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Career Intensity

The Big Idea

Are you one of those people who always get a creeping feeling of dread on Sunday evenings because they know they have to get up and go to work again the next day? If you are, then chances are you have strayed far from your career potential and not really doing what you were meant to do.

But a financially, emotionally and mentally rewarding career is not impossible. Successful entrepreneurs and business executives all have something in common – career intensity. And “Career Intensity” by David V. Lorenzo shows you how you can acquire this drive, passion and business strategy to achieve success in your chosen field.

 

Key Ideas

Take Charge of Your Career

Most of us measure success by how quickly we move up the corporate ladder. Too often, we are happy enough to take our salary increases, bonuses, and other work privileges, not realizing that there is more out there for us. We accept the twinges of discontent and dissatisfaction and tell ourselves that this is what work is all about.

But the truth is, a richly successful and satisfying career does not come by through luck. It is something that everyone can enjoy if they have Career Intensity. Career Intensity is the drive for continuous self-improvement. And the steps outlined below will show you how to acquire this approach and pursue a strategy that will dramatically change your career for the better.

II. What is Career Intensity?
Today’s economy places great value on the performance of the individual. This is why successful business people and executives today think like entrepreneurs. They don’t wait for a boss to tell them what to do. Instead, they work to increase their individual value and differentiate themselves from their competition by staying out in front of the latest initiatives. They are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and work continuously to adjust and improve their performance. In other words, they practice Career Intensity.

In effect, Career Intensity means building equity for yourself. While most people in the past maintained loyalty to companies they work for, today’s successful workers and entrepreneurs have ultimate loyalty to themselves.  

Positioning Yourself for Value Creation

There are basically four types of people in the workplace today: workplace warriors, management mavericks, intrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs. They occupy various points in the Career Intensity matrix. Intrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs generate greater value than the other two types.

Workplace Warriors
Workplace warriors are the backbone of any large organization. They stay in cubicles and follow orders, rarely straying from their own comfort zones. They work by the clock, and take comfort in their job security.

While providing essential services to the organization, workplace warriors do not create much individual value. And with little training and professional growth, these individuals are deemed as replaceable by companies. Their job security is vulnerable to outsourcing and other business fluctuations, and their future may always be at risk.

If you think you are a workplace warrior, then you need to begin your self-assessment by discovering your passion in life. Think about what motivates you, and resonates with you and look around for an industry that you feel may energize you to be the best you can be.

Management Mavericks
Management mavericks are often perceived as rogues in an organization. They take risks and implement actions without the support of internal and external customers. While their actions are sometimes successful and do create value for themselves and their organizations, this is not understood or recognized. Hence, management mavericks are often seen to create internal tensions within a company. Thus, their future with the company is often limited as well.

If you are a management maverick, you need to consider three options. One, you need a plan on how to generate greater value for yourself within your company and work to change other people’s perception of you as a rogue/maverick. Two, you need to aggressively create advocates and champions for your ideas and your efforts. Three, you may need to reassess your choice of employer and find another organization where your efforts and value will be better recognized. . .

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