OK, Gen Z, let's talk about work!
- Gen Zers have frustrations and questions about work.
- I've had lots of jobs, including founder and CEO.
I gather that some Gen Zers are appalled by traditional 9-to-5 hours, "corporate soullessness," and other aspects of modern work.
I sympathize!
Over my ~35 years in the workforce, I've felt and heard some of the same frustrations. I've also talked with hundreds of colleagues and friends over the years, and I've seen these and other work-related questions and challenges come up again and again.
So I'm going to write a series on modern work — specifically, how to navigate it, how to figure what kind is best for you (different for everyone), and how to succeed at it and find meaning in it.
Here's the bottom line:
Every one of us deserves to have — and, I believe, eventually can have — a job we like, one that is a source of money and meaning in a life we also like.
This job will be work, which means that it will occasionally be difficult, frustrating, and stressful. This job will also be work to get and keep, because a lot of other talented people will also want it. And this job may be different at different points in your life, as your priorities change.
But if you're reading this, I promise: You can eventually find or create a job and career that doesn't suck. And if you already have one, you can make it a lot better.
Before we begin, a note on my qualifications:
I've had a lot of jobs.
I've had jobs I've loved and jobs I've hated. I've had jobs I've been good at and jobs I've sucked at. I've been an employee. I've been a boss. I've been promoted. I've been fired. I've been famous. I've been infamous. I've produced many different kinds of products and services. I've also learned some tough lessons — some through cluelessness and error, some through bad luck — that were painful and embarrassing but helped me get better.
Right now, I'm the chairperson of the board at Business Insider and other companies. I'm also the cofounder of Business Insider and have worked here for 16 years. I was CEO and editor in chief for the first eight, then just CEO for the last eight.
Before Business Insider, I had other jobs. Including:
Tennis court maintenance guy
Waiter
Construction laborer
Tennis pro
English teacher
Reporter
Fact checker
Proofreader
Temp secretary
Production assistant (TV news)
Corporate finance analyst
Stock analyst
Author
Consultant
"Blogger"
Speaker
TV host (news)
My career progression was neither typical nor "up and to the right." It also included a traumatic disruption that makes me cringe in shame to this day.
Twenty-two years ago, in what a friend euphemistically described as a "career disaster," Wall Street regulators accused me of securities fraud and kicked me out of the industry.
My fall from grace was covered extensively in the global media. So it created a new work challenge for me — namely, that I was suddenly toxic and unemployable.
But one thing I've found is that, in work and life, you often learn more from failure than success.
And that colossal failure taught me searing lessons that helped me become a better employee, boss, leader, and person.
In this series, called "A field guide to the working world," I will share some of my experiences and what I've learned. I'll also answer some common questions and challenges I've seen over the past 35 years.
I'll start with one of the most valuable lessons you can learn if you want to be successful and happy at work. It's more of a mindset than a fact. But it's the key to everything: