By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


What's the best startup approach to take? 

Well, why not go into your (next) startup as you go into life -- completely naked and alone with nothing to lose, expecting no applause.

This will allow you to start immediately and most importantly to start with a "the buck starts and stops here" mentality.

And as a bonus, anything above that which you experience will be a very pleasant surprise.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


We hear a lot these days about the supposed value of being a "digital native" (defined as a person born or brought up during the age of digital technology;  familiarized with computers and the Internet from an early age) as though being a digital native will automatically bring value to a hiring company.

Well, I'm here to tell you that a "digital native" is most often  a flat out nothing.

What, why? How can you say that? 

Because being a "native" doesn't mean the individual competent at the skill to which they claim to be native.

Doubt that?

Well, consider how the communicative efficacy of the English speakers we all know or have heard who claim to be "native speakers".

The problem with the "digital native" moniker is that most of the folks this applies to only have experience sole as digital consumers.

They no experience or only very limited experience as digital producers.

They don't possess digital competency in general and more specifically they don't possess digital competency in a business context.

They are competent at perhaps locating an app in iTunes or Google Play, installing it and then using it among friends for fun.

But can they write production quality code? No.

Can they design, run, analyze, interpret and improve an online marketing campaign? Heck no.

Can they troubleshoot or debug a software or hardware problem? Nope.

The answer is most likely no, no, no.

The bottom line is that signing up for a twitter account to tweet your college ski trip is not the same as creating a twitter campaign for a fashion brand let alone an integrated multi-phase marketing program for said fashion brand.

There is good news, so hang tight.

The good news is that for those digital natives that do go beyond the install, that take the time to look under the hood, that actually remove the valve covers and look at the source code or to work to apply these tools in a business context to satisfy real world use cases, well, those digital natives are worth their weight in gold as they are as rare as an honest politician. They can write their own tickets and would be welcome just about anywhere.

So stop thinking being a digital native is enough. It isn't. A digital native is just a fancy word for a digital consumer.

Strive to be a digital producer. Be a digital creator. Be a digital expert.

Think about it. 

You can thank me later.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge

"So, what, you think you're a minder read and can read minds, right?! Ha!"

I often find myself fielding this question although sometimes it's delivered in a tone of voice that conjures up images of an accusation such as "charlatan!" rather than a genuine question.

But that's okay, as it shows interest and engagement on the person asking it and once they allow me to explore a little more with them, they are usually hooked and have an "aha!" moment.

....

So the simple and honest answer to this question or perhaps the rejoinder to this accusation is, of course, I'm not a mind reader nor do I purport to be. And yet my results are there and they are what they are with them being more often than not extremely uncanny in their accuracy. 

The most important insight from my work and research that I try to impart to my students, clients and skeptics is that you don't need to be a mind reader to be accurate in your reading of a situation because in most cases the party in question through their actions, reactions and inactions almost to a tee loudly and graphically telegraphs exactly what they are thinking and how they are thinking as well as their intentions.

....

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


There are two primary, legal and simple ways to win almost any competition and which involves no cheating.

(1) Prepare and then perform better than your competition. This is often very hard which is why so many are reluctant to rely on this.

(2) Brainwash the other competitors, saddling them with emotional and mental blocks.

If you follow the way societies works, including American society, you'll soon see that (2) is most often how those in power, seeking to gain or consolidate power operate.

If you simply disconnect and deprogram yourself from these myths and memes you'll find that success will come faster and easier than ever.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


Myths and memes. 
 
Love it when people soak them up.

Less competition for you and those that understand the way the world truly works rather than how the social engineers would like it to be.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


Why do some many good, smart and experienced people seem to have such a rough time in their careers, personal relationships and lives?

Is it because they didn't study hard enough or learn their lessons well enough?

Or is it because the lessons they did learn were the wrong ones?

It's my contention that if you run with the herd you can expect no more than average results and more often than not you'll find that you are trampled underfoot in the stampede of life as the herd rumbles from one shiny thing to the next - the new cool gadget, the next career move, the next life stage and so on.

Far better, in my opinion, is to be unconventional and contrarian, although we must be extremely careful NOT to be different simply for the sake of being different. Rather we must focus on results-driven and tally our actual results. Our wins versus losses.

And that is one of the most powerful aspects about the Career OverDrive! systems. All of the systems are results-driven, battle-tested and battle-proven but to the outside eye these systems often seem "bizarre" or "quacky". 

Yet, when the results consistently prove the systems work, naysayers are then quick to suggest there must be a easier way, a less risky way, a more comfortable way. 

But they miss the point - these systems ARE EASY too learn. Once you understand the universal framework and principles you'll see the essence replicated again and again not only in all of these programs but in the behaviors of the most successful people in your life.

The point is, the Career OverDrive! systems work which is exactly why they are so easy to learn and apply. They are NATURAL and there is no contrived complexity injected into the systems.

