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“The result was sad, dismaying, and in a way disgraceful.”

May 11, 2021 06:37 pm | John Stepper


In Bergmann’s New Work New Culture, he mentions an informal survey he conducted over five years.

“I asked a great variety of different people how they decided upon their profession.”

Bergmann worked in different countries and industries, with employees at all levels, so what he found was universal—and surprising.

“The result was sad, dismaying, and in a way disgraceful. The number of those who had made no real choice at all, who were nudged by the tiniest of shoves into the canal down which they floated for the rest of their whole lives, was extraordinarily high (in my little study, in the neighborhood of 70 percent). There was a charming teacher, an unexpected offer, a chance remark that determined the remainder of someone's life.

I became convinced that many chose their next meal in a restaurant with more care and attention to the alternatives than they applied to the choice of their life's work."

My own career path was no different, a series of accidents instead of intentions. As a result I spent more than two decades in an industry I had no connection to or care for. Looking back it seems I lived someone else's life.

The practice of Working Out Loud helped me explore alternative paths in a purposeful way. Through connections with others, I came to know different possibilities and how to learn more about them through small steps and experiments over time. That enabled me to discover what suited me and also what would make for a sustainable livelihood, something no self-assessment or workshop could ever do.

Perhaps that’s why many people are using WOL Circles to look for a next step or change in their career. The Circle gives them a chance to explore, experiment, and discover—all with the support, structure, and shared accountability of their Circle. (Our next guided Circles program starts in June. To form a Circle on your own, you can use free trial materials and find members at an online meetup or by posting in the WOL group on LinkedIn.)

What about you? How did you come to do the work you’re doing now?

How will you decide where to go next?

I worked at this company as a result of chances, coincidences & other people’s choices. I stayed for 19 years.

I worked at this company as a result of chances, coincidences & other people’s choices. I stayed for 19 years.



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