’t do it are the most vulnerable to identity collapse in a disruption.

* Redefine yourself by going back to childhood. When Peter hit age 40, he started thinking about retiring at 50 to have the freedom to do something else. Initially, he struggled to identify what he would do if money wasn’t a motivator. His breakthrough came from remembering what he loved as a kid: animals. That led to a 48-acre farm sanctuary in Virginia. Reconnecting with your pre-career self is a powerful reinvention strategy.

* The future belongs to purpose-driven solopreneurs. AI is making it possible for one person to do what used to require a larger team. Combined with the decline of lifelong corporate careers, Peter and I see an opportunity for individuals who build around something they care about, rather than chasing traditional big-company careers.

* Ask better questions than “What won’t AI automate?” Peter reframed this perfectly: the less obvious and more important questions are Where can I find purpose? What will make me want to get up in the morning? Career resilience in the AI era isn’t just about skill-proofing; it’s about building a life around meaning that no algorithm can replace.

⬆️ Scroll up and hit play to listen to our conversation.

Where to find out more

* Intertwingled (Peter’s blog)

* Sentient Sanctuary (his nonprofit animal sanctuary)

Schedule a complimentary call with me if you want to discuss your career goals and how I can help.

I’m Larry Cornett, a career coach for ambitious professionals who might be feeling a bit stuck, frustrated, and unfulfilled. Reclaim your confidence to design the life you want and the work you’ll enjoy. 📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!

Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!

Are you familiar with Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir? He thinks you’d better get used to the reality of the impact of AI on your job.

“This technology disrupts humanities-trained—largely Democratic—voters, and makes their economic power less. And increases the economic power of vocationally trained, working-class, often male, working-class voters. And so these disruptions are gonna disrupt every aspect of our society. And to make this work, we have to come to an agreement of what it is we’re going to do with the technology; how are we gonna explain to people who are likely gonna have less good, and less interesting jobs.” - Alex Karp (source)

And if you keep up with tech news, you may have seen that Meta is planning large layoffs ​that could affect 20% or more of the company. They are trying to offset their massive investments in AI infrastructure, but also anticipating the greater efficiencies of AI-assisted employees. Apparently, Zuckerberg believes the company will no longer need a significant number of its current staff.

“We’re starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person.” - Mark Zuckerberg (source)

Even if you don’t work in the tech industry, I’m sure you have witnessed how AI is weaving its way into many of the tools and services we use every day. Some employees encounter more often than others, of course (e.g., knowledge workers). And some folks are fairly insulated from its impact, for now at least (e.g., those with blue-collar jobs).

Where does your profession fit into this chart from Anthropic below? Are you one of the people Karp says will have to accept “less good, and less interesting jobs”? Will the theoretical capabilities of AI enable it to take over your job soon?

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei last year said the technology could disrupt half of entry-level white-collar work. Microsoft’s AI chief, Mustafa Suleyman, made a similar prediction, estimating most professional work will be replaced within a year to 18 months. (source)

With few exceptions, people are rushing headlong into AI and using it for so many things where it doesn’t really add value and may even be destructive (e.g., AI therapists, AI companions, AI warfare strategists).

I do use some AI tools judiciously (e.g., Granola AI). But I don’t let AI saturate ALL of my tasks and life. I kind of like using my cognitive skills and judgment as much as possible.

As usual, humanity is frantically adopting a new technology, damn the consequences.

* We did it with plastics.

* We did it with herbicides and pesticides.

* We did it with the automobile.

* We did it with social media.

* We keep doing it with pharmaceuticals.

I just wish that—for once—we would be smarter about the research, the rollout, and establishing intelligent ethical guardrails.

Some people predict that AI will eliminate millions of jobs. Some have denied that AI will take jobs. In fact, they claim the rise of AI will create a host of new jobs. A few admit that jobs are indeed disappearing (you need fewer employees when they can leverage AI to accelerate work and take on tasks that others used to provide).

As usual, the actual answer is complex, and no one can predict the future. The best we can do is try to ride the wave and see where it takes us.

I’ve seen a lot of tech trends

I’ve been in the working world for a very long time—before personal computing, the internet, and cellphones entered the scene. So, I’ve experienced and observed the disruption caused by new technologies. Some were a flash in the pan, while others stuck and changed our lives forever (for better or worse).

I know some people who behaved like squirrels on their ninth cup of coffee. They would leap into every new tech trend and embrace it with a rabid passion, only to abandon it a few weeks or months later when a new shiny object appeared.

That’s not exactly an optimal use of your time and energy!

However, at the other end of the spectrum, I watched other people complain grumpily about every new tech trend and refuse to engage with any of it. Before long, those people’s dusty skills were irrelevant, and they struggled to remain employed.

That sucks, too.

So, what is one to do with this AI trend? Will you be a squirrel with ADHD, a stubborn tortoise, or something in between? It boils down to the following career choices.

Five options

* Ignore

* Adapt

* Ascend

* Pivot

* Escape

Scroll up to listen to the audio of this episode to hear my full thoughts on all of this.

Schedule a complimentary call with me if you want to discuss how AI is impacting your career and profession, and what you should do about it.

Additional Reading

* When Using AI Leads to “Brain Fry”

* It’s tempting to offload your thinking to AI. Cognitive science shows why that’s a bad idea

* Harvard professor says AI users are losing cognitive abilities

* Are these AI prompts damaging your thinking skills?

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! 📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!

Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m a solopreneur, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!

In this podcast episode, I explain more about why I created the Invincible Career Guide and how we’ll be using it to provide a structured approach to pursuing your career goals this year (hit play above to listen). Each month has a specific theme, and each week includes topics and exercises aligned with that theme.

Grab the content of this week’s update so you can paste it into your copy of the career guide. It’s about the gap between where you are today and where you want to be by the end of this year (your career goals for 2026).

The Invincible Career Guide for 2026

I created the companion guide to provide additional structure for the weekly emails I will share with you this year. If you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, use the button below to access and save it.

It’s in Google Slides format, so you can save a copy of the presentation to your own Google Drive in your preferred folder. This will allow you to edit the placeholder text to enter your answers to the questions in the guide.

How to use the guide

Every month this year will have a specific theme.

* Each week will have a set of homework questions related to that month’s theme.

* I will share a new presentation document with that week’s questions via the newsletter email and in my private community.

* Then download the new presentation, copy and paste the new slides into your editable copy of the guide, and use it to answer the questions.

I have already included all the slides and questions for January (i.e., Your Goals) in the guide. New slides will come each month. Stay tuned for more emails about those.

Themes this year

* Your Goals

* The Blockers (February)

* Your Toolbox

* Strategy & Plan

* Making Progress

* Becoming Invincible

* Your Network

* Targeting

* Broadcasting

* Systems

* Resources

* Evaluation

Schedule a complimentary call with me if you have questions about the guide and how to use it effectively.

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! 📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!

Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m a solopreneur, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!

Struggling to find a new job in tech? Look outside the bubble! I’ve been telling my clients this for years.

As the core of the Silicon Valley tech industry swirls in chaos, uncertainty, and darkness, move to the periphery and explore healthier industries and geographies that need your valuable expertise.

“So much opportunity, inspiration, creativity, and possibility lies in applying the skills and experience that you may have from technological disciplines in other realms and industries that are often far less advanced in their deployment of technologies.” - Anil Dash (source)

Some strategies that I discuss in this episode:

* Look at industries outside of the traditional tech industry.

* Look at geographies outside the U.S.

* Consider going independent with consulting or contracting.

⬆️ I go into a lot more detail in the audio. So, scroll up and hit play to listen.

Would you like to brainstorm some options with me? You can always schedule a complimentary call.

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! If you’re interested in joining my free Invincible Career community, please complete this application form, and we’ll get back to you.

I know some people would like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee. So, I set up a ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee to let folks contribute without an ongoing financial commitment. I’m a solopreneur, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your support!

Thank you to everyone who tuned in live today!

In this livestream conversation, I sat down with Substack writer and podcaster Jonathan Small to talk about what it really means to navigate work, identity, reinvention, and retirement as members of Generation X.

Jon and I traveled different career paths. He moved from magazine publishing to digital media, podcasting, and entrepreneurship. Check out his current Substack publication, Small Talk.

I shifted from a big-tech career (e.g., Apple, IBM, eBay, Yahoo) into independent coaching as a solopreneur. But we’ve both lived through the same constant pattern: industries rise, industries fall, and Gen X is constantly forced to reinvent itself.

We talked about how traditional career expectations failed our generation. The idea of a stable, decades-long job with a pension evaporated. Entire fields collapsed (e.g., print magazines, early tech companies), and many people clung to the past too long, only to find themselves shut out of the future.

What has kept the survivors afloat is adaptability. As I shared in the conversation, I’ve learned to watch the “canaries in the coal mine” and pivot before a company or industry fails. Jon had to make similar leaps as the print media industry imploded around him.

A big theme was identity. Many Gen X professionals still define themselves by job titles, employers, or industries that may no longer exist. Jon and I both experienced that moment of losing our “main character” identity and having to figure out who we were without our familiar career spotlight. It’s painful at first, but eventually liberating. Your profession is not your identity! The sooner you separate the two, the stronger and more resilient you become.

We also talked about the realities of ageism, unstable 401(k)s, and the pressure of being the “sandwich generation,” caring for both aging parents and kids heading to college. It’s no wonder so many Gen Xers feel anxious about retirement. But despite all of this, our generation remains remarkably resilient. Someone in the chat joked that we’re the “Chumbawamba generation”—we get knocked down, we get back up again. And it’s true.

One of the most important takeaways from our conversation is the shift toward multiple income streams. Many of us no longer expect one job to provide all of our income, meaning, or stability. Check out Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink.

Jon and I both shared how life improved once we stopped forcing a single revenue source to carry everything.

* More flexibility.

* More time with family.

* More control of our energy.

* More meaningful work, on our own terms.

We also touched on the growing loneliness many mid-career adults face, especially when office culture disappears. Building community (e.g., through platforms like Substack and online groups) and collaborating have become essential. Sharing your work publicly, even imperfectly, helps replace that lost connection. And as I emphasized, the antidote to fear isn’t perfection. It’s showing up consistently.

We ended on a hopeful note. As Gen Xers, we’re entering what Jon called Chapter Three of our lives. It’s the stage where experience, autonomy, creativity, and wisdom finally converge (think Yoda).

We don’t need to chase the identity we had at 25. We get to design something new. The internet gives everyone the opportunity to build their own platform, reach people globally, and create a working life that fits who they are now.

Would you like to talk with me about planning the next phase of your career? You can always schedule a complimentary call.

🎁 I’m offering a holiday special for premium subscriptions to my Invincible Career newsletter. Get 50% off for the first year, and you get access to a premium channel in my private community, weekly office hours, monthly group calls, and unlock the private archive of hundreds of subscriber-only posts.

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! 📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!

Thank you Chris Brown, BoldTimers, Dipti Patel, Richard DAmbrosio, and many others for tuning into my live video with Anna Codina - Stress Coach!

Join me for my next live video in the app.

Thank you to everyone who tuned in to my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

My guest for this episode is Tague Griffith. He is a seasoned engineer who has been building products and leading teams across a number of the tech industry’s best-known companies, including Google, Apple, Amazon, as well as some lesser-known startups. Most of his career has focused on new product development. He’s also dipped into research and advisory work, including helping develop Stanford’s wastewater pathogen monitoring project and consulting on 1 -> 2 growth for engineering teams.

Tague and I worked together at Apple back when the company was struggling and kind of unpopular. At that time, we were the underdogs. Most of us didn’t join Apple for the money. We joined because we loved the company and its products, and felt that we were a bit different as well.

He has strong opinions and some cool stories, so I know you’ll enjoy this episode!

We talk about

* What the tech industry and Silicon Valley were like in the early ‘90s

* Tague’s career since Apple (Netscape, Google, Amazon, Flickr, etc.)

* The project he is most proud of after decades of working in tech

* The double-edged sword of technology’s evolution

* Modern product development challenges

* The current state of the industry

* Cultural shifts in Silicon Valley

* Why we should still have hope

⬆️ Scroll up and hit play to listen to our whole conversation.

Where to find more

* Tague’s LinkedIn

* His GitHub

* His X

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of the work you love and less of what you hate! If you’re interested in joining my free Invincible Career community, please complete this application form, and we’ll get back to you. Thanks!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the pressure to have a distinguished career?

* The sense that you should invest in yourself professionally, on top of trying to survive the chaos of these modern times.

* The feeling of falling behind if you’re not climbing the career ladder quickly enough.

* People being disappointed that you haven’t done more with your professional life.

* Friends telling you that you are screwing up if you don’t go “all in.”

* Your bank account and retirement account staring you in the face as you worry about the future.

It wasn’t always like this. I remember a time long, long ago when I had jobs instead of a career.

Work was just work. It was a means to an end, and I certainly didn’t find fulfillment in it. I worked to pay my rent and cover my bills. My enjoyment of life came after quitting time and on weekends.

The jobs weren’t stressful. I had friends at work, and we would chat during breaks. I would also hang out with some of them after work, playing basketball, watching shows, going to parties, and going to bars.

What is a career anyway? It’s the path your professional working life takes, as opposed to the progression of your personal life (for some reason).

The definition of “career” is somewhat vague, but it has become closely tied to the concept of employment and a chosen profession. So, any deviation from your profession’s career progression and steady employment is now viewed as stalling or failing in your career.

It’s kind of silly, really. Your working career can be any damn thing you decide to do with it.

* You may stick with one profession or choose to explore multiple professions.

* You may choose to remain employed by someone else or work for yourself.

* You may or may not get paid for what you do.

* Your work may have no purpose beyond receiving a paycheck, or it might be your life’s purpose (and even unpaid).

I often discuss careers and climbing the ladder in your profession. But not everyone wants that, and that’s okay.

Careers aren't predictable. They are rarely linear. They are often full of sidesteps, pauses, resets, and reinvention. Heck, your “career” may not even be the central focus of your life. It isn't where you find meaning and purpose.

Sometimes a paycheck funds your real calling or passion that isn’t capable of supporting you.

* Travel

* Writing

* Volunteering

* Creating art

* Making music

* Exploring nature

Your heart is in the thing that lights you up, not the job that pays your bills.

I recall the moment I transitioned into a white-collar salaried job that put me on a career path. At first, it was exciting. Later, I realized it was all-consuming.

Now I’m a coach with my own solopreneur practice. It’s somewhat ironic that I coach people to help them navigate their corporate careers when I no longer have a traditional one myself. The other things I’m very passionate about don't pay my bills. Writing, traveling, working out, hiking, skiing, and spending time with my children. So, guess I’ve come full circle, and that’s more than okay with me.

I like the freedom and independence. I enjoy turning my work brain off at night and doing what I want in my personal life.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I hear you when you say you don’t want a career. But you still need to make a living and have the freedom and time to do the things that fulfill you. I can help with that, as well.

➡️ Want to chat with me about your plans? You can schedule a complimentary call.

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! 📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!

Have you ever experienced a conversation like this with someone?

* “I want wild adventure, but I must feel safe at all times.”

* “I want to quit my job, but I can’t give up the nice lifestyle I enjoy.”

* “I crave more freedom, but I dread losing security.”

* “I hate working for someone else, but I’m too afraid to work for myself.”

* “I want a better life, but I can’t change anything.”

If it were easy to have it all, you would already have it. Right?

Why would you deny yourself a dream life if it were easy to create? Why would you punish yourself unnecessarily? Why would you suffer?

The reason you’re feeling stuck is that it is not easy! It’s damn hard to build a life that gives you what you want in balance with what you need.

The hard pill to swallow is: Something has to give. You must give up something to gain something.

I’ve learned that 99% of the time when people say, “I can’t!” what they really mean is “I won’t.” They could make the necessary changes if they really wanted to, but they don’t. The pain of remaining the same is slightly less than their fear of change and the unknown.

When I left my corporate career behind in 2010, I spent the next five years trying to have it all. I wanted the freedom of escaping my old 9-to-5 job (more like 7 AM to Midnight). I wanted the stress relief of leaving behind toxic bosses. I wanted the joy of owning my time every day. I wanted the pleasure of reclaiming my health and rediscovering fitness. However, I also wanted to maintain my expensive home, fancy car, and luxurious lifestyle. I tried really hard for those years, but eventually, the harsh reality came crashing down:

I just could not have it all.

So, we discussed a new plan. We decided what we would have to give up to create the new life we desired.

* We had to downsize our home.

* We had to leave Silicon Valley.

* We had to sell the luxury car.

* We had to live more simply.

* We had to make changes.

I won’t tell you it was easy. That's kind of the point of this episode. It was hard, but it was worth it. Within a few years, we knew it was the right decision. What we had gained was worth far more than what we had “lost.”

Maybe others are telling you that you can “have it all.” I’ve seen plenty of BS posts online about that. But let me be the honest person who will give it to you straight:

Make some hard choices.

Create a spreadsheet with two columns: A. Gain and B. Give up. Decide what you want most in your life and put those items in the Gain column. Choose what you are willing to leave behind and sacrifice so you can have what’s in the Gain column. Put the items you will give up in column B.

Now, create a plan and a schedule to build a roadmap to give up more of column B to have more of column A. This process can take years, by the way. Go slow if you want, but don’t wait long.

By the way, column B is a trap. It’s a noose that tightens more with every new thing you add to it. It’s a golden cage that you may never escape if you keep adding more bars. The longer your Column B list gets, the harder it will be to escape later.

Column A is a delight. The longer you delay gaining the items on that list, the less time you will have to enjoy them. Sadly, most people wait until retirement to pursue that list. So, they don’t enjoy that lifestyle for as long as they could have. Even worse, some of those items have an expiration date. You will be too old to pursue them anymore, or the opportunity has passed. It’s too late.

Want to make this process easier? Here are a few things that can help (I explain them in more detail in the podcast audio, so scroll up and hit play to listen):

* Create wiggle room in your professional career.

* Become a lifelong learner to avoid stagnation and avoid being left behind.

* Develop flexible streams of income outside your primary job.

* Build revenue models that aren’t locked into specific locations.

* Do not increase the cost of your lifestyle as your income increases.

* Aggressively manage your expenses to see if you can reduce them.

* Continuously feed funds into your financial cushion for some breathing room.

* Get outside your bubble to expand and diversify your network.

* Open your mind to unexpected opportunities and new ways of living.

* Invest in your physical, emotional, and mental health.

* Calculate more realistic risk assessments of what you want to pursue.

* Build backup plans for the worst-case scenarios.

* Realize that intelligent and ambitious people can bounce back from failure.

