A Letter to Me
by Andy Janning
22 years ago, I stepped into the world of financial services for the first time. If I could write a letter of guidance and encouragement to that very green and cocky 17-year-old, here’s what I’d say:
Welcome to the real world! You’re about to embark on a journey that will change your life.
You won’t realize that yet, of course. Right now, all you care about are the milestones, expectations, and outcomes along your career path. You’re tempted to boil this journey down to a to-do list, a rote series of things to know, behaviors to practice, and bogeys to hit. What you want is the next biggest square on the org chart.
Don’t fall for it.
This is more than remembering transaction codes and employee names, asking and answering questions, learning the lingo, building relationships, earning respect, and “failing forward fast.”
It’s about learning the skills that no textbook can teach. It’s about developing the character qualities that a bad day can’t erase. It’s about maintaining your focus and fire, despite the best efforts of impatience and cynicism to dull the former and douse the latter.
You need help. Find a mentor who is willing to teach you everything they’ve learned in their career. Find out what he – or she – has learned from the times he’s succeeded and fallen flat on his face. Ask her to put you in touch with the people whose knowledge and experiences surpass and differ from hers. Encourage him to push, coach, guide, and help you in all the ways he can.
In return, approach each day as if it’s your first day. Do your job with the same focus and fire you showed in your interview. Approach each employee as if you’re interviewing to work with them, because no matter where you end up on the org chart, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing every day. Learn from others so they can eventually learn from you.
Finally, I ask you to remember that you’re in this together with the rest of your colleagues. You’re teammates, not competitors. Each of you is interdependent on each other. Help them succeed and you will discover true success.
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