438. Career Wisdom, with a Dose of Dr. Seuss

In college Sarah planned to earn a doctorate in theoretical mathematics and pursue a career in academia, but just before starting her PhD., she learned that many math PhDs. were waiting tables, waiting for jobs to open at universities. She opted for an engineering job at AT&T. “I discovered that I needed to find a niche in which I could excel. I chose to get really good at a very specific piece of software, which allowed me to think and to work things out in my head but didn’t require me to troubleshoot things with my hands.” This brought her closer to her “sweet spot,” where she could use her natural talents.

“I love working on things that are big and haven’t been done before.” Through her work with giant corporations—AT&T, DuPont and Accenture—Sarah became fascinated with the management of large-scale change. She navigated the changes at AT&T when a judge ordered the break-up of the behemoth corporation. Then, she was at DuPont, where she helped engineer the largest outsourcing project ever done up to that time. “I went back to school at night. Over a six-year period, while working full-time, I earned a PhD in a field called psycho-educational processes, a blend of group psychology and adult learning. These are two of the essential things you need to target in a large-scale change project.”

Navigating her way through massive corporate changes, Sarah paid attention to her natural talents and finding her own niche.  Upon her retirement from the corporate world, she found a way to share “what it took me 40 years to figure out.” Combining the world-renowned personality assessment, The Birkman Method, with her own self-knowledge and creativity, she creates completely personalized self-help books that help people understand what they can do to be happy, successful and understood, both in their careers and in key relationships, by understanding their own unique personality.

1. Start by getting clarity about your own unique talents, skills and preferences.
2. Spend time learning to describe your ideal job. Many people are unable to do this.
3. Don’t overlook the importance of the kind of environment you prefer. If the environment is wrong, you won’t be able to fully apply your talents and skills.

Any books by Dr. Seuss. “All of them have really salient messages, and memorable phrases that will help you read it.” Two examples”

Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss

Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, by Dr. Seuss