I recently met with Cory Vinny on my Invincible Life podcast. He shared how he prepared for a life of adventure, and what he had to sacrifice to pursue it. Listen and note the tradeoffs they had to make so they could spend the next year sailing around the world.

What do you have in your Gain column? What do you want more of in your life?

What is in your Give Up column? What are you willing to sacrifice to acquire more of the things you want to gain?

I’d love to hear about it, so leave a comment below!

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! 📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!

➡️ Want to chat with me about planning tradeoffs in your career and life? You can schedule a complimentary call.

Are you in your late 40s or beyond?

If so, you have decades of valuable experience, a powerful network, and a laundry list of success metrics. But lately, you may be feeling stuck in your career.

* You’re no longer moving up.

* You’re watching your younger colleagues get promoted.

* Recruiters ghost you more often now.

* Job interviews stall out even when you think you interviewed well.

You’re too experienced for entry-level or mid-level roles. And when you aim for more senior leadership or executive roles, you discover they want someone with 25 years of experience who’s only 35 years old.

Heaven help you if you get laid off now. It’s not a pretty job market for anyone, especially an older worker.

“People laid off at higher ages are less likely to move into a new field than those who quit, said Kevin Cahill, an economist at FTI Consulting. “Ageism and higher compensation expectations can be obstacles to re-employment, he said.” (source)

* It takes nearly 26 weeks, on average, for people ages 55 to 64 to find a job, compared with 19 weeks for people ages 25 to 34, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

* Older career workers who find new jobs take an 11% pay cut, on average, according to a forthcoming study Cahill co-wrote.

So, why not take an early retirement? Well, I bet you’re not there yet. Financially, emotionally, or physically. The sad truth is that people who retire sooner die earlier.

Believe me, you’re not alone in feeling this way and facing this issue. This “messy middle” of our professional careers is real, and it’s brutal.

But it’s also where your next move can be your most powerful. I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but reinventing yourself can lead to living the best years of your life. I’m living proof, and there are lots of us who have done it.

It’s been over 15 years since I fled my old corporate career to pivot into something new. I built my own businesses, started working out every day, and reinvested in my most important relationships. My sense of loss and depression shifted into joy and fulfillment. I've never been happier!

The Messy Middle

You’re not imagining things, and it’s not just you. The job market has shifted under your feet while the economy has been struggling, and political chaos ensues.

* Good roles are becoming rarer, and expectations are higher.

* Companies are cutting layers of middle and senior management.

* They are also eliminating entry-level roles and leaning on fewer employees augmented with AI.

* Ageism is real (especially in tech and startups), but hard to prove.

* AI is quietly replacing parts of your job.

* Younger, cheaper hires are more appealing than the cost of more experienced employees.

You didn’t do anything wrong. But the system isn’t built for you anymore.

“The tide has definitely turned against tech workers,” said Catherine Bracy, the founder and chief executive of TechEquity, a nonprofit that pushes for economic inclusion in the industry. “Companies have even more leverage to use against workers, and A.I. is supercharging that.” (source)

Traditional Career Advice Fails You

“Just update your LinkedIn and polish your resume! Start easy applying to hundreds of jobs every week.”

Yeah… no.

When you’ve had a long, complex career, playing the “cold-apply resume” game is a sure-fire way to lose. The hiring process is automated and biased. Most online applications are dead ends, and older workers are screwed.

You need a new strategy for this new game.

Your leverage is different now

At this stage of your career, you have leverage that younger people don’t. Stop being shy about using your advantages!

* Relationships: The network you’ve built for decades is more powerful than you think.

* Reputation: People know your name. They’ve seen your work. They already trust you.

* Experience: You’ve led, built, scaled, failed, recovered, and learned. Your insights are rare and valuable.

Three paths out of the messy middle

1. Reposition and rebrand

2. Redesign your role

3. Find more purpose

I go into more detail in the podcast audio, so scroll up, hit play, and listen.

Real stories of reinvention

* David Jesse - Executive Product Leader, advisor, coach, and founder of Crescendo Product Group

* Ha Nguyen - Founder and Managing Partner at NextStep Advisors

* Maureen Wiley Clough - Host of It Gets Late Early, a podcast and community of tech employees bringing awareness to ageism

None of them waited for someone to “give them a shot.” They stopped playing the game that was rigged against them. They created their next opportunity.

You can too.

What to do this month

Here’s your 3-step personal challenge:

* Rewrite one part of the “Story of You”What’s the outdated identity or job title you’re clinging to? Rewrite your LinkedIn headline and About section to reflect who you are now and who you want to become.

* Reignite one dormant relationshipSomeone in your network already knows your value. Reach out, reconnect, and have a real conversation. I created a free CRM to help with this.

* Map out your next move If you weren’t looking for a job, what kind of business might you build? What problem could you solve? How could you repackage your skills as an offer to a client?

Let’s define your “Next Act” together

Does all of this feel familiar? Did this article hit a nerve? Good! That means you’re ready.

You don’t have to figure this out alone. I work with experienced professionals like you every day to help you:

* Clarify what you really want next in your life

* Reposition your talent, knowledge, skills, and experience

* Build new opportunities, but on your terms this time

Book a free call with me! Let’s talk about what’s possible next.

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!

My guest for this episode is Bob Baxley, design advisor, mentor, author, and speaker. He is one of the most familiar design leaders in Silicon Valley, having worked on products you probably use every day.

Bob and I worked at some of the same companies (e.g., Apple, Yahoo), but only crossed paths once at one of my favorite coffee shops in Mountain View, CA.

He has strong opinions about design, leadership, creating great products, and crafting a lasting career, so I know you’ll enjoy this episode!

About Bob

Bob Baxley is a designer, executive, and advisor who has built and led UX teams at some of Silicon Valley’s most respected companies, including Apple, Pinterest, Yahoo!, and most recently, Thoughtspot.

During a career spanning over three decades, Bob has played a pivotal role in the design of the Apple Online Store, Yahoo! Answers, the Apple Store App, Buyable Pins, and ClarisWorks—products that have been used by hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Committed to recruiting and inspiring the next generation of designers, Bob also mentors individuals and advises organizations that are working to improve the practice, craft, and culture of digital product design.

We talk about

* His background in tech, starting with Claris

* The tough decision of moving from Yahoo to Apple in 2006

* The opportunity to work with a historic figure, Steve Jobs

* The wild rise of tech companies in San Francisco, CA

* How he looked for opportunities in his career to “witness history”

* The concept of getting on the bus with the right people

* Making decisions at branches in your career

* How a tech career can be much like playing poker

* What you can control is placing yourself in interesting environments with the right people

* Thinking of time with an employer like a “presidential term” and time-boxing your plan for impact

* Why four years feels like the sweet spot for staying in one role

* Patterns he’s observed in people who succeed vs. those who do not on his teams

* How he structures job interviews and what he looks for (especially for designers)

* Design education, training, mindset, and careers

* How our modern transactional environment might impact design and design roles

* Design may become more powerful and influential, but with fewer people

* The impact of AI on professions and entry-level jobs

* How to stay relevant in the industry

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find more

* Bob’s LinkedIn

* His personal website

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of the work you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out the Summer version of my Invincible Daily Journal!

My guest for this episode is Ha Nguyen, Founder and Managing Partner at NextStep Advisors. Her company helps early-stage founders become master company builders, operators, and people leaders. They help founders with strategy and planning, operational excellence, and executive coaching. They also provide fractional consulting and advisory services.

About Ha

Ha Nguyen has 22 years of deep expertise in building and scaling startups, as well as venture investing. She was most recently the Chief Experiences Officer at Swimply and a Founding Partner of Spero Ventures. She also has 16 years of product leadership experience, having started her early career as a product manager at eBay, where we first met many years ago.

We talk about

* Her impressive background

* How she defines fractional leadership

* Why she bet on herself to create her current business

* How and where she finds new clients

* How she is leveraging AI, personally and professionally

* The concept of building portfolio careers

* What work-life balance really means for consultants

* Why hard work feels different when you choose the work you do

* How people should think about their careers for the next 10 years

* The massive disruption of AI in the industry

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find more

* NextStep Advisors

* Ha’s LinkedIn

* Her personal website

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out the Spring version of my Invincible Daily Journal!

🎟️ Get your ticket for our live Job Interview course launching at the end of May. Two ex-tech leaders teach the insider secrets to getting hired, promoted, and staying off the layoff list. The price goes up in 4 days!

Tim Yeo joins me for this special episode so we can share more details about our upcoming live cohort course, Too Valuable to Lose. We discuss our backgrounds as leaders in the tech industry and career coaches for the past several years, and how this inspired us to create the course.

* We’ve seen that the quiet, good people are often overlooked for raises and promotions.

* Humble people and introverts frequently struggle with selling themselves during job interviews.

* And talented people sometimes get put on a layoff list because their bosses aren’t fully aware of their value and everything they do for the company.

Well, Tim and I want to change that! Scroll up, hit play, and listen to us discuss the course in more detail.

Learn to become so valuable that your employer keeps you happy (e.g., receive raises and promotions, stay off the layoff list), and potential new employers can't stand the thought of losing you (i.e., they make you job offers quickly).

What you'll get from the course:

* Practical and doable steps you can take the very next day

* Access to two live sessions with the instructors and other attendees on May 31st and June 7th

* Homework exercises to help you put our advice into action between sessions

* Downloadable templates to help you showcase your accomplishments and talents

* Scripts you can use during your job interviews and conversations with your manager

* Techniques for using AI to help you with preparation and practice

* Q&A feedback from the instructors to help you fine-tune your strategies and materials

* Lifetime access to our private community for the advice, feedback, and support you need

What you'll learn:

* Get better at selling yourself for the jobs you really want

* Learn how to ask for a raise or promotion the right way

* Consistently demonstrate your value so your manager can't imagine losing you

* Become so valuable that your employer fights to make you happy, retain you, and keep you off the layoff list

⬆️ Scroll up, hit play, and 🎧 listen to this episode to learn more about the course, what you will get if you join us, and who we are.

Where to find out more

* The Too Valuable to Lose course

* Read more about our backgrounds and see our testimonials

* The video version of this podcast episode

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

Tim Yeo has been an introvert for 40 years! He is a design leader, speaker, empathetic storyteller, facilitator from problem to solution, open collaborator, builder of design teams. He spent 18 years in UX & Design. He's now the chief introvert at The Quiet Achiever (TQA).

🎟️ Get your ticket for our live Job Interview course launching at the end of May. Two ex-tech leaders teach the insider secrets to getting hired, promoted, and staying off the layoff list. The price goes up again in 5 days!

My guest for this episode is Steven Puri, the Founder and CEO of The Sukha Company. His mission is to help millions of people find their focus, achieve more, and have a healthy work life.

About Steven

Steven's career started as a newscaster/interviewer for the #1 youth news show in the DC/Baltimore market (on WTTG-TV) and then as a junior software engineer and Thomas J. Watson Scholar at IBM. After attending USC in Los Angeles, he began working in film production and produced computer-generated visual effects for 14 movies, including Independence Day, which won the Academy Award for Visual Effects.

Steven’s first tech company was Centropolis Effects, which produced those CGI effects. When he was 28, he eventually sold it to the German media conglomerate, Das Werk.

Steven then produced some indie films and eventually went studio-side to develop and produce live-action features as a VP of Development & Production at 20th Century Fox (running the Die Hard and Wolverine franchises) and an EVP at DreamWorks Pictures for Kurtzman-Orci Productions, where he worked on Star Trek, Transformers, and more.

After Fox, Steven returned to building tech companies and founded The Sukha Company. In Sanskrit, “Sukha” means “happiness from self-fulfillment.” The Sukha is a focus app that bundles all the tools necessary for a focused experience and a healthy, productive workday.

We talk about

* Steven’s unique background that blended tech and creativity (e.g., his time in Hollywood)

* How good timing and lucky breaks can guide your career path

* The good and the bad of our new remote working world

* The needs we all have for getting into flow state, doing focused work, being more productive, and connecting with other people

* How the Sukha app helps us all with those needs

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find more

* The Sukha Company

* Steven’s LinkedIn

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out the Spring version of my Invincible Daily Journal!

“Nothing is working. I can’t find a job!”

I was talking with an acquaintance about their job search strategy recently. They complained that nothing they had tried was working.

They had written and shared articles on social media, but the engagement wasn’t very good. They had searched for jobs but couldn’t find what they were seeking.

* I asked how many articles they had written.

* They said, “Two.”

* I then asked how long they had been searching for relevant job listings.

* They said, “A week.”

Okay, folks. I’m sorry, but sometimes, more effort and patience are required!

We seem to have turned into an instant gratification nation. Ubiquitous internet access, fast smartphones, thousands of online services, and the rise of AI have made us all expect instant answers and results.

But it doesn't work that way. Your easy access is everyone’s easy access. Everyone is posting, sharing, commenting, and competing for attention.

I’ve published over 1,000 posts/articles over the past eight years. I started writing on Medium in 2017 and launched my Substack newsletter in 2019. I slowly built a decent number of readers on both platforms, but only in the last three months did my subscriber numbers really grow!

I have a lot of failings, but I do have some personality traits that help me. I’m very persistent and patient. I will keep grinding away at something for years and years.

* I’ve been working out almost every day for the past 16 years, and it took at least 4 years of lifting weights 5 days/week before I started seeing decent results.

* I’ve been building and running my businesses since 2010 (never returned to a job).

* I’ve been writing something every single day for years and years and years.

I’m stubborn, if nothing else. Perhaps there have been times I should have given up. I know there are times other people definitely would have given up because I’ve watched them do exactly that.

When to be patient

Sometimes, you just need to be patient. Stop expecting instant success!

* Networking takes time.

* Building an engaged audience takes time.

* Looking for a new job in a terrible market in a struggling economy takes time.

If you’ve invested many years in your current career, you may need to be more patient. It can often take approximately one month for every year of experience to find a new job (e.g., a full year if you have 12 years of experience).

Also, you may need to be patient if you have many commitments and change would disrupt them. For example, your family might depend on your income, and you don’t want to take your kids out of their local schools, so you can’t just quit your job or jump at a new opportunity that would require a move.

If you have a job you don’t love but the job market is terrible, you may need to be patient and ride it out. But you should still be looking around. Treat it as a validation exercise.

* Are you being paid what you should be?

* Are you at the level you should be?

* Are you being given the opportunities you could be?

* Is your manager more supportive and mentoring than what’s available elsewhere?

I guess my early career years are an example of being patient. I worked for almost 10 years before I got my big break and started landing promotions that moved me up the leadership ladder.

When to pivot

If you feel you’re spinning your wheels, not getting any real traction, or running out of time, you may need to pivot and change strategies. At some point, more patience won’t help.

Also, if you have already been impacted by a layoff or business failure, you may need to make a change to survive. The degree of change depends on your situation, how long you’ve been trying other options, and your desired outcome.

How much you pivot your career depends on what’s possible and what’s necessary.

* Small pivot - Find a new job with an employer in the same industry and vertical (this is what most people do).

* Medium pivot - Find a job with an employer in the same industry but in a different vertical (e.g., ecommerce instead of gaming).

* Large pivot - Find a job with an employer in a completely different industry (e.g., transportation instead of tech) or geography (e.g., a different country).

* Massive pivot - Change professions entirely using your transferrable talents and skills (e.g., a good manager is a good manager in any business). Or build your own business!

The size of your pivot depends on what you do for a living, how deeply your job or business has been impacted, and how serious you are about doing whatever it takes to survive and thrive in this economic downturn.

➡️ I go into more detail about these pivots in the podcast audio. So, scroll up, hit play, and listen. 🎧

Small pivot

A smaller pivot is what most people do when seeking a new job. They stay in the same profession and find a new employer in the same industry and vertical.

An example would be a small change from being a designer at Amazon to taking a design job with eBay.

Medium pivot

A medium pivot is also fairly common when changing jobs. Someone stays in the same profession and industry but moves to a new vertical.

An example would be staying in consumer technology but moving from the vertical of ecommerce to web search.

Large pivot

If you’re out of work and the job market is terrible, you may need to make a larger pivot if you’ve been struggling to find a job and time is running out. You could land a new job with an employer in a completely different industry (e.g., transportation instead of tech) or geography (e.g., the EU instead of the U.S.).

An example would be leaving the core tech industry to take a job applying your profession to the transportation industry (e.g., a UX designer taking a design job with a logistics company).

I’ve also worked with clients who were frustrated by the U.S. job market and moved to Europe to take roles with companies based there.

Massive pivot

If you're reaching a financial breaking point, a massive pivot may be required to get back on your feet. Time has run out, and you need a drastic career change to survive and thrive.

You may need to change professions entirely or deconstruct your job and reconstruct your knowledge, skills, and experience for an entirely new industry.

I did this over nine years ago. I left my profession (i.e., Product & Design leader) and industry (i.e., Silicon Valley Tech) to create a business to do something completely different. I became a leadership coach and career advisor.

I took parts of my past job (e.g., mentoring my team, performance coaching, hiring talent) and different components of my skills and experience to create a new beginning. I did this because I wanted the freedom that a solopreneur business could give me (e.g., living where I wanted to live, working remotely).

I know the thought of changing professions is overwhelming. But, making a pivot this massive could enable you to overcome this economic uncertainty. It is possible, and other people have successfully made a significant career change like this. I’ve interviewed a few for this podcast (e.g., Isabel Sterne, Emily Schneider, Maureen Wiley Clough).

I did it. You can, too, if that is what it takes to survive. I’m here to support you if you want to discuss it.

📖 Get your free chapter from the book I’ve been writing for the last few years, Becoming Invincible in Life: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Power, Freedom, and Future. I’m in the editing phase right now, so I’ll hopefully be able to publish it later this year!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out the Spring version of my Invincible Daily Journal!

The Job Market Is Frozen

That was the recent headline of an Atlantic article. It reflects the baffling frustration many job seekers are feeling right now.

“Six months. Five-hundred-seventy-six applications. Twenty-nine responses. Four interviews. And still, no job.”

Already in 2025, we are seeing a flurry of firings and layoffs happening across the corporate world and now in the U.S. federal government, too. This means that an estimated 200K displaced workers will enter the job market and compete for scarce jobs.

How scarce?

Well, the pace of hiring has slowed to levels last seen shortly after the Great Recession. Also, voluntary quitting to find a new job has fallen to its lowest level in a decade. People are worried, so they’re staying put (if they can). Employers are concerned about the economy, so they aren’t hiring. The job market is frozen.

And now, with the recent tariffs, the stock market tanked, consumer confidence is falling as threats of inflation rise, and some are whispering the word “recession.” All of this is influencing my outlook for job searchers.