In fact, the only reason they may APPEAR difficult is when an individual has been taught and has subsequently internalized and integrated defective scripts and systems.

For this reason, some will find that this journey isn'te easy although it’s probably not for the reasons you may think. That is, the conceptual framework, techniques, strategies and their application are not difficult to understand or master if you take the time to practice and apply them. 

Therefore, the vast majority of difficulties people encounter will occur whenever they are asked to step outside their comfort zone and reframe the world around them or when they are asked to re-interpret their understanding of the world.

Further in some cases, we’ll ultimately be questioning reality itself. 

Many readers will quickly discover that what I’m sharing with you is not only unconventional and inherently different in nature but often the flat-out opposite of what other “experts” and “authority figures” in your life have been teaching and preaching to you as being “necessary for success”.

What I'm teaching you may also be far different and most likely will be far different than what you have so far come to accept as “life’s reality”, “your lot in life” or what you have come to rationalize as “just the way things are”.

For example, in certain circumstances we’ve all been programmed (by our well-meaning parents, schools, peers, media, religious institutions, government institutions or society at large) to zig.

However, given those same circumstances you'll soon find that I will often direct you to zag. And I'll explain why.

Other times, you’ll feel the overwhelming urge to run, while I will suggest that the most appropriate response is to shelter in place. Again I'll explain why.

At still other times, you may find yourself frozen with fear and want to stay put while you’ll find me screaming at the top of my lungs for you to make like Pink Floyd and run like hell!

These behaviors and responses are all valid and have their properly application at certain times. The trick is, we will explore at what times which behavior and response is not only the most appropriate but the most advantageous.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!
(This is part of the No Box Thinking™ Series)


Elephants are considered one of the strongest animals on earth and in places like Thailand it's not uncommon to see one elephant compete against forty or more men in a tug-o-war contest with the elephant easily winning! 

Many elephants are also utilized in the forestry industry and it's an amazing sight to see an elephant easily and deftly pick up a massive log and effortlessly move it about like a mere toothpick. 

Not once or twice, mind you, but all day long and in the scorching heat. 

With such power and stamina an adult elephant could easily snap any ropes or chains used to subdue it. Yet why doesn't the adult elephant do this? And how can such a powerful animal be so easily controlled by an infinitely smaller human wielding only a stick or through the simple pressing of feet or heels into the elephant's neck or ears? 

Well, it all comes down to the elephant's mental conditioning and the shaping of expectations it has received and that has been implanted into it. Many humans would call what the elephant mentally engages in to be a "self-fulfilling prophecy." 

Since an adult elephant is so powerful and could easily break the biggest ropes or chains, trainers begin to condition the elephant at a very early age not only to not want to do this so but also to THINK that it is NOT able to do so.  Effectively to not even consider breaking the chains or snapping the ropes as an option.

Why? Because once we deem something to be "impossible" to do, we no longer attempt it. Our own thinking and thought processes, therefore, become a set of mental chains. 

As a baby, the elephant is often restrained with a substantial piece of rope or chain which is so strong that the baby has no chance of breaking it or escaping. As the baby pulls on the restraints it quickly realizes it cannot get free so it tries less and less frequently and less and less heartily to do so during each attempt. 

As the elephant grows in size, the diameter of the restraints can be reduced since the elephant has now been conditioned to believe that trying to escape or break the restraints is futile. 

Eventually the elephant no longer even attempts to break the restraints as it is now fully conditioned so that the presence of the restraint alone, rather than the tensile strength of that restraint, signals to the elephant that it is incapacitated and cannot move.

At some point, this restraint could be as thin as a piece of twine. 

In other words, the trainer has created a set of unbreakable mental chains for the elephant that the elephant cannot overcome! 

Humans, like elephants are also susceptible to these mental chains. Sometimes we create them ourselves. Other times they are given to us by friends, parents or relatives however well meaning they may be. 

We are taught various myths and memes  (the restraints) during our formative years and then these restraints are constantly waved in front of us to remind us of our inability to move freely through life. 

This is done through the usage of rituals. These rituals can be mores or folkways, comments from friends or family, even imagery beamed into our homes by satellite tv, found on DVDs or in our daily newspaper. 

What mental chains are holding you back?
Would you like to break them?
How will you break them? 

Knowing that they exist in the first place is the major step forward. 


(James originally posted this online on August 16th, 2004 but it is even more relevant today than it was 9 years ago. Several slight modifications from the original have been made)

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


What keeps you awake at night?

Uncertain which career path or job offer is best for you?

Finding yourself undermined or irritated by a snarky co-worker, office bully or  a manager that wants you gone? 

Not sure how to negotiate the best offer, close an interview or accelerate your career? 

Wouldn't you like to get a good night's sleep? Sure, so tell what's on your mind.
This expert advice column is your chance to ask anything and for free!