What Career Game Are You Playing?
I recently read a Collaborative Fund blog post about investor games and found it fascinating. I kept thinking about it and realised the idea had some parallels when looking at it from a career lens.
In this article, I want to explore some career games people play. While there’s no wrong or right game to play, it’s essential to know what you’re doing and why so you don’t get carried away. This is also not an exhaustive list of games.
The signal game
The signal game is played by people who want to come off as doing a brilliant, essential or impactful thing. They would often optimise their careers by working at a well-known organisation so that others can think of them as intelligent, resourceful, creative — whatever people think of the organisation’s staff.
The adventurous game
People who play the adventurous game could literally wake up tomorrow, hear their friend’s idea and quit a well-paying job for a low-paying startup job. They’re pumped to try out new things, embrace uncertainty, are never afraid to fail and are the people who will carry all of your ideas on their head. In addition, because they love adventure, they gain considerable skills on the way. They’re creative, analytical, great communicators and marketers; they can even repair refrigerators.
The next big thing game
The next big thing game players are always looking for whatever is hot at the moment. They realise how fast the world changes and can quickly adapt to this next big thing. Big 4 firms are significant at switching strategy to the next big thing. Solar, Space, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, you’ll find them here. Unfortunately, because they’re looking for short-term windfalls without fully understanding what’s at stake, they’re very susceptible to scams.
The ownership/equity game
The ownership or equity game players realise that they have to own a part of something if they want to build real wealth. So you’ll find them starting and scaling startups or joining unproven startups in the very early stages. They’re very hard and focused workers who can take on multiple hats, learn fast and execute ruthlessly. These players can look beyond the inconveniences or lack of perks of today in exchange for a large reward in the future.
Some people just want more control over their future and would rather start enterprises than cede that power to an organisation.
A good primer on this game is Naval Ravikant’s How to Get Rich.
The long-term game
Players in the long-term game are typically seen in old & multinational institutions or in the civil service. They’re willing to keep their head down in an organisation, sometimes play its politics, other times ignore politics for the reward down the line. They realise they can wield more power the longer they stay within the organisation. So you wouldn’t find them switch organisations ever — no matter how lucrative alternative opportunities might be. Instead, they optimise for leadership at the end or a massive bonus payout.
The attention game
In a world of social media, attention game players realise that you’re only getting a small chunk of the reward if people don’t know what you do. So they build massive followings by creating thought leadership around specific or broad topics. You’ll find them writing blog posts, speaking at events, sharing their thoughts on new concepts or hosting podcasts.
The certification game
In heavily regulated industries and industries with a lot of gatekeeping, players in the certification games know what they’re in for. They’re ready to pull streaks of all-nighters to pass exams and gain certifications because this is the only way forward. They provide value to organisations and gain rewards the more they have in-depth study or broader view study of several topics. The proof of this is in their many geography-spanning certifications.
The time game
Players in this game realise the value of their own time and are unwilling to give it up to much. They optimise by doing a couple of things
i. Working in an organisation or industry that requires less input from them but the output is high reward.
ii. Working at an organisation that requires less input from them but gives them rewards that are not high but are sufficient
iii. Working long, tiring hours at a high output high reward organisation so they can retire early and win back their time.
iii. Working long, tiring hours in the short term so they can have the leverage to reduce how much time they work in the future.
So what game are you playing? Let me know in the comments.
Thank you for reading this article. I write about technology, work and digital marketing. If you enjoyed this, you’ll love my newsletter.