* The layoffs and firings will continue in the U.S. this year.

* More job seekers will enter the market to compete with you.

* Fewer jobs will be available in the U.S. because companies are freezing hiring.

* Even if you do land a U.S. job, you may get laid off soon after.

* The political and economic turmoil will continue to damage our economy.

My recommendation

If you need a new job and can work remotely (or with some travel), I highly encourage you to seek employment with a company based outside the U.S.

A few people misunderstood my recommendation when I suggested this recently in a Substack note. They assumed that employment with a non-U.S. company would always require moving to a new country.

Yes, that could be a requirement, and some people don’t mind it at all (e.g., a few of my clients and friends have relocated to other countries over the past few years). However, I also have clients and colleagues who work for international companies and still live in the U.S.

Let me give you a few examples:

* Atlassian has its global HQ in Sydney, Australia. But, several friends of mine worked for them in their San Francisco office.

* IKEA was founded in Sweden and is incorporated and headquartered in the Netherlands. They’re always hiring in their U.S. locations.

* Rakuten is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, but it also has offices in San Mateo and San Francisco, California.

* 1Password is based in Toronto, Canada, but they hire for remote positions, too (U.S. or Canada).

* Located in Virginia Beach, VA, STIHL Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of the global STIHL Group, founded in Germany.

* Finally, here are some top German companies doing business in the U.S. You can search for similar companies from any country you find interesting.

Why international?

Why do I recommend these companies headquartered outside of the U.S.?

* They have diversified global teams that aren’t trapped in our local political turmoil.

* They have global revenue sources that aren’t tied 100% to the U.S. economy.

* They are not under the complete control of the U.S. federal government, and we’ve seen what happens when American companies bend the knee.

* International companies are seeking and appreciate U.S. talent. The number of American workers hired by international companies grew 62% in 2023.

My hope is these companies will be more willing to hire new employees than U.S. companies seem to be right now. Also, working for an international company opens up opportunities that could be interesting for you later.

For example, a friend worked for an international company in one of their U.S. locations for many years. Then, they asked to be relocated to one of their offices in another country. Now, they live there permanently and have never been happier.

Here are some resources to help you find a job with an international company.

* 15 Best International Companies Hiring U.S. Remote Workers

* U.S. workers are getting scooped up by international companies hiring remote roles

* 30 International Companies Hiring

* InternationalJobs.com

* RemoteJob.io (look for non-U.S. employers)

* We Work Remotely

Of course, your income taxes get a little more complicated when you have income from non-U.S. sources. So, check out this overview of U.S. taxes on foreign income for individuals. I also recommend talking with your accountant to ensure you appropriately handle reporting and tax payments. Working for an international company set up to hire in the U.S. (e.g., it has an incorporated presence here) means they should be handling reporting for you, but it’s wise to verify.

Additional complexity is never fun. But being out of work for a long time is even worse. So, if you are struggling to land a new job with a U.S. company in this crazy job market, consider opportunities beyond our borders.

📖 Get your free chapter from the book I’ve been writing for the last few years, Becoming Invincible in Life: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Power, Freedom, and Future. I’m in the editing phase right now, so I’ll hopefully be able to publish it later this year!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out my new The Invincible Daily Journals!

We may feel powerless at times like these, but we are not.

Over 70M people in the U.S. didn’t want the outcome we are dealing with now. Millions more are now regretting choices made that enabled what is happening.

However, if we unite, we become powerful. The coordinated focus of our time, energy, and money would have a massive impact on those who think we have no voice.

We are familiar with the idea of voting with our dollars. We change our spending habits to favor one business over another, to show that we reject a corporation’s policies, and to influence a company’s actions. It happens all the time.

But we also live in an online world that isn’t about the money we spend with a company. Instead, it’s about the time and attention we give to their platforms, services, and apps. We are the product. Our data, behavior, and clicks are harvested to feed their advertising platforms. We don’t pay Meta to use Facebook, for example. But that corporation sure makes a significant profit from our time spent in the app.

So, we can vote with our time and attention, too, not just our dollars. By deactivating or deleting our accounts, we can starve specific platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X). We can also feed other platforms that represent the values we believe in (e.g., Bluesky).

Money talks. When a company loses enough advertising revenue, they take notice. They may decide to change their policies and actions before it’s too late, and they lose everything. We have the power to make that happen if we are willing to redistribute our time and attention.

We can decide how we spend our money, time, and attention. We get to choose the companies that we feel are aligned with our values. But there is another way to live your values and influence policy that we don’t talk about as often:

Where you work.

You can also “vote” with your blood, sweat, and tears. Our jobs are where we spend a significant portion of our adult lives. Of course, we need to work to live. We must cover our bills, buy groceries, and pay for housing.

But work is already hard enough without being completely miserable while we are doing it. And working for an employer that doesn’t align with your values adds another layer of pain to the misery.

Being selective about choosing an employer is undoubtedly a privilege that not everyone can enjoy. If you live in a small community with few employers and no options for remote work, you are stuck with few choices. I grew up in a tiny farm town like that. The online world hadn’t been created yet, and few local employers existed. You took any job you could find.

However, those who do have more options for their career paths can use this opportunity to research, plan, and select employment that:

* Aligns with their values.

* Supports their belief system.

* Positions them for the future.

* Gives them flexibility and resilience.

This podcast episode discusses these points in more detail, so scroll up, hit play, and listen.

In summary, you have more power than you think to help change this world and right wrongs.

* You can vote with your dollars to help influence policy.

* You can vote with your time and attention to make change happen.

* You can vote with your blood, sweat, and tears to reward the right kind of employers with the precious remaining time in your career.

You deserve a career and a job that makes you feel good about waking up on Monday mornings!

📖 Get your free chapter from the book I’ve been writing for the last few years, Becoming Invincible in Life: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Power, Freedom, and Future. I’m in the editing phase right now, so I’ll hopefully be able to publish it later this year!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” My wife and I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe.

My guest for this episode is Sarah JanTausch, the Founder of SRJ Coaching and Consulting and creator of the Values-Based Career method. This method helps individuals unlock the hidden job market and ditch burnout while creating a career move rooted in their core values, ideal work style, and goals.

Before starting her own business, she worked in politics and government, serving Ohio’s Governor and lieutenant governor. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Science in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University.

About Sarah

“I’m a speaker, trainer, and coach who works with individuals to create values-based careers. I also partner with organizations serving both students and job-seekers for the job market of the future. My specialties include career-pivots and generosity-based networking that makes creating genuine connections and growing your network feel almost completely effortless.

Previously, I crafted my dream career working in politics and government. While serving Ohio’s Governor and Lt. Governor in various leadership roles and advocating for effective public policy, I ran multimillion dollar programs and I led a team while overseeing statewide outreach. I earned my Bachelor of Arts from Ohio Wesleyan University where I majored in Politics & Government. As a mid-career professional, I went back to school to earn my Master of Science in Management and Leadership at Western Governors University. I am a member of the National and Ohio Career Development Associations (OCDA) and I currently chair the OCDA’s government relations committee.

Our total vocational impact includes more than just our day-to-day work. I love exploring and helping my clients define the impact they want to make on the world. For me, this includes a variety of volunteer roles I’ve held in my community, from volunteer board positions to spending approximately 15 years on political campaign work. I’ve worked on key issues including healthcare, substance abuse, education, and recreation. When I’m not working or volunteering, you can find me hanging out with my husband and our two cats Peanut Butter and Blaze or hitting up a local coffee house.”

We talk about

* How and why she pivoted her career even though she thought she had landed her dream job.

* The surprising connection between a childhood passion and her solopreneur business.

* A common mistake that many job seekers make.

* How she works with her career coaching clients to uncover their values and find a job that is aligned with them.

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find Sarah

* Her website

* LinkedIn

30 for $20! ☎️

Schedule a call and get 30 minutes of coaching for just $20 on any career topic you want to cover. Save $177 off the regular price! Note: This offer is only available for new clients who haven’t worked with me before.

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

My guest for this episode is Isabel Sterne, a writer, designer, and brand strategist who helps entrepreneurs and professionals build aligned brands. She offers LinkedIn visual design, content writing, marketing clarity calls, and monthly and project-based marketing and branding support.

I always talk about treating your career like a business that sells a product called “you.” As such, you should invest in your professional brand and leverage LinkedIn to attract new opportunities.

Before starting her own business, she worked for 12+ years in marketing and communications for global brands like Condé Nast and Effie Awards. She also has a B.Sc. in Communication from Cornell University.

When I encountered Isabel on LinkedIn, I first noticed how funny her posts are. Then, I noticed how much engagement she was getting on those posts. She’s humble about this, but I like to say that she’s conquered LinkedIn. If you’re not following her there, you should be!

About Isabel

​Isabel Sterne helps founders and solopreneurs develop their reputations and attract more opportunities on LinkedIn and beyond.

She provides design, ghostwriting, and strategy support for those looking to level up their LinkedIn presence and be seen as the experts they are.

Late identified as neurodivergent, she's also passionate about neurodiversity advocacy and raising awareness about the challenges and advantages of thinking differently.

We talk about

* How she became more active on LinkedIn after being burned out by layoffs.

* Why she decided to start her consulting practice doing what she had always been doing for her employers (e.g., creating marketing content).

* How she would have told her younger self to put herself out there more.

* What she does to be so successful on LinkedIn by being more human and authentic.

* The role of AI in content creation and mistakes people make with it.

* How she helps her clients get more out of LinkedIn and social media.

* The challenges of being neurodivergent in the workplace.

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find Isabel

* LinkedIn

* Substack

* Her website

30 for $20! ☎️

Schedule a call and get 30 minutes of coaching for just $20 on any career topic you want to cover. Save $177 off the regular price! Note: This offer is only available for new clients who haven’t worked with me before.

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

My guest for this episode is Emily Schneider, a visual storyteller specializing in presentation design. She helps businesses and corporate leaders confidently transform their messages into beautiful, effective presentations that genuinely resonate with their intended audiences.

If you give talks and presentations, her advice is invaluable. Becoming comfortable with public speaking is one of the best investments I have made in my career. I was also lucky enough to receive advanced media training and present a lot during my last few years as a corporate executive. Learning how to tell a compelling story through your words and slides is essential if you want to persuade and inspire others.

About Emily

“​My passion for simplifying complex content has become a bit of a magical knack — blending storytelling with a keen design eye. I'm not just a designer; I'm a strategic collaborator, dedicated to helping businesses confidently transform their messages into beautiful, effective presentations that truly resonate with their intended audiences.

​What started with pink pixelated swirls and a questionable font choice as the invitation for my sweet sixteen luncheon has morphed into a creative business venture. My nearly two decades spent in the marketing and branding space, combined with my passion to help simplify information for clients in a vibrant and compelling way, make me a perfect partner for your presentation needs.”

We talk about

* Her background as an art director, creative director, and director of brand strategy and marketing.

* Why she decided to start her consulting practice.

* How she helps companies with presentation design and storytelling consulting.

* What people struggle with the most with presentations.

* Where she focuses her business.

* How she finds new clients.

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find Emily

* Her consulting website

* Emily’s LinkedIn

During our conversation, I mentioned the book Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) (my Amazon affiliate link). Check it out!

30 for $20! ☎️

Schedule a call and get 30 minutes of coaching for just $20 on any career topic you want to cover. Save $177 off the regular price! Note: This offer is only available for new clients who haven’t worked with me before.

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

My guest for this episode is Maureen Wiley Clough. Maureen is the host of It Gets Late Early, a podcast and community of tech employees bringing awareness to the issues facing experienced workers and striving to create a better working world for all.

I’ve talked about the issue of ageism in the tech industry before. I faced it myself a few times, and I witnessed discriminatory behavior during my decades-long career (e.g., during job interviews). I wrote a post on LinkedIn about embracing aging, which is how I met Maureen and got invited to her podcast. So, now she has returned the favor and joined me for this episode to talk about her mission to shine a light on ageism and find a better way to move forward in the working world as we all grow older.

About Maureen

Maureen built a successful career in tech. But as she looked around the Zoom room at her last early-stage startup, she was struck by the fact that the number of people over 40 were slim to none.

When she realized she had observed a similar demographic makeup in her past roles at more mature organizations, she began to wonder about her ability to chart her own course in this sector for as long as she wanted - or needed - to be employed. She also recognized that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs had not focused on the issue of age, the one “ism” coming for all of us (and that’s if we’re lucky).

So, she set out to start conversations with her peers and conduct research to understand reality and build towards a better, more inclusive future for all - no matter what your age.

We talk about

* When Maureen first encountered ageism in her career

* Why she started her podcast “It Gets Late Early”

* How ageism will affect all of us (if you’re lucky to live long enough)

* How age discrimination negatively impacts corporations

* The unexpected ways ageism creeps into recruiting, hiring, and promotion practices

* Why return-to-office hurts parents and older workers

* What you can do to be better prepared as you advance in your career

* How Maureen can help companies improve their recruiting practices, hiring policies, organizational policies, and more to help find and nurture great talent, regardless of age

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find Maureen

* It Gets Late Early (website, podcast episodes, and newsletter)

* LinkedIn

* Instagram

* Threads

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

Do you have an enemy at work?

Okay, maybe that’s too strong of a word. 😂

How about people who make your life harder than it needs to be, react to everything you do with some negativity, and generally make you wish they weren’t in your life?

I often talk about using a pull to draw you toward better opportunities in your career.

* Growth opportunities

* Professional challenges

* New jobs that offer a promotion or significant raise

* A chance to work on something exciting

* An opportunity to work with talented people

* A role that will teach you something new

However, sometimes a push is helpful or even necessary. For example, when you:

* Are too comfortable with a job and no longer growing or learning

* Get stuck in a rut but don’t know how to get out of it

* Are fearful of taking a risk and embracing change that will take you to the next level

* Have lost confidence in yourself and are settling for less

* Need someone to speak an uncomfortable truth you’ve been avoiding

In this podcast episode, I explore the concept of having a yin-yang of positive and negative people in your personal and professional life. I’ll share a few times when I needed a hard push to get back on track, which made me accept and appreciate the role haters have played in my life.

Want to get some advice from me, but you’re nervous about spending money on a full coaching package? Well, you’re in luck! Check out my Introductory Coaching Call → 30 minutes for just $20! Note: This service is only available for a onetime initial call. Check it out!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

Have you experienced one of those one-way video interviews during a job search? It can feel a little intimidating to talk into your laptop camera, knowing it’s recorded and you’re not speaking live with another human being.

I recently helped my son prepare for one of these interviews. We focused on three main strategies to ensure his readiness.

* Analyzing the job description

* Talking with current and past employees

* Preparing for this new type of interview

In this podcast episode (scroll up and hit play), I discuss each of these strategies in more detail.

By the way, I recently launched a new Introductory Coaching Call → 30 minutes of coaching for just $20! Note: this service is only available as a onetime initial call. Check it out!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

“I’m putting in long hours and working harder than ever. Why am I not getting promoted?”

Do you know how many times I’ve heard that complaint?

Sure, working harder than your peers can get you promoted during the early years of your career. But you will soon find that what got you where you are today won’t get you where you want to be tomorrow.

Most people play checkers with their careers. They hop around the board, marching ahead, step by step, and don’t think more than one step ahead.

The game board looks similar. In the early days of your career, you and the other pieces are making the same moves—trying to get head, space by space. But you eventually find out that strategy won’t cut it.

Your career growth is limited when you behave like a checker piece on the corporate chess game board. Unfortunately, many people experience that. They think more of the same will continue to move them ahead.

* Working harder

* Working longer hours

* Taking on more work

Sadly, that is the path to stagnation and abuse. Yes, abuse. I’ve watched many people get used by their employers. Many managers love dumping work on the people who work hard, don’t complain, and never ask for raises or promotions.

So, if you want to avoid being stuck in checker mode, there are five things you must do:

* Become a valuable chess piece

* Use strategic long-term planning

* Leverage pattern recognition

* Make sacrificial moves when necessary

* Play leadership chess, too

1. Become a valuable chess piece

If you want to play chess, you must qualitatively change how you work and transform the value you deliver. Leaders don’t get promoted because they work harder than their peers. They get promoted because they think differently, add unique value, get results, and know how to make 1+1=3.

World-class chess players don’t randomly flail away moving pieces on the board. They never think one step ahead and hope things work out.

So, stop behaving like an interchangeable checker piece. In the game of checkers, every individual piece has the same capabilities (i.e., hopping one space forward). You can easily be replaced if you are a commodity with the same skills as everyone else. Heck, maybe they can even find a cheaper piece to replace you! And if they can do that, they will.

I watched that happen many times over the decades of my career. A senior employee was often replaced with a more affordable junior employee who could do the same work.

I remember an executive saying, “Why should we pay this much for a U.S. employee? I can hire three designers in country XYZ for that salary.”

A basic U.S. checker piece was often replaced with more affordable international pieces. Basic pieces were also frequently put on the inevitable layoff lists about every six months.

However, the employees who had leveled up to provide unique strategic value were never replaced. Their cost was never questioned. Instead, they were assigned the best and most challenging projects. They were the ones promoted when the review cycles rolled around every year.

I often ran into the unfortunately common belief that tenure will eventually lead to a promotion. Some employees thought they would keep moving up the career ladder if they stayed with the company long enough. I’m sorry, but higher-level promotions simply don’t work that way.

A pawn that has been with the company for 5 years—but still acts and performs like a pawn—won’t be promoted to knight simply because of tenure. Level up and transform yourself, or be stuck where you are forever.

2. Use strategic long-term planning

Professionals who end up succeeding in their careers are thinking many, many steps ahead. They aren’t simply focused on their next career move. They have a vision for where they want to be several years from now—sometimes even decades. Every move they make is intentional and sets them up for the next move and the next.

They use strategic thinking instead of scattered and mindless hopping.

One of my old colleagues and friends had a clear vision for where they wanted to end their career—as a C-level executive in a public company. Every move they made was deliberately planned to help them advance toward that goal.

* New projects

* New connection in their network

* New skills and experiences

* New domains

* New jobs with the right employers

* Seizing new opportunities when they appeared

Over the years, I watched them make smart moves until they finally did land that C-level role. It was definitely a clever game of corporate chess, not checkers.

📞 Schedule a free strategy call with me if you’d like to work on your long-term career plan.

3. Leverage pattern recognition

My grad school advisor was really into chess, and I mean really. He was an excellent player, but he was also a psychologist who researched expert players.

Great chess players have a stronger conceptual knowledge of the game and are better at recognizing familiar patterns. Similarly, successful professionals master the rules of the “corporate game” and start to recognize familiar patterns in company dynamics, organizational politics, and individual behavior.

