Reinventing one’s self is key for continued success in all professional pursuits. The world is constantly changing and you should be too. Most people find comfort in cruising down familiar career trajectories as reinventing yourself involves risk and discomfort. However, the long-term benefits of carefully shifting personal brands far outweigh the short-term risks.
Problems manifest when tectonic plates underlying our market economy shift dramatically. Sometimes these shifts occur overnight (like the Bear Stearns fiasco), but more likely than not, they happen ever so slowly. Like a typewriter salesman at the height of IBM or an associate at Arthur Andersen before the fall of Enron, you don’t want to become that frog in a pot of soon to be boiling water.
I’ve taken a look at two types of successful change in the marketplace, one I dub “Hyper-Transitional” and the other “Complementary Reinvention”. Both have merit and plenty of role models. Here’s a brief overview:
Hyper-Transitional: The Madonna Model
There is no better example of extreme personal brand reinvention than Madonna. Madonna and her publicists have successfully managed transformation-after-transformation in an industry chalk full of one-hit wonders. Despite the associated risks with each transformation, Madonna continually reinvents her image and message, always staying one step ahead of the curve. After more than two decades, it looks like nothing can stop Madonna now except lack of change itself.
Another example of a hyper-transitioning careerist is Sean Aiken. Over the last year, Sean made a career out of changing careers. Like Madonna, Sean generated and maintained great publicity from his recent quest: 52 jobs in 52 weeks.
Complementary Reinvention: The Michael Lewis Model
Not everyone’s career is as demanding as Madonna’s. Some of us have less of a thirst or need for publicity and do not require hyper-transitional careers like Madonna or Aiken. For the best practical results, professionals should manage change with a more conservative approach. By focusing on complementary reinvention, careerists can shift goals successfully while maintaining value from prior brands and experiences.
Michael Lewis is a prime example of the benefits of complementary brand management. For those of you not familiar with his past, prior to becoming a successful author and freelance journalist, Lewis worked on Wall Street as a bond salesman for Solomon Brothers. From his time on Wall Street, Lewis crafted the brilliant book Lair’s Poker; known to pretty much everyone with an interest in investment banking. Prior to banking, Lewis worked as an art dealer in New York. Additionally, Lewis is fanatical about sports and has gained considerable knowledge from his passions.
In impressive fashion, Lewis seamlessly synthesized his core backgrounds as a sports-loving, financially minded art enthusiast to write some of the best books on business and sports. Lewis could have been successful in each of the four areas (journalism, finance, art or sports) if he had chosen to pursue one independently. However, his collective experiences have allowed him to become an exceptional professional, worthy of international acclaim. In the words of Seth Godin, Lewis has combined complementary skills to become a “best in the world” professional. Lewis’s multiple passions and masteries should be emulated by all of us seeking self-actualizing careers and fulfillment.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
This is so true! holy shit - Madonna is truly amazing at reinventing herself. Great post, Sam!
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:39 pm
“Learn it. Know it. Live it.”
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/chalkfull.html