What Do You Want to be When You Grow Up?

I was talking to a close friend the other day about a speech he recently gave to an elementary school. There were several speakers invited to address the students and it is no surprise that there was one single message that was clearly communicated over and over again – You can be anything you want to be.

Later, after the assembly, the students had the opportunity to meet and talk to the speakers. Every speaker asked each child what do they want to be when they grow up.

As I listened to the story, I asked myself, “What or who do I want to be when I grow up?”

Long gone are the days when you chose a career, completed the studies and stayed in that chosen career until you retired. Technology has changed. Career roles have changed. The world has changed.

Before we had access to the technology we have now, our knowledge of what was possible was limited to our surroundings and what we saw on television. We would watch Gilligan’s Island, Perry Mason and The Jeffersons and decide we want to be a professor, a lawyer, and/or an entrepreneur. I remember wanting to be a doctor. Then I wanted to be an engineer. More specifically, I wanted to study chemical engineering. No one told me I had to take courses like physics, thermodynamics, and molecular biology. So I switched to textile engineering. (You can’t go wrong with learning about fabrics, right?) Due to economic reasons, by the time I graduated, most positions offered were overseas.

Needless to say, I never held a position where I fully used my degree. It wasn’t until later, after college, when I found my passion - marketing, branding, business strategy, and communications. My passion runs so deep that I consistently look and solve problems about the customer journey/experience every time I go to a restaurant. I look around stores and evaluate if their brand is consistent at every touch point. I see product placements and think about additional strategic possibilities for the company.

You see, at my core, I am detailed-oriented, I am creative and, most importantly, I am a problem-solver. That’s who I have always been. That’s what I am good at. It doesn’t matter that I’ve changed career direction after I received my degree. What matters is that I am staying true to my core.

The same applies to companies and organizations. In this ever-changing world, you will change or be forced to change and that is ok. No longer are the days of rigidness. Break the rules. Do the unexpected. In life, you must be fluid. You must be able to adapt to change to stay relevant but never stray away from your core. Your core is what you can do well and is passionate about. This is the soul of your company.

So, what do I want to be when I grow up? I am still writing the roadmap for my legacy.

What about your company? Do you know what you want to be? Do you have a roadmap to get you there? What will you be remembered for?