Leveling up your corporate “chess game” beyond checkers requires deep learning of corporate rules, how organizations function, and individual motivations. The more experience you gain, the more you should start recognizing patterns and how to quickly and successfully navigate them.

4. Make sacrificial moves when necessary

With a long-term vision and strategy, you can focus on the big prize instead of being distracted by the short-term benefits. If you've ever hiked to a mountaintop, you know it's never a straight and obvious shot to get there. The nearby moves may seem counterintuitive. You move sideways. You move downslope to transfer to other trails.

For example, one job might pay more immediately, but another might set you up for later promotions and better long-term earning potential. I often discuss how this is essential in searching for your next job. How do competing employers compare in terms of factors like:

* Better leadership

* More supportive management

* More challenging projects

* Learning a new technology

* Gaining more powerful skills

* Access to talented people

* Building relationships with movers and shakers

* Creating a stronger professional reputation

You can become a more powerful piece on the professional chessboard of life instead of being stuck in checker mode forever.

5. Play leadership chess, too

If you move into leadership roles, the chess vs. checkers strategy comes into play again. It’s about recognizing that your team members are not simple checker pieces to be placed willy-nilly on the board. Each person has unique talents, experience, and goals. For example, you don’t want to treat a queen like a pawn and give that person a project that doesn’t leverage their strengths. You also don’t want to overload a pawn with a complex project far beyond their capabilities.

Additionally, playing chess means understanding that people are not interchangeable checker pieces. You must learn who to invest in retaining and growing, who will benefit from mentoring and coaching, and who isn’t playing well with the other pieces on the board. You can’t simply swap in a new person and expect them to behave and perform like everyone else.

Finally, successful leadership does require strategic vision and planning several moves ahead. You must start recognizing behavior patterns in other leaders to anticipate their next moves, plan your move, and survive the inevitable politics of playing at that level. Leaders who play the corporate game like checkers (e.g., only focused on executing the next move) don’t tend to last long.

Start playing chess

If you’re happy with your job, don’t care about promotions, and focus more on work-life balance, there’s nothing wrong with playing checkers at work. Do good work, get paid, and go home to your friends and family to enjoy your personal life.

Believe me, I get that! That’s why I left the corporate world behind in 2010 to build a lifestyle business.

However, if you are ambitious and you really want to get ahead at work, move up the career ladder, and reach your biggest goals, then learn the rules of the corporate chess game. Become more powerful and more valuable. Play strategically and be prepared for how hard your colleagues/competitors will play.

Top leadership positions become increasingly rare as you advance in the organization. Playing checkers won’t put you in those seats, but playing a clever game of corporate chess just might.

By the way, I recently refreshed my Invincible Career community and have started rebuilding it from scratch on my Discord server (instead of Slack). If you’re interested in joining a friendly, supportive community of ambitious peers, upgrade your newsletter subscription so I can send you an invitation!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

In this episode, I share an overview of my upcoming course. Play the audio to hear my description of each of the steps below.

10 Steps to Prepare for a Successful Job Interview

* Research your target employer

* Identify their biggest problems

* Map your expertise

* Tune your resume, LinkedIn, etc.

* Find your inside champions and connections

* Prepare and rehearse

* Setting the stage

* How to crush your interview

* Follow up

* Maintain relationships

By the way, if you need some 1-on-1 coaching to help prepare for an interview, you can schedule time with me here.

As I mentioned, this article's actual content is in the podcast audio. So, scroll up and hit play to hear it.

Do you know someone who will soon interview for a new job? They might find this episode helpful! Hit the button below to share it with them.

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

No one ever said the job market was fair. That’s even more true in the current economy which has been plagued with layoff after layoff.

Now, in this race for a new job, some candidates are clearly driving race cars, while others are struggling to make it around the job search track with an underpowered engine or even a flat tire.

Why is that?

Let me play with this metaphor for a bit, starting with the diagram below. Note: I go into a lot more detail in the podcast recording. So, scroll up, hit play, and listen.

You can think of “Capability” as the engine of the race car. It includes:

* Talent

* Skills

* Knowledge

* Experience

“Drive” is one of the tires. It includes:

* Grit

* Determination

* Persistence

* Confidence

* Consistency

“Reputation” is the second tire. It includes:

* Your professional brand

* What people say about you

* What you’re known for

* Your proof

“Interview” is the third tire. It includes:

* Your job interview process

* Your interviewing skills

* Communication skills

* Presentation skills

* Questions asked

* Follow up

Finally, “Champion” is the last tire. It includes:

* Your inside champion

* Inside connections

* Inside influencers

Lighting it all up to get hired

Three of my clients and community members recently landed new jobs:

* One leveraged networking, finding an inside champion, and my 1-on-1 coaching to create a new role that hadn’t existed before. They also negotiated a higher level and a lot more compensation!

* Another used networking, my coaching, and my Career Accelerator to land a job with a former colleague that was in the “hidden job market.”

* Finally, the last person used my Career Accelerator, some of my coaching, and an inside champion to land a great new job in Silicon Valley.

Weak engine of Capability

Sometimes, your engine is underpowered for the role you’re seeking. I always encourage people to stretch themselves, but do so within reason.

Flat tire of Reputation

You may have everything else going for you, but people know you’re a pain to manage and worth with. The industry is always smaller than you think, and people talk. However, you can repair your reputation and get back in the game.

Flat tire of Drive

Grit and determination will often carry the day. But, if you lack confidence, don’t consistently put in the work, and give up too soon, you’ll find it hard to land jobs that others do.

Flat tire of the Champion

I frequently talk about the power of having an inside champion. Champions, influencers, and insiders can tip the balance of a job interview in your favor. Just ask my clients who leveraged them to land great jobs quickly! But, if your Champion tire is flat, be prepared for a long, slow crawl in the job search race.

Flat tire of the Interview

You could have everything else set up, but still bomb the interview. No champion can save you if you don’t prepare well enough. Your capabilities and reputation won’t matter if you can’t demonstrate your knowledge, experience, and wisdom while speaking with the interviewers. I don’t care how much drive you have. It won’t help if you can’t communicate well, present well, and generally interview strongly.

Winning the job search race

Light up your engine, and all four tires, and you’ll be well on your way to speeding around the track and landing your next great job!

As I said earlier, most of the content of this article is in the podcast audio. So, scroll up and hit play if you want to hear it.

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

In this podcast episode, I share a sneak peek at my recent Invincible Career Job Search workshop I hosted on April 1st.

In the previous podcast episode, when I shared a preview of the workshop, I talked quite a bit about the Connecting strategy.

In this episode, I discuss positioning (e.g., LinkedIn, resume, cover letter) a little more and then dive into the Broadcasting strategy. If you want opportunities to come your way, the professional world has to know you exist.

Enjoy!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

In this episode, I share an overview of the presentation materials to give you a sense of the 2-hour workshop I’ll be hosting on April 1st. So, make sure to play the audio since I’m not including 2 hours of text material in this newsletter article.

➡️ “Find a Better Job Using 3 Essential Job Search Strategies”

The price for the workshop goes up again next week. So, if you're interested in joining us, grab a ticket now. Or, use the advice I share in this episode for free!

​⏰ This is the last time I will host my Invincible Career Job Search workshop this year. I won't offer it again until 2025! So, join us now or wait until then.

​Note: I record video of myself and the presentation, which I share with all the attendees after the workshop. So, if the time doesn’t work for you to join us live, you will have the homework document and the video material to use later, just like a course.

The Workshop Agenda

* Who is this Larry Cornett person?

* What’s going wrong — with your job or job search?

* Breakout discussion 💬

* My 3 essential invincible job search strategies

* All about you (so you can sell yourself for your ideal job)

* Defining your ideal job

* Defining your ideal employer

* Defining your ideal boss

* Breakout discussion 💬

* The Connecting strategy

* The Broadcasting strategy

* Breakout discussion 💬

* The Targeting strategy

* Q & A for the last 20 minutes

Play the audio for this newsletter and podcast episode to hear my description of each part of the agenda.

Win a Free Coaching Session!

​​Refer your friends to join you in this workshop, and you could win a FREE coaching session. Share the link to the workshop with your friends and ask them to provide your name when they register.

​​Winners will be determined by the total number of referrals.

* ​​First place wins a free 1-hour coaching call worth over $300!

* ​​Second place wins a free 45-min coaching call worth over $240

* ​​Third place wins a free 30-min coaching call worth over $150

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

This is one of the worst job markets I’ve experienced in quite some time. It seems like new layoffs are being announced every day.

In this podcast episode, I talk more about what’s going on, how to tell if a layoff might be coming, what to do about it, and how to get back into the game after one happens.

I’ve linked some of my past articles you might find useful if you’re concerned about a layoff or recently went through one.

Have you ever considered starting a business to escape the stress of worrying about layoffs?

I know that sounds strange, but that’s exactly why I launched my first solopreneur business. I had just lost my job, needed to support my young family, and wanted more stability. So, I put my trust in myself instead of leaving it in the hands of a fickle employer.

If that sounds interesting to you, I'm hosting my next live workshop on how to build a lifestyle business on Feb 26th!

"Build a Lifestyle Business to Escape Your 9-5 Job"

I'll record the workshop and share the video with you later. So, if the time doesn't work for you, you'll have the workbook exercises and video to use just like a course.

Grab your ticket now, because the price goes up next week.

Would love to see you there!

Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane.

The most successful people in your industry and profession may not be better than you. They also may not be more intelligent, talented, or hardworking than you.

However, I bet they are great at something most of us usually are not:

Promoting themselves.

Of course, self-promotion isn’t enough. You do need a baseline of competence in your job.

However, I think we’ve all noticed that management will promote someone who is good enough at their job — and great at getting noticed — more often than someone who might be even better at their job, but no one is aware of them or what they do.

How did things turn out for you last year with your performance review?

* Did your boss notice and appreciate your hard work?

* Did they promote you?

* Did you receive a significant raise?

* Are you happy with the recognition you’ve received?

Or did you get passed over for a promotion this cycle? Are you frustrated with working hard and doing all the right things but don’t seem to get ahead at work?

Well, that’s why I write this newsletter and share my career advice. If you work hard and are good at what you do, you deserve to be treated well at work. That should be recognized and reflected in your compensation. I want you to be successful and happy, so I will share some advice to help you get ahead this year.

Here are five things successful people tend to do better than most. Note that 3-5 tap into the self-promotion skill.

* Focusing

* They focus passionately on being great at something.

* Helping

* They help others and generate a lot of goodwill, which encourages reciprocity.

* Networking

* They network intelligently and consistently.

* Marketing

* They’re good at capturing attention and converting it into opportunity.

* Selling

* They understand that selling is all about building relationships and solving people’s problems.

Let’s dive into each one of these in a little more detail.

Focusing

If you’re a jack-of-all-trades, becoming an expert at anything is challenging. Yes, our jobs require a wide range of knowledge, skills, and tasks, but there should always be a primary focus.

The folks who rise to the top know how to focus their time and energy on what matters the most for their job. They do everything they can to improve at that one thing (e.g., sales, writing clean code, elegant design, strategic thinking, relationship building, persuasion, writing, playing guitar, statistical analysis, research, etc.).

What is the one thing that represents excellence in your profession?

Note: this will change as you climb the career ladder. What got you to your current level will not take you to the next level.

For example, I started my tech career as a designer. Doing great design work efficiently and effectively got me promoted to more senior levels as an individual contributor.

However, as I moved into design management, my design skills were no longer what made me stand out. Effective leadership was much more important than my ability to design interfaces.

Now, this doesn’t mean you can drop the ball on the many requirements of your job beyond the “one thing.” But don’t ever prioritize those over your most important focus area. I’ve seen people do that (e.g., an engineering manager writing great code but doing a poor job of managing the team), and then they wonder why they’re no longer getting promoted.

Helping

The most successful people help other people succeed. It creates a virtuous cycle.

Rising to the top of your career ladder by climbing over the bodies of your fallen colleagues isn’t a smart strategy. I think we all know some people who have done that. But, eventually, those chickens come home to roost, and these people fail.

Industries are small, and people talk. The selfish folks soon find that no one wants to hire or work with them.

Be generous with your time and advice. Obviously, don’t overdo this to the point where your work or personal life suffers. But help when and where you can.

For example, I spent about ten years helping people with their career issues and connecting them with potential employers for free. Friends, old colleagues, and connections in my network would reach out, and we’d meet over coffee or lunch to discuss their career goals.

Fast forward ten years, and I started a career coaching business to help even more people and make it my primary focus. Many of my first clients were the same people I’d helped in the past. Many of those people referred more potential clients to me.

People like to help people! And the most successful people make it part of their lives.

Networking

Intelligent networking creates opportunities. You shouldn’t only do it when you need a new job. Thanks to my network:

* I landed every single one of my tech jobs.

* I’ve been invited to speak at events (some were paid engagements).

* I’ve been invited to participate in panels and speak on podcasts.

* People reached out to hire me for consulting engagements.

* I found talented people to hire for my teams.

* Founders and CEOs asked me to sit on their boards.

* People hired me to be their career or business coach.

* I’ve made some amazing and ambitious friends who help me grow my business.

Your network is one of your most valuable resources if you build it wisely, protect it, and nurture it. Nurturing your network means keeping it fresh with consistent contact.

* Send people interesting articles.

* Pull folks into the right conversations.

* Support each other on social media (e.g., like, comment, share).

* Send job opportunities to your acquaintances.

* Refer business to your solopreneur friends.

* Reach out to catch up over Zoom, coffee, or lunch.

* Check-in to see what folks have been up to.

The most successful people treat their network well. They balance giving and taking. They introduce good people to good people. They build communities and engage with other communities.

Marketing

Marketing did not come naturally to me, and I still struggle with it as an introvert. Most modern marketing means spending time on social media, creating videos, and writing content.

Lots and lots of content.

However, writing is the one thing I do enjoy (hence this newsletter). And it has helped me grow my business and find new clients.

The most successful people are great at marketing. They know how to capture attention and convert it into a useful opportunity. They pay attention to psychology and learn what people like. What gets clicks. What turns attention into conversion.

People in the broader industry should know who you are, what you do, and how amazing you are — beyond the walls of your employer. I always talk about how important that is. If you want to become an opportunity magnet for the best things in life, people need to be aware of your existence!

But marketing also applies inside the corporate walls. People inside your company need to know who you are, too. I know it’s hard to talk about yourself and promote yourself. It feels icky for many of us. So, don’t! Instead, talk about the work, the team, and the mission of what you’re doing.

When you promote the great work you and your colleagues are doing, the spotlight also shines on you. Smart leadership will recognize that you’re behind the work, and you’ll get a chance to show people how you think.

Promotions happen when you’re great at what you do, and the right leaders know about you. Don’t be shy!

Selling

“Oh, but I don’t work in Sales.”

Yeah, I used to think that, too. I was a designer and wanted to be left alone to do my job. I didn’t need to learn anything about sales, right?

Besides, the idea of “selling” made me feel dirty. When I was younger, I briefly held telemarketing jobs and did door-to-door sales.

I hated it.

So, for most of my early career, I deliberately avoided anything that felt like sales or marketing. What I learned later — and wished I had fully understood earlier — is that many things in life require being good at sales.

* Interviewing for a new job.

* Negotiating your job offer.

* Asking for a raise.

* Asking for a promotion.

* Selling your cool idea to management.

* Persuading coworkers that you’re right about something.

* Convincing others about a mutually beneficial opportunity.

* Launching a new business and finding your ideal customers.

The most successful people in life are pretty damn good at sales. They know what they want, they know that persuading other people is a necessary part of life and getting what they want, and they know how to do it well so everyone feels good about it.

Sales doesn’t have to be a dirty word.

What are you going to do?

If any of this sounds like something you need to work on, the question is:

What are you going to do about it?

What will you change this year to get better at these five things so you can be more successful in your career and life? It’s time to set a goal and make a plan to make it happen.

On that note, my goals workshop Achieve Success with the Invincible Goals System is coming up in less than 2 weeks! The first 25 people who use this coupon code get 25% off: N468OA

Hope to see you there!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane.

This year, I spent hundreds of hours researching and writing newsletter articles — and recording podcast episodes — to share with you. I listed the top 10 below.

If you found my advice and articles helpful this year and would like to support my continued writing and podcasting next year, please consider upgrading to a premium membership that also grants you access to:

* My private Invincible Career community of ambitious professionals (from entry-level to executives). Note: I now offer a lifetime community membership option for folks who aren’t crazy about subscriptions. Pay once, and I’ll invite you into my private Slack community, where you can stay for as long as you want!

* Live 1-hour workshops throughout the year. This is a value of more than $500!

* Weekly exercises delivered to your inbox to support the new monthly workshops.

* Exclusive office hours every Monday with the other premium subscribers and me.

🌲 Take advantage of my Holiday Special and save 50% when you join us before the year ends! ☃️

Your support means a lot to me. Thank you! 😊

Welcome to my December wrap-up that summarizes everything I published this calendar year.

When people ask for my advice on a career, work, leadership, or entrepreneurial topic, I can usually point them to a specific article that I’ve written on that very issue over the last four years. You may already be a loyal subscriber, but I know that it’s easy to miss something over a year.

So, enjoy this recap, and feel free to share it with friends who might find some of the advice helpful!

My Top 10 Articles

I reviewed the stats for my articles, newsletters, and podcast episodes. These ten rose to the top for the year.

* How to Create an Intentional Career Path Instead of Letting Others Determine Your Future

* How to Stop Competing and Truly Start Collaborating

* How to Get Ahead in Any Job

* Succeeding as an Introvert - Tim Yeo, Founder of The Quiet Achiever

* Find a Job by Hunting, Trapping, and Planting

* Do People Forget About You?

* Career Questions (and My Answers) that We Discussed in My Last Fireside Chat

* Are You Underpaid?

* Invincible Tip - No Unpaid Work

* Invincible Tip - How to Regain Your Confidence

You can always access my full archive of 500+ articles online and use the search feature to find topics of specific interest.

By the way, this year I shared my book chapters on my other newsletter and podcast, Invincible Life. Also, for the folks who are interested in entrepreneurship, I publish a newsletter and podcast called Invincible Solopreneurs.

Your support helps!

I’m looking forward to writing more articles, interviewing new guests, and recording new podcast episodes for you next year. If you have suggestions for topics that you’d like me to cover, please leave a comment below or send me a message.

BTW, I have no employees, interns, or even an assistant. The newsletters and podcasts are a one-person labor of love. This is my passion and how I earn a living as a solopreneur to support my family.

