Book Summary Review: The Long View
Brian Fetherstonhaugh’s book The Long View examines the ways in which we can essentially pace our lives and careers, like a runner in a race. What is it that we actually seek from our employment? Is it money or happiness? Once we have found what it is that drives us, what do we do with it?
Book Summary Notes: The Long View
- Workplaces have changed over the years and so to have the expectations of workers and their careers.
- What makes a successful and happy career for you may not be the same as the person next to you. Everyone places different values on different aspects of their jobs. Some value autonomy highly while others may be happy to have closer supervision. For some people, the level of pay they receive will be a large determining factor in their overall happiness, while others may find more satisfaction elsewhere in their position.
- The Futures Company poll from 2015 found that 70% of people would prefer to be happier at work rather than simply paid more.
- While for most people financial success may be a very important factor, it’s certainly not the only one. Many lifestyle and happiness factors are becoming just as important.
- Knowing all of this how do we apply it to our careers?
- Focus on the longer-term picture at your place of employment can you work towards a position or benefits that are more in line with what you desire?
The Long View: Three Key Areas
- Spend your time focusing on three key areas at work: transferable skills, meaningful experiences, and relationships.
- In regards to relationships, be careful who you spend time with. Fill the bulk of your time learning from those that are better than you in an area you wish to improve in. Remember that we are often the average of the people we most closely spend our time with, so choose those people carefully.
- Careers can be thought of as usually lasting about 45 years and be further broken down into 3 different stages.
- The first stage is all about learning and making connections. Find out what you are good at and hone those skills.
- The second stage should allow you to really get to work in terms of production and build out a solid team to work with.
- The final stage should be spent passing along your knowledge and planning for the next generation.