If you’ve found my advice helpful, and you’d like to help support my efforts to produce it, please consider subscribing to the premium weekly newsletter. Take advantage of my Holiday Special and save 50% when you join us before the year ends!

Again, this gives you access to:

* My private Invincible Career community for ongoing advice, feedback, and support. As an option, I also offer a lifetime community membership if you don’t want the monthly subscription free.

* Live 1-hour workshops throughout the year (a value of more than $500).

* Weekly exercises delivered to your inbox to prepare for the new monthly workshops.

* Exclusive office hours every Monday with the other premium subscribers and me.

Thank you for being a loyal reader this year. I appreciate your support. Enjoy your holidays!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane.

Why do some people hear about opportunities before you do?

* Are they that much smarter than you?

* Are they liked more than you?

* Are they better than you?

Before you get angry with me, let me say it’s probably none of the above. When this happens, it’s usually because:

* More people know who they are.

* More people see their work.

* People think about them.

But why are more people thinking of them more often? Well, the answer lies in a lesson about how memory works. The big “neural network” of your personal connections behaves much like the smaller neural network in our brains.

Two things are at work:

* Long-term potentiation

* The Priming Effect

People who are receiving more consideration and opportunities are lighting up and frequently strengthening connections between nodes in their network. Let me be nerdy for a minute and remind you of the neuroscience you probably learned in high school.

Long-term potentiation

Long-term potentiation boosts neural pathways to facilitate the transmission of signals and the creation of long-term memories. This occurs when more activity between neurons boosts neurotransmitter production, increases receptor formation, and builds stronger synaptic connections. Yes, that is a simplified explanation, so don’t come at me if you’re a neuroscientist. 🤣

A low-frequency event triggers a weak response (e.g., posting something once in a while that someone rarely sees in their feed). This may create a short-term memory for someone, but it won’t result in a long-term memory. For example, they’ll briefly wonder what you’ve been up to but get on with the rest of their day and forget what you posted by tomorrow.

However, when high-frequency events trigger a stronger response, it changes how the memory is formed. This can happen when you consistently post content or reconnect with someone over Zoom, coffee, or lunch. In other words, someone will remember you, what you do, and what you’re seeking for a longer period of time. Several months later, they will think of you when a relevant opportunity presents itself.

So, at the individual level, interacting more frequently and deeply with the people in your network can lead to stronger memories of you. You are triggering changes in their brains.

What’s kind of cool and exciting—if you’re a nerd like me—is what then happens at a higher level across the broader network of people. You can think of each person as a neuron within a human web of connections that behaves like a neural network.

You are more strongly connected to some people than others. The intensity of that connection matters, of course. You have a deeper bond with your close friends and family than with your coworkers (I hope!). The frequency of interaction affects the connections, too. You will forge a stronger relationship with people you work with every day vs. an old college roommate you haven’t talked with in over 20 years.

Stimulating activity in one person (e.g., mentioning that you’re looking for a new job during a coffee chat with a friend) can pass that information through their network to more nodes (i.e., people). The more frequently people are thinking and talking about you, the more often your name will come up when exciting opportunities arise.

For example, Susan tells Bob that she’s struggling to find a great design manager for her team. Bob says, “Oh really? I know a talented manager who might be looking for a role like that. Let me send you their LinkedIn profile and tell me what you think. I can make an introduction later if you like.”

The more you interact with people, the more powerful your network becomes. Relationships grow stronger and more valuable. More people light up in that web of connections, and those people have their own networks that now link to yours.

Conversely, when you let your network connections go stale, people forget about you. I know this can happen when you’re busy with work and life. But it has an undesirable impact on your career and future potential.

You will not be in the consideration set when someone is looking for:

* Someone to hire into their organization.

* A person to recommend for a friend’s new role.

* A speaker for an event or panel.

* A partner to help them with a workshop.

* A service provider for a potential client.

This might be upsetting, but you can’t really blame anyone. We are all busy with hectic lives at work and at home. If you haven’t been doing anything to stay fresh and relevant in someone’s mind, it’s no wonder they remember someone else who has been keeping more active.

If you want people to think about you, periodically strengthen connections with folks in your existing network. Make a list of folks to reach out to every week and month. Schedule a bit of time to make sure it happens.

Be authentic and make a genuine effort to reconnect. Don’t be that person who only reaches out when you need a favor. Don’t lead with, “Hey good buddy, how ya doing? I’m looking for a new job. Do you know anyone who is hiring?”

One great way to strengthen your relationships with people is to express gratitude (Happy Thanksgiving, by the way!). I know I’ve talked about this before, but how often do you do it? For example:

* Let a past colleague know you were thinking about them and remember how much you enjoyed working together at company ABC.

* Tell a coworker that you remember how much they helped you with Project XYZ and that you still appreciate that.

* Reconnect with an old boss who looked out for you (e.g., “Hey, I don’t think I ever thanked you for being such a great boss. You really took care of us, and I learned a lot from you. Just wanted to say thanks!”).

* Reach out to someone you met at a conference who made an impression on you with their talk.

Build new connections so thoughts of you transmit more readily throughout the broader network. Your close friends and colleagues probably have a lot of overlap with your network. So, if you want to expand and meet new people, you have to seek out folks you don’t see all the time.

However, there is another factor at work when people think of someone’s name when an opportunity comes up. It’s almost as if they’ve been primed to remember them…

Priming Effect

I want you to visualize chopped carrots, fresh peas, diced potatoes, and cubed chicken. Now, fill in the blank letter in this word:

S O _ P

What word did you complete? You most likely came up with SOUP instead of SOAP unless you use a very strange kind of soap for your showers.

Scientists have described priming effects as “a sort of rational bias, where the mind interprets ambiguous new perceptual information in a way that is consistent with information it has recently perceived.”

You can use this psychological bias to your advantage. When you frequently prime others with your name, who you are, and what you know and do well, it can stimulate faster recall of you later when appropriate opportunities arise.

* Who is the best mobile app designer you know?

* Who knows sales better than anyone else?

* Who should I talk to about the future of AI?

* Our marketing is not going so well. Who could help us?

* I need help to find a new job. Do you know someone who can coach me?

For example, I’ve worked hard for the past seven years to write hundreds of articles and thousands of posts on social media to build awareness of my coaching. So, I’ve had people tell me they think of my name when someone says they need “career coaching.” And now people are thinking of me when they hear the term “lifestyle business.”

Great! That is intentional.

I didn’t accidentally create this priming effect between my name and coaching. I deliberately built it with a consistent habit of writing about careers, leadership, job searching, and solopreneurship. Every week, I add more content to the internet to strengthen the word associations I want.

The more specific your niche is, the better your chances are for dominating it. For example, I don’t even try to be known for general coaching, leadership, or entrepreneurship. There are way too many players already in those spaces and people with bigger names than mine. Instead, I’ve focused on making a name around helping tech professionals create invincible careers. I’m also building a name for helping mid-to-late career folks design sustainable lifestyle businesses when they’re frustrated with their jobs and ready to escape the 9-5.

So…

* What do you want to be known for?

* What do you actively do to strengthen that association with your name?

* How do you reinforce that priming effect every day?

* How many people think of you that way?

* How many people talk about you when those words come up in a conversation?

You can—and should—intentionally invest time and energy in linking your identity to the roles you desire, skills you’ve mastered, and outcomes you want to be known for producing. It’s great if your inner circle of peers, coworkers, and managers knows all about you. But, one day, you’ll be in the job market, and you will want people to seek you out because you are known for what they need.

Leverage that priming effect so your name comes up in those conversations.

By the way, do you want to expand your professional network? Check out my career community!

I’m Larry Cornett, a success coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane.

“Staying employed at the same company for over two years on average is going to make you earn less over your lifetime by about 50% or more.” — Cameron Keng

You may be underpaid if you’ve stayed with your current employer for longer than two years. Consider the following chart. On average, people who change jobs see bigger increases in their income.

Haven’t you noticed this in your career? When you took a new job, you probably enjoyed a nice bump in title and compensation (you negotiated, right?). But, the longer you stayed with an employer, you noticed the annual raises weren’t nearly as impressive.

Luckily, I experienced this early in my career, and it influenced how I thought about changing jobs for the next ~15 years. I was working for a pretty amazing company that was, unfortunately, going through some hard times. So, even though I was told I was performing well, I received a tiny raise during the review cycle.

A couple of weeks later, I was approached by a startup, thanks to my network. I decided it never hurts to talk and interview to see what they had to say. They gave me a sweet offer that was more than a 50% bump to my compensation. I accepted and put my lifetime earning potential on a new trajectory. It was a valuable lesson that I never forgot, and now I share it with all of my clients.

Your biggest bumps in level and compensation will most likely happen when you start a new job.

I was a manager and leader inside some of the biggest tech companies in Silicon Valley. Many of my friends became leaders, as well. We talked about this issue. Once an employee is “inside the machine,” it’s hard to compensate them more than HR policies will allow. There’s only so much you can do, and exceptions are extremely hard to get approved. We often ended up in a terrible situation where we would make a job offer to a candidate with much better compensation than an equivalent internal employee was currently being paid.

It’s pretty messed up!

So, I know that intelligent job hopping can increase your lifetime earning potential. But let me be clear about something. You should not change jobs just to change jobs. By all means, if you’re in a good situation, stay!

* If you’re receiving promotions every year or so, stay and climb the ladder as long as you can.

* If you’re receiving big raises every year or so (way above the cost of living increases), stay.

* If your compensation is much better than you’d receive from a prospective employer, stay. How do you find out about this? Always be interviewing!

* If you love your job, boss, and coworkers and you don’t care about making more money or getting promoted, stay in your comfort zone. Some people prefer that.

However, a big problem with not making more money is inflation is still pretty high in the U.S. That means you’re essentially taking a pay cut if your compensation doesn’t stay ahead of inflation. Your dollar is weaker than it was before.

The current annual inflation rate for the 12 months ending this September is 3.7%. It’s lower than 2022, which is kind of surprising given how much the cost of goods has exploded. Have you been grocery shopping lately?

So, if your income isn’t increasing to keep pace with inflation and the growing cost of living, you’re falling behind. Today’s dollar is worth less than it was a year ago.

If you aren’t receiving a sizable raise that exceeds inflation, you’re actually making less money every year because the dollar isn’t as valuable. It’s as if your annual salary was reduced by thousands. And, due to the rising costs of almost everything, it is getting harder to make ends meet.

You should ask for a promotion or raise

Of course, you should always have a household budget and strive to reduce your expenses. You know I’m an advocate for living more simply and curbing extravagant spending. That’s one reason I left the Bay Area of California.

However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t maximize your earning potential at the same time. If you want to get ahead and live a better life, you must ask your employer for the compensation you deserve.

Some people are comfortable requesting raises and promotions every year (Note: You shouldn’t expect a promotion every single year). I had a few employees like that. But most folks don’t like to push or pitch themselves. Instead, they hope their hard work will speak for itself and their manager will do the right thing.

But I’m here to tell you that waiting and hoping is a risky strategy. Not every employer looks out for their employees. Not every boss is going to fight for you.

Many employers try to keep their expenses down, and, for most businesses, salaries are the most significant expense. If an employer has many employees, reducing raises by a few percentage points can translate to millions in savings.

I want you to get comfortable with having a conversation with your manager about your performance every year before the employee review process begins. For many companies, this happens in late Q4 and early Q1. If you wait until the decisions have been made, it is too late.

I also want you to feel good about asking for a promotion (and the associated raise) when you know you are performing at the next level and deserve it. I want you to feel confident asking for the raise you should receive every year to keep pace with inflation and cost of living increases.

* Be professional.

* Be prepared.

* Don’t feel shy.

* Don’t be nervous.

* Don’t feel “greedy.”

When you are providing value to your employer, you deserve commensurate compensation in return. And, if your employer doesn’t understand that, it’s time to find a new job with an employer who will pay you fairly.

Caveat

The current job market isn’t that great. So, be respectful about this process, and don’t risk losing your job. You should always be looking for your next opportunity. It’s easier to push for a raise or promotion when you know you could easily land a new job quickly. But if you have doubts about that, tread carefully.

Prepare for the conversation

Here we are in Q4, and the Fall weather reminds us that winter is coming. It is also a reminder that something else will be happening soon.

Your annual performance review.

Now, not every company has its annual performance reviews at the end of the year or the beginning of the next one. However, I know many do.

I also know most people put off writing their personal performance reviews until the last minute. Then, they scramble to gather information, ask people for input, and remember everything they did during the year.

Don’t be that person.

Start capturing information and notes for your review now. Doing this gives you plenty of time to prepare by spending a few minutes on the task each day.

Go back through your calendar for the year. Review the meetings that you attended. Doing this will jog your memory for a few activities and accomplishments that you may have forgotten.

Similarly, review your email inbox and other messages. Quickly scroll through starting at the beginning of the year, or search for key phrases. Most of the messages won’t be that useful or will look familiar. However, a few will jump out at you and remind you of projects, achievements, and other work you did during the year.

As you start writing your review, gaps will appear and help you create a to-do list of information you need to gather and conversations with people you may need to have. That’s normal. It sure is better to start this process now vs. waiting until it is too late.

A performance review is your opportunity to ask for that raise or promotion. So, capture as much quantitative data as possible to support your case (e.g., that project you worked on increased sales by 23%).

* Know your internal value (e.g., prepare several quantitative examples of how you’re helping the company succeed).

* Know your market value (i.e., what your compensation could be with a new employer).

You also need to understand what the expectations are for the level above you. Please tell me that your department has a levels and expectations document (e.g., a senior individual contributor is expected to demonstrate ABC and do XYZ).

Hopefully, you’ve been focused on clearly performing at that level this year. It’s also essential to demonstrate proof that you are operating at that level.

It’s hard to justify a significant raise if no one is aware of what you are doing. Don’t expect your manager to take your word for it either. Have proof.

However, I stand by my belief that you still deserve a raise that keeps pace with inflation if your performance is meeting expectations. Don’t settle for less.

Of course, some of your accomplishments will have to be qualitative. That’s OK, too. It helps to gather feedback from your coworkers. A few positive quotes always improve your review (e.g., “Susan saved our project from disaster. We couldn’t have finished on time without her help!”).

As I’ve mentioned in the past, bosses often forget all of the details of what you have accomplished. They don’t remember all of the work you did during the year. Writing your detailed review may make all the difference between a small raise and a much more significant raise or promotion.

I often talk with my clients about maximizing their earning potential during their long-term careers. To successfully negotiate raises and promotions — and you should be prepared to negotiate — you have to demonstrate that your value to the organization is continuously increasing.

In other words, if you continue to do the work you’ve always done at the level of contribution expected for your current level, that is not enough. That is called “meeting expectations.” You may get a minimal raise as a cost-of-living increase (e.g., 2–3%), or you may receive nothing (which means your compensation is actually decreasing).

The business of your career

I wish I had known earlier in my career how important it is to treat your career like a business. This is what I recommend to all of my clients.

You can’t just put your head down and work hard within the walls of your company, hoping that a good boss will always recognize your contribution and value and commensurately reward you. You have to market yourself, just as a business markets its products.

The world needs to know that you exist!

I work with so many talented people who have virtually no presence online or at real-world events either. They are so busy working hard — and living their lives — that they haven’t bothered to put themselves out there. They haven’t spent much time networking, public speaking, or writing.

Like any business that wants to succeed, you need to market the “business of you.” Find ways to demonstrate your expertise and talent outside of the office. Show the world what you know and how you think.

This boosts your perceived value, generates inbound interest from potential employers (or clients), and shows your current employer that they have competition for your talent.

Be visible

Being more visible is hard for many people, especially those of us who are a bit introverted. It requires that you find a way to share your knowledge and insights publicly.

You can create blog posts, write on sites like Medium, get interviewed on podcasts (or create your own), share your thoughts on social media, create videos (e.g., on Instagram, YouTube, Vimeo), etc.

Creating this content generates inbound interest in you. Being in demand is one way to always know your value and have negotiating power.

Some of my most talented employees, who were also good at marketing themselves, received unsolicited job offers every week. They didn’t have to hunt for work.

Jobs came to them, and they always knew their value. They weren’t shy about asking for raises and promotions because they knew they had options.

Note, I am not saying they used job offers as leverage to threaten me. I highly recommend that you never use that approach with your manager.

Instead, we would honestly discuss and evaluate job offers they had received. We’d talk about the pros and cons of taking the offer vs. staying. Sometimes, I had insight into that company and who their potential boss and colleagues would be.

If it genuinely seemed like a fantastic opportunity with no hidden gotchas, who was I to stand between them and a great chance to advance their career much more quickly than they could with me?

Be in demand

Asking for a raise or promotion is so much easier when you know that you are clearly delivering value above and beyond your current level.

You’re not asking for special treatment with a chance to prove yourself later. You have already proven that you are worth that investment.

When you are known and in demand, you are constantly receiving data that confirms your value. Putting yourself out there allows the right people to be aware of you and find you.

Sooner or later, someone will want to talk with you about an opportunity. There is nothing wrong with having conversations with people who are interested in hiring you.

It’s good practice to interview with the few that are of particular interest. If your current job, compensation, and career path all still seem great in comparison to something new, then, by all means, stick with your current job!

However, if your current manager and company don’t recognize and compensate you appropriately for your value — and a new company will — then it’s time to seriously consider an offer from that company. My most significant jumps in earning potential always happened when I took a new job.

But don’t be hasty

The grass isn’t always greener, so take the time to evaluate any new opportunity deeply. You don’t want to be hasty and jump ship only to regret it later. It’s also more challenging to find a new job in this market. The layoffs are continuing.

I have always used a spreadsheet to compare different opportunities on dozens of factors quantitatively (comment to let me know if you’re interested in this spreadsheet). It helps me remain a bit more objective, although emotion can’t help but play a role too. Sometimes, you are really excited about a new opportunity or really upset about something going on in your current job.

Regardless of whether you decide to stay in your current job or pursue something new, you should be compensated appropriately for the value you bring to an organization.

When you know that you are delivering above and beyond your current job level, have an honest conversation about your expectations and ambitions with your manager. If you never ask for something, you may never receive it!

My Invincible Career community can help

Members of my community have used our advice and support to find better jobs and receive promotions. For example, one person received a 10x return on his investment when he landed a new job with a much higher salary.  

We all want to be compensated as much as possible for our time and effort. We all want to find work that we enjoy.

However, we sometimes get stuck and find ourselves blocked without a clear path ahead. When this happens, it’s easy to get tunnel vision and feel like there’s no way to escape a bad job or get paid what we are worth.

That’s why it helps to join a friendly and supportive community of people who have been there and done that. We can help you explore options, prepare for your job search, practice job interviews, and hold you accountable for making progress.

“After a year of receiving poor advice from recruiters and design professionals, it wasn't until I joined Larry's group where my career started to head in the right direction. The advice I received from Larry and other professionals in his community was instrumental in improving my resume, portfolio, increased my results in interviews, and even got me into writing. I have been very fortunate to have Larry as a mentor, and I can't recommend joining his Invincible Career community enough.”

— Christopher Schutt

The weekly check-ins and the accountability to the group have helped many people overcome obstacles. More importantly, it encourages you to invest in yourself and your happiness and fulfillment.

If you are feeling stuck and nothing is working, lean on us and let the community help you break free.

➡️ Learn more about my community…

⬆️ Scroll to the top if you want to listen to my more detailed reading of this article🎧

I’m Larry Cornett, a success coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane.

Let me start by saying I’m using a metaphor here. I haven’t hunted since I was a teenager in the Midwest. I love animals, so please don’t take my talk of “hunting” literally and miss the advice I’m trying to share in this article.

Human beings have been acquiring food to survive for millions of years. We’ve used a combination of active/direct and passive/indirect methods to find the animals and plants we eat.

* Actively hunting, scavenging, and gathering food in the moment.

* Building traps, nets, etc,. to capture animals and recover them later.

* Planting crops to harvest much later.

Many modern-day humans have transitioned to a very different model of acquiring the meals we need. We work in jobs, get paid, and use that money to purchase food in grocery stores.

However, oddly enough, we can still leverage the three methods of hunting, trapping, and planting to gain what we now need to survive: a job. We even use the phrase “job hunt” to describe this process, which is rather telling.

Many job seekers focus almost exclusively on the hunt. They do everything necessary to hunt for a job actively (e.g., applying online and sending resumes). But they ignore the other two powerful methods of capturing and harvesting opportunities for the future.

This is a mistake you don’t want to make.

Only hunting for a job when you desperately need one is a risky move. People often make hasty decisions when the clock is ticking. You’ll be more empowered, less stressed, and more successful if you also trap potential opportunities and plant seeds that will yield an evergreen harvest of interest in you. You should always be looking for new and better opportunities, and methods 2 and 3 are much better suited for that.

When I work with clients who need a new job immediately, I recommend combining all three strategies with an emphasis on 1 and 2. But when a client is still employed and seeking a better job, I prefer emphasizing 2 and 3 with a careful use of 1.

1. Hunting

Humans fed themselves and their tribes by hunting and gathering, dating as far back as 2 million years ago. They actively searched for whatever they could find to survive. They couldn’t passively wait around and hope food would land in their laps. Instead, they sought an immediate fulfillment of their needs.

Hunting is a valuable strategy when you need a quick solution to an urgent problem. You need a job ASAP!

However, I recommend a targeted approach vs. the clumsy “spray and pray” I see many job seekers using now. I’ve read more than one account of people applying for hundreds of jobs online and blasting their resumes to everyone they can find. Big surprise, it doesn’t work. One person lamented, “I applied to a hundred jobs and didn’t get a single request for an interview.”

Instead, I ask my clients to be laser-focused on the job they want and the employers they find most interesting.

* What is your ideal next role?

* Who is your ideal next employer?

* Who is your ideal next boss?

You should have only 1-3 roles in mind for your next job. For example, you may ideally want a job as a Lead Designer, but you’d also accept a Senior Designer role if you were really excited about the opportunity.

Be clear about the job you want and focus your sales pitch on selling yourself as the ideal candidate. If you have a dozen roles in mind, your resume and LinkedIn will be all over the place and won’t appeal to hiring managers and recruiters.

Focus!

Similarly, you should have perhaps 3-10 employers in mind for your next job. Be picky with the hunting strategy. Create a list of ideal employers, start tracking down the potential hiring managers, and find a way to get a warm introduction.

The market isn’t great for job seekers right now. Employers have their pick of thousands and thousands of candidates. Stack the deck in your favor and get introduced to hiring managers and recruiters. Find your inside champion, who will help shepherd you through the interview process. This makes all the difference in the world! It certainly helped me land all the jobs I had during my tech career.

Now, it’s time to move on to one of my favorite ways of lighting up your network to help find you a job.

2. Trapping

About 9,000 years ago, humans began building traps to capture prey. Instead of actively hunting, we used these more sophisticated traps and nets to serve as an extension of our capabilities.

Think of it as an early creation of systems to automate food procurement. Now, instead of being limited to what you and your tribe could actively hunt during waking hours, you could deploy traps to work for you 24x7 in a more scalable way.

Similarly, you can deploy “nets” to attract and secure interest in you and your capabilities 24x7 in a more scalable way than panicking and scrambling to find a job at the last minute. When you activate key helpers in your network, each expands your reach and ability to trap new opportunities.

They’ll help you capture things you never could on your own. But the activity is still targeted. Your friends know who you are and what you are seeking. Contrast this with people who indiscriminately toss their net to the four corners of the earth. Their net gets stretched thin and tangled up in everything that comes by while a prime catch slips past.

I ask my clients to reengage and reactivate their networks, which I’ll recommend to you, too. It’s essential to do this from a place of honestly wanting to reconnect, since you shouldn’t only reach out to people when you need them for something. You can’t just contact people when you want to use them for an introduction or a job. No one likes that.

Resist the urge to add, “Oh, by the way. Can you also do me a favor and introduce me to Susan, the hiring manager for an open position at the company?”

Of course, during the conversation, your friend may naturally ask you, “So, what are you up to these days?”

If they do, you can mention what you’re doing now and what your plans are (e.g., “I’m working at company ABC. But, I’m actually considering my next move. It’s time for a change.”)

When you light up your network, you now have dozens of people recognizing opportunities for you, bringing your name up when someone is hiring, and keeping their eyes open for a job that seems like a good fit for what you are seeking. These “nets” are capturing and sending you jobs to pursue. Sometimes, they’ll be able to make the warm introduction you need.

This brings us to one of the most powerful methods, which is a gift that keeps on giving for years and years and years.

3. Planting

Besides hunting and trapping, humans also discovered the power and scale of agriculture. But farming requires more patience. Planning, investment, and work upfront to plant crops will only yield a bountiful harvest later (i.e., not tomorrow or even next week).

When you plant an apple tree, for example, it can take around five years to mature. But it will then provide you with fruit for several years, thanks to that initial investment.

Content creation and marketing is the last strategy I recommend for my career coaching clients and even job seekers. Planting the seeds from your excellent mind won’t land you a job immediately, but it will provide examples of your knowledge, expertise, way of thinking, and point of view on things relevant to your profession.

More importantly, as you create and publish hundreds of articles over the years, your harvest will yield evergreen inbound interest in you.

* I’ve written 493 newsletters for Invincible Career.

* I’ve published 92 episodes of my podcast.

* I’ve written 228 articles on Medium.

* I’ve tweeted over 18,000 times.

* I’ve created over 170 videos.

It’s pretty amazing when a potential new client reaches out to me after reading an article I wrote seven years ago. I spent a couple of hours planting that “little seed” seven years ago, and it continues to bear fruit and attract people even today.

When you consistently put yourself out there day after day, month after month, and year after year, your harvest may come long after you’ve forgotten that you planted the seeds. But this is how you create an invincible career.

You want everyone to know who you are and how great you are. You want to become an opportunity magnet through trapping and—especially—planting, so you don’t feel forced to scramble and hunt for your next job.

Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

Have you ever worked for a showboat?

That’s the kind of leader who wants all the attention. They lead from the top down and expect everyone to get in line behind their vision of the future. They’re not usually open to hearing new ideas from the organization below them.

Showboat leaders are incredibly charismatic figures. So, it’s not surprising that they rise to the top.

* They have a grand vision.

* They speak well.

* They are great on stage.

But it’s all about them.

They tend to use the company as a stepping stone to a higher platform. Over the decades of my experience in the corporate world, I’ve watched more than a few showboat leaders move up and on into politics.

Even becoming a CEO does not satisfy their ambition. They want a larger stage, more power, and more people hanging on their every word.

As long as your showboat leader has the right vision and strategy, your organization can succeed—if you and your team execute well. We can all think of a few companies with visionary genius CEOs who are more than happy to take all the credit for the company’s success. However, we also know it wouldn’t have been possible without the thousands of employees making that vision a reality.

There is an enormous risk with this type of leader. They leave a hollow organization behind when they walk away. They build nothing that lasts without their presence because they’ve never allowed their team to flex their own “vision muscles.”

Of course, there is a time and a place for visionary leadership. Startups and small companies need a strong leader at the top to chart the course and focus everything around a singular vision.

But, as companies mature and grow, they need a different type of leadership. You want a robust, diverse organization full of leaders who enable their teams to grow, thrive, and reach their full potential. You need managers who lift the entire team, not just themselves.

Why would you ever want to encourage a fragile organizational system that collapses when the showboat leader vanishes?

I once received feedback that I think was intended to be criticism. The person essentially said:

“You focus too much on getting the best out of your people. You seem really good at identifying and nurturing talent, but I want more vision from you.”

Oh boy, that sounds terrible. How dare I focus on the incredible intelligence and talent within my team so that over 100 people were operating at 100% of their potential? Yes, I should have focused on myself and tried to become the next Steve Jobs. 🙄

I’ve heard variations of this type of comment before.

* “We need a Steve Jobs type.”

* “We need a visionary leader.”

* “Focus on the strategy. Let the team take care of itself.”

For the record, I do enjoy vision work. I did it for my startup, and I do it for my companies now. But I have to be passionate about the company and the product. If I’m not (which is often the case when you work for some employer), I’m happy to step aside and let my creative, innovative people come up with spectacular visions of the future for the product and company.

Why not nurture that?

Why not support people who have that passion?

My point of view on leadership and vision has changed a bit over the years. Being a grand visionary and a great people leader and manager is impossible. Each of these roles is a full-time job.

* Creating, selling, and nurturing a big vision and strategic plan is a full-time job.

* It is a full-time job to lead your team, knock down barriers, shield them, enable them, coach them, and nurture their careers.

People who say they can successfully do it all are full of crap. I know some of these people. Most of them altogether drop the ball on taking care of their teams. They are too busy being visionary, speaking, standing in the spotlight, and driving their own ambitious careers.

One of my friends told me they had only one 1-on-1 meeting with their manager each year. One damn meeting in 365 days! Their boss didn’t give a crap about my friend’s career.

If you’re in a position to decide what kind of leaders you want to promote and hire, think hard about the culture you want to build. Think hard about the type of leader you want to be, too.

The best leaders have:

* Self-awareness and a desire to learn and grow (professionally and personally)

* Control over their emotions and an ability to mediate the conflict of others

* Compassion and a constructive drive to help others grow and succeed

* A desire to create healthy cultures and treat all with respect

* Dependability, reliability, and open and honest communication

* The courage to champion others and the conviction to champion a mission 

* The ability to see the big picture, prioritize goals, and enable success for all

* The skill to keep “the plates spinning” to deliver on time (without burnout)

Here’s my unpopular opinion:

My recommendation to avoid the risk of showboat leaders?

* Guide your most visionary, innovative, and creative people up the IC ladder to greatness. Don’t harness them to a “management plow.”

* Guide your most compassionate, operational, and reliable champions up the management ladder to greatness. Don’t punish them for lack of vision.

Thank you for reading Invincible Career®. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

My guest for this episode is Tim Yeo (@timyeo on Twitter). Tim coaches introverts to have impact and influence without pretending to be extroverts at The Quiet Achiever.

He is currently Design Director @ IBM, helping Enterprise clients transform their businesses with enterprise scale at startup speed. In IBM, Tim focuses on DesignOps for the Customer Transformation design practice in Australia.

Previously, Tim was the first UX and Design leader at fintech startups @Finder, @OFX and @Prospa where he hired, established and scaled design teams from scratch.

Best known for saying complex things simply. He's also a keynote speaker, bookbinder and currently living the nomad life with no permanent address in Adelaide, Australia with his partner and the fluffiest Old English Sheepdog ever.

We talk about

* Introversion and job searching, job interviews, and getting noticed

* How to be an introvert and still get ahead in your career

* The kind of coaching Tim does with introverts.

* The workshops Tim teaches

Where to find Tim

* The Quiet Achiever

* Twitter

* LinkedIn

Thank you for reading Invincible Career®. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

My next live fireside chat with Q&A will be on Monday, June 26th. Join us to talk about careers, job searches, job interviews, offer negotiation, professional growth, and more!

I want to thank the folks who gave me feedback about how to keep improving this newsletter. I’ve already incorporated some of it and made changes.

One excellent piece of feedback from Michelle was to be more inclusive with my career advice and not always talk about tech jobs, for example. Many folks work hourly 9-5 jobs (i.e., not on salary) and blue-collar jobs. They also want to leverage their skills to land better-paying jobs, get promoted, etc.

I spent many years of my life working in jobs like that before I ended up in tech. The good news is some strategies will help you get ahead in any job in any industry (e.g., IT, retail, restaurant, construction, manufacturing, health care, etc.).

During my previous non-tech career, I found ways to get promoted and land better jobs. I also sat on the other side of the table as a supervisor and leader, so I know who performed well and got ahead vs. those who did not (and occasionally got fired).

Here is an overview of my twisting career path and various jobs. It doesn’t include every job, believe it or not.

* As a child, I had a paper route, operated a lemonade stand, mowed lawns, sold magazines door to door, and did farm work.

* During high school, I worked at a grocery store (e.g., stocking shelves and bagging groceries), mowed lawns and other yard work, and did some farm work on the side.

* I joined the military to help pay for my college education, went through Army Basic Training in Fort Knox, and ended up in the National Guard for many years, first as a tank gunner and then as an ambulance medic.

* I also worked at fast-food restaurants, was an engraver at a trophy shop, worked in receiving and stocking at Kmart, held a temporary job at a road construction company, and became a night security guard.

* While I was finishing up college, I ended up working almost full-time as a police dispatcher.

When I worked in a job long enough, I often received promotions. Looking back, some lessons I took away helped me with the rest of my career. I hope some of this advice will be useful for you, too.

Be good at what you do

I know this advice sounds obvious. But I’ve encountered many folks who expect raises and promotions when they’re still not very good at their jobs. Some people think that time on the job is all that matters, which is not true. Other people think they should get raises simply because they need the money. Sorry, business doesn’t work that way, either.

* “Hey, I’ve been working here for a year. Isn’t it time for a promotion?”

* “My rent went up, so I need a raise.”

If you demand more money when you’re not that good at your job yet, don’t be surprised if your employer replaces you with someone else.

You must be competent and provide solid value if you want a raise. You want your employer to worry about losing you.

You must perform better than your current position if you want a promotion. I’ve mentioned this before. No employer wants to promote someone and hope they’ll be able to handle the new responsibilities. It doesn’t end well if it doesn’t work out. That’s how folks get demoted or fired.

I once worked for a company that provided awards, medals, trophies, plaques, etc. I started as a trophy assembler. Exciting, huh? But I was fast, competent, and showed up for work on time. Plus, I didn’t break trophies and damage expensive materials like some folks did (e.g., when they drank too many “complimentary beers” from the fridge). One day, my boss asked if I was willing to learn how to run a computerized engraving machine. I said, “Yes,” and demonstrated that I was a fast learner. That resulted in a promotion and raise.

Keep learning and growing

If you’re ok with a job just being a job, then you may not worry too much about your professional development. Maybe your job just pays the bills, and you focus your energy and passion on something outside of work (e.g., writing books, making art, playing in a band).

However, if you are ambitious and want to move up, you must always seek opportunities to acquire new skills, knowledge, and experience. Some employers will have programs to support this growth and invest in you. For example, one of my employers was a university, and I could take courses at a discounted rate. Take advantage of perks like this!

If your employer doesn’t provide learning and training programs, invest in yourself. Set a career goal, make a plan (see below), and find ways to educate yourself.

I had a guest on my podcast a few years ago who did just that. Sam Sycamore was a landscape carpenter worried about his future financial security and physical health. So, he taught himself web development every night after work. He eventually landed some gigs and changed his career forever. He’s now a developer relations engineer, making much more money than before, and he’s much happier.

Be reliable

Reliability is one of those things you think should go without saying. Of course, you should be a reliable and dependable employee. We instilled this in our children as they entered the working world.

It was funny to see them being appreciated by their managers and kept on board even as the companies let other employees go. It was true during my previous jobs, as well. I often got promoted simply because I was one of the few who always showed up for their shifts. I also lasted longer in many of my jobs than those who kept quitting every few months.

For example, I was “promoted” to squad leader during Army basic training, mostly because I wasn’t a screw-up.

* I listened and paid attention.

* I executed orders.

* They could trust me to get work done without a lot of oversight.

Later, during my service in the National Guard, they promoted me to platoon sergeant for similar reasons.

* I showed up for duty, and I showed up on time.

* I didn’t show up drunk or high (or fail drug tests).

* I worked hard and got things done without trying to get out of tasks, sneak off to take a nap, or disappear before a job was done.

This strategy seems obvious, but you’d be surprised by the number of employees who fail at the following. If you want to get ahead at work, your boss should be able to count on you to:

* Show up for the shifts you’re scheduled to work.

* Show up to work on time.

* Do the work you’re supposed to do.

* Complete your work on time with quality.

* Tell people if you’ll miss work (e.g., sick) or show up late.

Don’t be a pain

We’ve all worked with people who were a thorn in the manager’s side. I’ve worked in a variety of industries for all kinds of employers. I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff.

For example:

* We had a random drug test once, and some guys were freaking out and trying to leave. Apparently, they were at a party the night before and had snorted a lot of cocaine. Yeah, that didn’t end well.

* Another person I worked with would bring a tumbler of coffee to work daily, which was heavily laced with scotch (we all could smell it).

* A couple of people I worked with would take an afternoon break to drink beers in the parking lot. They returned to work feeling pretty good and often accidentally broke lots of stuff (e.g., materials, tools). They eventually got fired.

* One coworker loved to argue with the boss about every little thing in front of everyone else. Pro tip: Bosses hate that.

If you’re more trouble than you’re worth (i.e., not providing enough value for the stress you create), you’re certainly not going to receive promotions or raises. Sooner or later, you’ll most likely end up losing your job.

Note: I’m not saying you should kiss your manager’s butt or endure mistreatment. It’s ok to ask questions, push back on unreasonable requests, and expect fair treatment. But do so professionally. And it’s usually a good idea to have challenging conversations with your boss in private, not in a team meeting or in front of other employees.

Have a plan

Where do you want to end up in your career?

What are your life goals?

What’s next for you?

Sometimes, career growth isn’t very likely with your current employer. There may not be much internal mobility. Or, it may take a very long time to move up in the company.

A friend of mine knew he would be stuck in a dead-end job if he stayed with his current employer. So, he looked for opportunities to get promoted by taking a job with a new company that had a position open for a supervisor.

Another friend was in a similar situation but had bigger plans to open his own business one day. He saved money, networked with the right people, and created a business plan. He launched it many years ago and turned it into a very successful business, never returning to his old profession and low hourly pay.

You must establish goals and create a plan if you care about getting ahead, making more money, and moving up the career ladder. When you know what you want, it’s easier to make the right moves to set you up for success later.

Connect and network

When I was a security guard, I got to know the local police officers and dispatchers pretty well. We developed a friendly relationship since I always showed up for work, did a good job, and became a supervisor (being reliable and sticking around helped me get promoted).

One dispatcher and a couple of the younger officers talked me into applying to become a dispatcher. It was a full-time role with much better pay and benefits.

I’m an introvert, so I’ve often put my head down and focused on my work. But, building relationships will open the door to new opportunities.

Networking outside your workplace is also a great way to learn about events, meetups, potential new employers, and job opportunities you might not otherwise discover.

* Your local gym. One of my gyms was an excellent place for networking. Members were always connecting people with potential clients, customers, and employers. Friends like to help friends.

* Local meetups. I’ve attended local meetups with ambitious professionals and business owners. It’s great for referrals and introductions.

* Local business events and parties. One year, one of my friends invited me to his office holiday party. Usually, I wouldn’t want to attend something like that. But, I discovered it was a good way to expand my professional network. I’ve talked about the power of “weak ties” before.

* Local town celebrations, volunteer work, and outdoor recreation events. Your network is your most valuable asset for advancing your career. You are limiting yourself if you only connect with people you see daily at work or in your personal life. Get out there and meet new people!

* Trade associations and labor unions. I’m not as familiar with these, but some friends speak highly of them for getting the support you need to advance your career.

If you have a plan for where you want to go, try to network with people already in the profession, industry, or business you’re interested in pursuing. Build bridges now to open doors later. Yes, I’m mixing my metaphors. 🤣

Step up

“Not my job.” — People who don’t get promoted

I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard someone say that. They’d be asked to take care of something, and they’d say, “Nah, that’s not my job.”

I was always the person to step up and say, “I’ll take care of it.” And I actually did.

I can remember many times during my past jobs and military experience when someone would ask for a volunteer to take on some task. If no one immediately raised a hand to do it, I would. More often than not, being bold and accepting more responsibility lead to good things for my career.

People who get ahead are the ones who will occasionally step up and do more, often without being asked, because they know it needs to get done.

* Going beyond what was asked.

* Noticing a problem and proactively fixing it.

* Taking care of a task when someone else drops the ball.

* Taking responsibility and making things right.

* Being brave and taking chances.

* Making suggestions for improvements.

Now, I’m not saying you do this all the time and forever. It’s not acceptable for an employer to get the work of three employees out of you for the price of one (and that does happen).

When you do go above and beyond, make sure it's noticed. Document what you’ve done and use it as supporting evidence for raises and promotions later. If your employer takes advantage of your hard work and never rewards you, it’s time to look for a new job.

Seriously.

Move up or move on. You deserve to be compensated when you’re one of the great ones at work.

Know your value

Much of this advice may have come across as a one-way street with the balance of power in the hands of employers. It can feel that way if you don’t know your worth and stay active in the job market.

If you do great work for your employer, you deserve to be compensated appropriately. When you go above and beyond (e.g., work harder and smarter than others), you should expect raises and promotions when the time is right.

The working relationship goes both ways. If an employer doesn’t recognize your value, treat you well, and honor your professional requests for raises and promotions, it’s time to move on. That’s why you should always be actively looking for your next great job, interviewing, and ready to go when necessary.

For example, one of my previous employers did not live up to a promise regarding my work schedule. They refused to make it right, so I quit on the spot. At another employer, I found out that a new, inexperienced employee was hired at a higher hourly rate than I was receiving.

I asked my supervisor about it, and he said, “Oh, you’re a college boy. I pay you less because you probably won’t stick around.”

I laughed and responded, “Well, you’re right about that. I quit.” I left that day and didn’t go back.

I tell everyone I coach, “Always be looking for your next opportunity.” You never know when your situation might change (e.g., an unfortunate re-org, layoffs, or company troubles).

When you’re prepared, you can move on to something better quickly.

P.S. Don’t forget to save your seat and add my live fireside chat event to your calendar!

Thank you for reading Invincible Career®. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

I hosted another live fireside chat via Zoom last month. In this podcast episode, I share some of the questions and answers we discussed.

As usual, people sent me questions ahead of time. But in this session, we also covered questions raised during the Zoom.

For example:

* “What is there to write about (related to my profession)?”

* “Do I even want a career anymore? Do I want to do something for myself?”

* “I changed careers and industries… how can I best adapt to a new job and collaborate with my new boss?”

* “How do I find a great product leadership job in this challenging economy?”

I recorded the call and uploaded it for this newsletter’s podcast episode. Scroll up, hit play, and enjoy!

By the way, if you’d like to attend the next fireside chat, I’m hosting it on May 30th. Sign up here to save a seat.

I’ll be sharing feedback on LinkedIn profiles and answering other questions you submit using the form on the event page. There’s still time to send me yours!

This week’s professional development challenge

Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I currently live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

I hosted a live fireside chat via Zoom last month, and I’ve already shared the first half of the Q&A. This is part 2.

People sent me questions ahead of time; then I shared my answers with the attendees. We had some more detailed discussions later.

For example:

* “How to adjust to a new controlling boss?”

* “How do I persuade my colleagues to take action on one of my initiatives?”

* “What questions can I ask in an interview to make sure my manager is one of the good ones?"

* “What questions can I ask in an interview to make sure the company is healthy and it's not a toxic environment?”

I recorded the call and uploaded it for this newsletter’s podcast episode. Scroll up, hit play, and enjoy!

By the way, if you’d like to attend the next fireside chat, I’m hosting it on April 24th. Sign up here to save a seat.

I’ll be sharing feedback on LinkedIn profiles and answering other questions you submit using the form on the event page. There’s still time to send me yours!

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Cross-publish Your Writing This week, your Invincible Career exercise is to take one of your previously written articles (e.g., on your blog or Medium) and cross-publish it to LinkedIn. If you aren’t already aware of this, LinkedIn has a native article format that gets pretty good engagement. They also have a newsletter feature if you’re interested in trying it out.

Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I currently live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

I hosted a live fireside chat via Zoom last month. People sent me questions ahead of time, then I shared my answers with the attendees. We had some more detailed discussions later.

For example:

* “What can I do to stand out amongst hundreds of other applicants?”

* “Should I change my resume?”

* “What are some strategies to network more effectively with professionals at my level or higher and what are some ways to maintain those relationships long-term?”

I recorded the call and uploaded it for this newsletter’s podcast episode. Scroll up, hit play, and enjoy!

By the way, if you’d like to attend the next fireside chat, I’m hosting it on March 27th. Sign up here to save a seat.

I’ll be sharing feedback on LinkedIn profiles and answering other questions you submit using the form on the event page. There’s still time to send me yours!

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Design or Redesign Your Website This week, your Invincible Career exercise is to settle on a host (if you don’t already have one) and start designing and building your website. If you already have a website, this is an excellent opportunity to review it to make sure you’re still happy with what you created. But if you’re like most of us, your website is probably due for an update and refresh.

Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I currently live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane. It’s been quite rainy and foggy lately.

Invincible Career® is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

He frowned and said, "That's a stupid idea. It will never work." 

"How do you know? We haven't even tested it yet!" 

He leaned back in his chair with a slightly smug look on his face. "I've been working on this product for five years. We've tested hundreds of concepts, and we tested something like this a couple of years ago. It failed."

She was frustrated. "This isn't the same, and timing matters. It tested well in the lab, so I want to get more data from an A/B test." 

He shook his head. "I disagree. That's a waste of resources." 

"Well," she said. "Looks like we're at an impasse. I guess it's time to escalate this."

I lost count of how many meetings I attended like this when I worked in tech. You know, the ones that were supposed to be "collaboration sessions" but turned into debates?

We seem to have lost our way with team meetings. Too many arguments. Too many show-offs trying to prove how smart they are. Too many people trying to "win" instead of actually working together to reach a great outcome.

Unfortunately, this type of exchange isn't uncommon in the working world. Even when we say we're going to collaborate, brainstorm, and discuss an issue in a meeting, it's actually not very collaborative. Everyone has an opinion, emotions run high, and people get stuck on their pet theories. It becomes a debate to see who can persuade the other that they are right — or force them to back down through intimidation tactics. 

It's probably true in every profession and industry, but boy oh boy, do we ever love to argue in Silicon Valley! Almost every meeting felt like a debate with one or two literal geniuses in the room (just to make sure you felt like an inferior little monkey). So many of us love to argue, demonstrate how smart we are, and crush our competitors in debates. 

I'm not saying I was above it all. I competed in debate and persuasive speaking when I was younger. As my wife will tell you, I kind of enjoy arguing. I don't take it personally. It's strangely fun for me. 

However, as much as some of us might enjoy these confrontational discussions, it's not the most effective way for teams to work together toward a common goal. When everyone is trying to win, the team often loses. 

Even in the healthiest of collaborative sessions, the full cognitive horsepower isn't fully aligned to drive the process forward in the same direction at the same time. 

* One person proposes a creative idea.

* Another person starts shooting it down. 

* Someone else tries to share useful data they think might help the discussion. 

* Yet another person says the idea doesn't "feel right."

* And, someone else in the room is already at the whiteboard trying to share a completely different idea. 

What if everyone's thinking process was aligned so the team was rowing in the same direction at the same time? What if people stopped viewing each other as opponents and competitors sitting across the debate table? What if we joined each other side by side and felt like partners working together on an issue? 

Not us vs. them. Instead, it becomes us vs. the problem. 

With parallel thinking, you don't stop and debate every point as it is made (unlike traditional meetings). It reminds me a bit of writing. It's a slow, laborious process when people try to write and edit at the same time. They barely get any work done. But, if you separate the two activities, you can get into a creative flow state. Write and let the ideas stream onto the screen with no judgment, no editing, no stopping to fix misspellings or grammatical mistakes. Then, once your writing session is finished, return to the document later to edit and revise it. 

Imagine working together to be creative at the same time, positive at the same time, and look for issues at the same time. No more competing across the table for things you want vs what they want.

I worked in traditional 9-5 hourly jobs with the usual bosses and coworkers for about 10 years before I entered graduate school (and everything changed). For the most part, these jobs were not high-stress jobs, although there were some tense moments as a police dispatcher.

Most of the folks I worked with treated a job as a job, not a career. People worked just hard enough. I even had veteran employees tell me to, “Slow down and take it easy. You still get paid the same. Don't make anyone else look bad.”

There wasn't much competition at all, and promotions were kind of rare. In my experience, you got promoted simply by sticking around long enough. Staff turnover was incredibly frequent. I became "Delta 47” when I stayed long enough to become the shift supervisor. We were all friends and working in the trenches together.

The salaried corporate world was so very different. When I joined that experience about 30 years ago, I discovered it was much more competitive.

* So many arguments about who was right or wrong.

* Trying to persuade others to your point of view.

* People deliberately withholding information as a power play.

It seems like the spirit of true collaboration was missing. It was more like coopetition. We cooperated enough to get work done, but no one could forget the underlying competition for:

* Resources

* Power

* Visibility

* Credit

* Bonuses

* Raises

* Promotions

The higher purpose of what we were doing was lost, too. If individuals, teams, and organizations are all competing on some level and to some degree, what an unfortunate loss of energy and focus that is. Energy that could be aligned to do amazing things for customers and humanity.

I'm going to use two different metaphors to describe what the true spirit of collaboration might look like for your teams and companies (i.e., tables and hats). This is inspired by two sources that have stuck in my mind ever since I encountered them:

* Sitting on the Same Side of The Table: The Art of Collaborative Selling by Michael Levin.

* Six Thinking Hats by Dr. Edward de Bono (my affiliate link).

I’m going to start with the “table concept” because it’s a simple mindset shift and approach. I should say simple to understand, but not always simple to do, of course.

1. Sit on the same side of the table

I think I first heard the phrase "Sit on the same side of the table" many years ago from Jason Calacanis, an angel investor. Since then, I've learned that there's a great book on sales written by Michael Levin called Sitting on the Same Side of The Table: The Art of Collaborative Selling. The idea is to shift from a hardcore negotiation style (i.e., facing each other across the table) to sitting side-by-side with your customer while you work out solutions that are good for both of you.

The current world of Zoom meetings forces us into meetings where it appears as if we are across from one another. But, think back to the last meetings you had in a physical room. If it was a confrontational meeting and you expected some debate and argument, you probably sat in chairs across the table from the folks on the other side of the issue. I know that most of my tense meetings were like that. We certainly didn't sit next to each other.

However, I remember deliberately experimenting with this seating arrangement in one critical meeting with the head of product from another organization. There had been some tension between our teams, and disagreement about the direction our products were going and how they interacted.

I wanted the meeting to be a collaborative session instead of combative. So, when I entered the conference room, I sat next to them on the side of the table by the whiteboard. It was funny. They pulled back a little and looked at me with surprise. But I said, "I want to sketch some concepts on the whiteboard and show you a prototype on my laptop."

I was completely transparent about the goals. I wanted the solution to be something we agreed upon and would end up being a win for both of us — with the ultimate win being for the company if it worked for both of our products. The session was pretty amazing, and it changed the nature of our relationship from that day forward.

No, we didn't become best friends. But I like to think there was mutual respect, and they actually went out of their way to meet with me many months later and share some helpful advice.

There is incredible power in solving a problem together vs. being opponents facing each other on opposing sides of the table. Literally, in person. Figuratively, online.

2. Wear the “same hat”

I learned about this collaboration and decision-making model in Dr. Edward de Bono's book. Thank you for introducing me to this book, Justin!

"The main difficulty of thinking is confusion. We try to do too much at once. Emotions, information, logic, hope, and creativity all crowd in on us. It is like juggling with too many balls."- Edward de Bono

It’s all about being in the same thinking mode at the same time vs. the typical opposing mindset of disagreement and argument. You all are creative at the same time. You all look for flaws at the same time. Stay in that mode together until it's time to switch.

* White hat: neutral and objective, concerned with facts and figures.

* Red hat: the emotional view.

* Black hat: careful and cautious, the "devil's advocate" hat.

* Yellow hat: sunny and positive.

* Green hat: associated with fertile growth, creativity, and new ideas.

* Blue hat: cool, the color of the sky, above everything else - the organizing hat.

Now, some people love this concept, and some are not fans. If everyone isn't fully on board with the process, it won't work. If psychological safety is absent in the organization, it won't work.

"Team psychological safety is a shared belief held by members of a team that it's OK to take risks, to express their ideas and concerns, to speak up with questions, and to admit mistakes - all without fear of negative consequences." (source)

The power of the "Thinking Hats" approach is to make sure everyone is collaborating on a problem in the same mode at the same time. Instead of arguing, debating, and defending your ideas or point of view against your colleagues, you talk about the problem in a collaborative way as you view it from the same perspective at the same time.

Imagine viewing a large, complex building from the outside. If each person is on a different side of the building, what you think you’re seeing and how you would describe it is very different from everyone else. But, if you all come together and visit each side of the house at the same time, you now have a shared perspective and can have a great conversation about what it is.

This is referred to as “parallel thinking” in the book. It’s constructive collaborative thinking vs. adversarial thinking. It’s sharing everything together in the most open and honest way possible to ensure everyone has all of the information required to produce the best possible outcome.

You don’t withhold information that could help simply because you’re “trying to win” and don’t want to share relevant data that might help your opponent. Parallel thinking aligns the team fully with one thinking approach at the same time, viewing the problem from the same perspective simultaneously.

You are not opponents. It is not you vs. them. It is all of you vs. the problem. The colored hats are quick cues to move into a specific mode of thinking, communicating, and sharing. De Bono makes the point that the language we usually use to talk about emotions, negative consequences, creativity, etc. is insufficient and has some baggage (e.g., people are reluctant to fully share their personal feelings about an issue with their boss).

The hats make the exercise more objective and not about the individual. For example, you’re not being negative. You’re simply sharing Black Hat thinking and objectively pointing out things that might go wrong with a proposed course of action.

I’ll briefly summarize each of the hats. But, this barely covers what is available in his book.

Blue hat mode

Usually, the group assigns one person to act as the "blue hat." They play the role of facilitator/moderator:

* They set the stage for the discussion (e.g., state the purpose of the meeting, identify the issue or problem, describe the desired outcome for the session).

* They share the proposed agenda with the sequence of using some or all of the hats as they work on an issue (e.g., “Let’s start with some red hat to get everyone’s feelings on the issue. Then, we’ll move into white hat and share all of the data and information we have. After that, I’d like to move into green hat and start generating some new ideas for how we might solve the problems.”).

* They will remind participants to stay in a specific mode of thinking (e.g., “Tom, that’s black hat thinking and we’re still in the yellow hat part of the discussion. Save that for later, ok?”).

* At the end, the blue hat asks for the outcome and talks about next steps (e.g., “So, we all agreed that this is the best course of action. Next steps, lets loop in the rest of the team to start planning the work on this new strategy.”).

White hat mode

In white hat mode, you share the information and data you have with your colleagues, but without any emotional interpretation or bias. What is actually happening? Not what you imagine is happening. Not how you feel about it.

Everyone puts all the facts on the table together, while striving to be neutral and objective. Unlike most meetings, everyone should share every bit of information and data they are aware of, even if it doesn’t support their personal agenda.

* No emotional reactions.

* No arguing about the data.

* No debating a piece of information.

* No judgment of the facts.

* Think "Mr. Spock."

Red hat mode

In typical business discussions, you’re not supposed to allow your emotions to cloud your judgment. You try to avoid becoming heated during a debate. The first person to lose their cool loses the argument, right?

Well, believe me, emotions do run high in business meetings. But, it’s often not a shared experience and it’s rarely constructive. It’s hard to feel safe and creative when an executive is cursing, shouting at you, and threatening you. Ask my friend how it felt to have a laptop tossed at them…

The red hat mode allows everyone in the meeting to safely express feelings, emotions, and intuition. There is no need to explain or justify feelings. What people sense or feel is always valid while in this mode of thinking and sharing.

Note: this part of the session doesn’t take very long. It’s a “gut check” moment and gives people a chance to express things without the dispassionate sharing of data (white hat), a demand for positivity (yellow hat), etc.

Black hat mode

Black hat mode is going to feel very familiar. It seems to be the go-to activity for many people in meetings. I’m sure you’ve worked with several folks who almost immediately shoot down any idea and are happy to explain why something will never work. I sure have!

It is a valid and useful thinking activity (just ask your Legal team), but it is so much more effective when everyone agrees to be in that mode at the same time vs. debating and arguing throughout the entire meeting.

* The black hat is about caution and survival.

* You can identify things that might be unprofitable, unethical, destructive, dangerous, illegal, etc.

* Discuss the potential downside, risks, flaws, weaknesses, and concerns.

* What could go wrong?

* How will we react if something goes wrong?

Black hat is incredibly useful for planning and coming up with contingency plans, too. But, the magic of the process is that you engage in this type of thinking together and at the right time in the meeting, instead of constantly derailing a productive discussion.

Yellow hat mode

The optimistic mode of the yellow hat is kind of fun. It is especially enjoyable to watch one of your colleagues — who is usually quite negative about everything — suddenly start sharing positive examples of potential benefits, value, and opportunities.

Again, the magic is that everyone in the room is engaging in positive thinking at the same time. When is the last time you experienced that?

It’s a good idea to consider probabilities and reality even in this mode. Sure, it would be nice if a knight rode up on a unicorn and handed your team a billion-dollar budget, but it’s highly unlikely.

Some examples:

* What is our vision of the future?

* What are the opportunities ahead of us?

* What does success look like?

* How does the future change if we succeed?

* What are the ways this could work out well for us?

* How will this change people’s lives for the better?

* How could we improve this even more?

Green hat mode

If you’ve ever attended a brainstorming session, you’re familiar with wearing the green hat. If you had an excellent facilitator, they ensured that everyone stayed in the mode of generating new ideas before debating, arguing, or trying to interrupt someone’s creative flow.

* What is possible?

* How can we disrupt the industry?

* How far can we push things?

* What new ideas do we have?

* What is your wildest suggestion?

* What are the alternatives?

* How can you build on someone else’s idea?

* What course of action could we take to make this happen?

Note: I want to point out that not everyone can be put on the spot in a meeting and immediately let loose with creative ideas. Some of us — myself included — need time to be alone, think, and let things flow and simmer a bit.

I recommend you give your colleagues time to prepare for a proposed brainstorming meeting, know the agenda, review the data and information available, and generate some ideas on their own before coming to a green hat session to share and develop them together.

I know this was a lot to digest! Check out the book (Six Thinking Hats ) if you’d like to learn more about how to apply this methodology to your own team discussions.

Becoming allies, not competitors

First, let me be clear about something. You need a reasonably healthy culture — both company and organization — and psychological safety to open up and embrace the Six Thinking Hats methodology. You will fail if others refuse to commit to the process. You will fail if you don’t feel safe being completely honest and transparent with the information you have. It’s hard to be open and vulnerable if your colleagues simply take advantage of it to go for the kill and take the win.

However, if your team really does want to find a better way to collaborate, work together, and make decisions, there is hope. Introduce them to the book and the process. Start experimenting with it in your meetings. Take note of how it, hopefully, improves the quality of your discussions and outcomes.

Work can feel pretty amazing when your coworkers are genuinely your partners seeking the best outcomes (i.e., you’re on the same side of the table). I’ve had this experience in small startups. It feels magical to be aligned with a common goal and no hidden agendas.

Have you tried this approach in your organization before? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments!

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Define Your Professional Brand This exercise is about defining your professional brand. What do you want people to remember about your work reputation? What do you wish people would say about you when you’re not in the room? Capture a list of attributes you believe define who you are and how you want people to see you.

Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I currently live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane. I still believe I might grow up to be a beautiful butterfly one day.

Invincible Career® is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

"It used to be so easy for me to get a new job. I didn't even have to look or try. People came to me! But, now? Now I'm struggling to get to the final round and I haven't received any offers in over a year? Something has changed…" — My new client

My coaching client was pretty unhappy about this twist of fate. That wonderful well of endless jobs had surprisingly dried up.

Many smart and talented people have this experience. Getting a job in their 20s was easy. Almost too easy.

It was so easy that they never bothered to think about a career plan or create an intentional career path. Employers were plentiful and the job market was bountiful. Heck, jobs were falling out of the sky and landing in their laps It would always be like this, right?

Wrong.

The wild ride will come to an end, sooner for some people than others. If you haven't mapped out a plan, put yourself in the driver's seat, and controlled your path and destiny, you might find yourself kicked to the curb.

Ageism is real, folks. Age discrimination is illegal, but it's incredibly difficult to prove. You'll simply notice that people are no longer actively seeking you out and trying to recruit you for roles.

Sitting back and waiting to see what happens in your career isn’t a great strategy. Do you see yourself as more of a driver or passenger on your journey?

* Are you just along for the ride in your career?

* Do you feel like your career happened to you serendipitously?

Most people let their careers "just happen." They don't give much thought to planning their career path, looking for the best employers, and controlling their future until something goes wrong.

Suddenly, they notice that:

* They're being passed over for promotions.

* It's taking longer to find new jobs.

* Their career growth is slowing down.

* Their raises have flatlined.

* They're feeling unhappy, stressed, anxious, worried, and unfulfilled.

Eventually, they ask themselves:

"Is this really what I should be doing with my life?What's going wrong?How do I get back on a good path?" 

Create an intentional path

Where do you want your life to be in 20 years?

Can you get there more quickly? 

Let me stop for a moment and make something clear. I am not suggesting that you create a rigid 30-year career path and follow it from the start to the bitter end. We don't do that anymore, right?

If you are thoughtful and intentional during your journey, you will learn more about who you are and what you really want from life. You will change your mind, and that’s ok.

It seems like I change my career plans and path about every 10 years. While the thought of changing professions and careers may make some people feel stressed out, I find it exciting.

Rather than selecting a point in the future that’s attached to a specific profession or financial outcome (e.g., I must be a CEO, a billionaire, or a famous author), I prefer to ask people to envision a life they would find interesting, exciting, delightful, and fulfilling.

* Where do they live?

* How do they spend their days working?

* How do they spend time playing?

* Who are they spending their life with?

When you have a plan in mind, you’ll notice more opportunities that can help you with your journey.

I created a 91-page Invincible Career Manual for my clients that we collaboratively complete and review. It’s meant to evolve with you and be updated as your career grows and changes.

* If you’re already one of my clients, ping me to make sure you find your customized copy of the manual in our shared Google Drive folder.

* If you’re a member of my Career Accelerator, I’ll share a link to get your free copy of the manual in our private Slack channel.

* If you’re a premium subscriber to this newsletter, I’ll share a link to get your free copy of the manual in our Office Hours channel on Slack.

If you subscribe to the free version of this newsletter, use this link to get 20% off and download your own copy of the Invincible Career Manual! You can start using it right away to plan what you want for your career this year and beyond.

Design your ideal lifestyle 

One way to create a better career path is to focus on life design first. Design your lifestyle and then find a career that enables it. 

I'm not talking about the lifestyles of the rich and shameless. Don't be a silly child and say, "I want to own a private island with a jet and a yacht. Therefore I need a career that makes me a billionaire!" 

It’s great to be ambitious. But, try to be somewhat realistic, too.

* How do you want to spend your days?

* How do you want to structure your weeks?

* With whom do you spend most of your time?

* Where do you live?

* How do you keep yourself happy, healthy, and fulfilled? 

Craft your ideal job

Job crafting is the practice of changing your job to make it more engaging and meaningful. I also love to have my clients write their ideal job description as one way to pursue a role that would give them what they want for their career and life. We focus on the job, the employer/company, and their direct manager/boss.

Ideal job

Design your ideal job that is the right next step for your career.

* How would you define your ideal role? 

* What do you want to do more of in your next job?

* What do you want to eliminate in your next role?

Ideal employer

Defining your ideal employer sometimes feels like a scene from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You've probably had enough jobs that you know what you want more of from an ideal employer and what you want to avoid.

* This corporation is too large.

* This startup is too small.

* I don’t want to work for a company that’s dependent on ad revenue.

* I don't enjoy working on enterprise software.

* I enjoy companies that sell direct to consumer.

Ideal boss

Think back and remember what you’ve appreciated about your past bosses. Also capture the toxic traits of your bad managers.

* What does a great boss look like for you?

* What are your red flag issues to avoid?

* How do wish your future boss would behave and treat you?

Ideal independent business (if necessary)

Sometimes the best job is the one you literally create from scratch. I reached that point in my career.

I was tired of trying to fit myself into companies, organizations, and leadership cultures that weren’t a good match for my personality, values, and ambitions. So, I left the corporate scene and built my own business.

If that’s something you’re interested in doing one day, check out my Invincible Solopreneurs newsletter. I’m also planning a live workshop to help folks define and design a business based on their existing talents, skills, knowledge, and experience.

Why bother with a plan? 

For most people, staying in a job for too long has diminishing returns. On average, being employed at the same company for over two years will make you earn less over your lifetime — by about 50% or more.

If you’re not planning your promotion path and taking control of making it happen, you may not have a manager who will look out for you and ensure you get promoted when you deserve it.

If you know you need to move on to a better job to keep growing your career and maximizing your lifetime earning potential, having a plan ensures you make a smart move. Too many people end up jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire of an even worse situation.

A plan helps you do your homework and make a move to a great company, manager, and job.

* The right boss can accelerate your career.

* The wrong boss can damage it and set you back for years (or forever). 

* The right company can set you up for the rest of your career.

* The wrong company can waste years of your time and lower your lifetime earning potential. 

* The right company culture will let you have a great personal life.

* The wrong company culture will chew you up and spit you out.

A plan also helps you identify faster paths to your ideal end state. If you don't know where you want to go, it's kind of impossible to even notice or look for shortcuts. I found a shortcut and got the life I want decades ahead of where my traditional career was taking me. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life!

Drivers get what they want 

Drivers get what they want out of life. Passengers end up where someone else decides to drop them off. 

Those people who seem happier and more successful than you aren't better than you. They're just more confident, know what they want, and pursue it with a vengeance. 

They are in the driver's seat, controlling where their careers and lives are going.

You don't have to be a passenger. Don't let anyone stop you from climbing into the driver's seat of your career and life. 

It's not like you'll get a second chance to play this game. You get one life. Chart a course to end up where you want to go. 

Invincible Career Workshop

I'm considering creating a workshop on "How to Create an Intentional Career Path." Let me know your thoughts by voting on this poll.

Larry Cornett is a Personal Coach who can help you optimize your career, life, and business. If you’re interested in starting a business or side hustle someday (or accelerating an existing one), check out his “Employee to Solopreneur” workshop (coming soon).

Larry lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice to help others take complete control of their work and life. He’s also on Mastodon.

This year, I spent hundreds of hours researching and writing newsletter articles — and recording podcast episodes — to share with you. I listed the top 10 below, and I’ve also categorized most of the other articles and episodes for easier browsing.

If you found my advice and articles helpful this year and would like to support my continued writing and podcasting next year, please consider upgrading to a premium membership that also grants you access to:

* My private Invincible Career community of over 130 ambitious professionals (from entry-level to executives).

* Weekly professional development challenges and exercises delivered to your inbox.

* Exclusive office hours every Monday with the other premium subscribers and me.

Your support means a lot to me. Thank you! 😊

Welcome to my December wrap-up that summarizes and categorizes everything I published this calendar year.

When people ask for my advice on a career, work, leadership, or entrepreneurial topic, I can usually point them to a specific article that I’ve written on that very issue. You may already be a loyal subscriber, but I know that it’s easy to miss something over a year. I certainly do with the newsletters I follow.

So, enjoy this recap, and feel free to share the summary article with friends who might find some of the advice helpful!

My Top 10 Articles

I reviewed the stats for my articles, newsletters, and podcast episodes. These 10 rose to the top for the year.

* Use Your Purpose to Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

* Community chat - What are your wins this week?

* Invincible Tip - Instantly Make Twitter Better

* Invincible Tip - Follow the Money

* Landing Jobs by Building Relationships in a Remote World

* Introduce Yourself!

* 5 Things You Should Do Every Night

* Doing Work You Love - Interview with Chris Cornett, Surgeon

* Create Your Own Career Ladder

* Invincible Tip - Always Be Looking

By the way, I made some big changes to the newsletter and podcast this year (and launched two new newsletters and podcasts), which I announced here.

Articles organized by category

I thought it might help to organize all of my articles and podcast episodes into categories that you would find most useful. Enjoy!

My book chapters

* My Book - Reclaiming Your Power, Freedom, and Future

* Book Chapter - Becoming Invincible

* Book Chapter - Assessing Your Current Situation

* Book Chapter - Defining Your Vision of the Future

* Book Chapter - Identifying Your Blocks and Barriers

* Book Chapter - Embracing the Best You

* Book Chapter - Identifying Your Audacious Goals

* Book Chapter - Creating Your Winning Strategies

* Book Chapter - Making Your Achievable Plans

* Note: I shifted my book chapter articles and podcast episodes to my new Invincible Life newsletter starting in June, so seven additional chapters are there.

Career planning and performance

* Doing Work You Love - Interview with Chris Cornett, Surgeon

* Create Your Own Career Ladder

* You Can Follow Your Purpose as an Employee

* Your Future is Unpredictable

* Q&A from the Community

Job search, interviews, and negotiation

* Landing Jobs by Building Relationships in a Remote World

* Invincible Tip - Follow the Money

* Invincible Tip - Always Be Looking

* How to Safely Job Hunt Today While You're Still Employed — So You Don't Get Fired Later

* Be loyal to yourself, first!

* The Job Market Has Flipped — Again

Success

* Doing Work You Love - Interview with Chris Cornett

* Create Your Own Career Ladder

* Burn Your To-Do Lists in 2022

* How to Build Good Relationships in a New Job

* Remote Work and Power Dynamics

* How to Market Yourself to Get the Attention You Want and Deserve

Living your best life

* Use Your Purpose to Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

* 5 Things You Should Do Every Night

* Your Future is Unpredictable

* You Deserve Better

* Remote Work Has Saved Me $150,000

Solopreneurship and entrepreneurship

* This year, I launched a brand new newsletter just for people interested in solopreneurship and entrepreneurship: Invincible Solopreneurs. So, you can read all the articles there (subscribe to that newsletter if you’re interested).

Life lessons

* Use Your Purpose to Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

* The Gift of Rejection

* Losing Your Career Ambition

* This year, I also launched a brand new newsletter for people more interested in personal development: Invincible Life. It’s all about living your best life, life planning, self-confidence, empowerment, freedom, health, and happiness. You can read all the articles there (subscribe to that newsletter if you’re interested).

Personal and professional development

* Create Your Own Career Ladder

* What Do People Say About You?

* Your Account Has Been Suspended

* 5 Ways to Build Your Executive Presence

Networking

* Landing Jobs by Building Relationships in a Remote World

* Invincible Tip - Instantly Make Twitter Better

* Introduce Yourself!

* Invincible Tip - Always Be Looking

* How to Build Good Relationships in a New Job

* Seth Rogen's Take on Networking

* How to Market Yourself to Get the Attention You Want and Deserve

Invincible Tips

* Stand Up

* Follow the Money

* Check your face

* A Career Double-Dip

* Message One Person

* Follow Your School on LinkedIn

* Instantly Make Twitter Better

* The Business of Your Career

* Know When to Bounce

* Quote Tweet Someone

* Instantly Feel More Confident

* How to Build a Lifestyle Business in 30 Days for Less Than $30

* Always Be Looking

Office hours and professional development challenges and exercises (for premium subscribers)

* What Are Your Goals This Year?

* Break Your Big Goals into Subgoals

* Create a Plan to Achieve Your Goals

* Leverage Your Calendar

* Write the Story of You

* Create Your Elevator Pitch Intro

* Document Your Strengths and Weaknesses

* Define Your Professional Brand

* Why You Need a Website

* Find a Domain for Your Website

* Design Your Website

* Publish Content on Your Website

* Share Your Website

* Post to Your Personal Blog

* Publish on Medium

* Cross-publish Your Writing

* Learn about Self-publishing

* Research Newsletter Platforms

* Choose a Newsletter Platform

* Want to try Substack? Use my referral link to check it out.

* Identify Your Writing Focus

* Build Your Audience

* Professionally Leverage Social Media

* Get More out of LinkedIn

* Join the Creator Economy

* Share Your Portfolio

* Audit Your Professional Brand

* Assess the Progress of Your Plan

* Review Your Metrics

* Learn More About Google Analytics

* Adjust Your Plan

* How to Build a Powerful Network

* Nurture and Reignite Your Network

* Connect with New People

* Find Your Communities

* Upgrade Your Public Speaking Skills

* How to Find Speaking Events

* How to Host a Workshop

* How to Sit on a Panel

* Networking to Practice Your Communication Skills

* How to Be a Guest on a Podcast

* Planning Your Own Podcast

* Comparing Podcasting Solutions

* Record a Test Podcast Episode

* Choosing a Video Platform

* Choosing a Central Theme

* Record, Edit, and Publish a Video

* How to Grow Your Video Audience

* Are You Ready for Your Final Push for 2022?

* Capture Your Achievements for the Year

* Write Your Self-review

* Reflect on the Year

Whew! That’s it for the year. I hope this summary makes it easier for you to find a useful article to read (or reread). Share this with a friend who might be interested!

Your support helps!

I’m looking forward to writing more articles, interviewing new guests, and recording new podcast episodes for you next year. If you have suggestions for topics that you’d like me to cover, please leave a comment below or send me a message.

BTW, I have no employees, interns, or even an assistant. The newsletters and podcasts are a one-person labor of love. This is my passion and how I earn a living as a solopreneur to support my family.

If you’ve found my advice helpful, and you’d like to help support my efforts to produce it, please consider subscribing to the premium weekly newsletter. Take advantage of my Holiday Special and save 50% when you join us before the year ends!

This gives you access to:

* My private career community for ongoing advice, feedback, and support.

* Weekly professional development challenges and exercises delivered to your inbox every Monday.

* Exclusive office hours every Monday with me and the other premium community members.

Thank you for being a loyal reader this year. I appreciate your support!

Larry Cornett is a Personal Coach who can help you optimize your career, life, and business. If you’re interested in starting a business or side hustle someday (or accelerating an existing one), check out his “Employee to Solopreneur” workshops (coming soon).

Larry lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice to help others take complete control of their work and life. He’s also on Mastodon (it’s better than Twitter!).