The idea of Design Thinking has recently become a driving force in everything that deals with the design of value-creating endeavors. For business it stands for developing a business that enables all its players within its ecosystem—from farthest reaches of its supply-chain players to those who use its products and even the post-use players, such as used-product recyclers and those involved with environmental focus. So, as you can see the concept of Design Thinking is systems based, requiring the “designer” to take into account all aspects of how a given design affects everything that it touches during its life. As a rising tide floats all boats those who are in the field of someone influenced by Design Thinking share the tide of good fortune, alongside their benefactor.

The forerunner to Design Thinking was its opposite—Linear Thinking—an approach left to each designer based on their own narrow philosophy to how they saw things in their own view. So, the greedy ones took a very transactional view to this approach and with a largely mercenary intent developed their offerings to maximize their immediate gains—often at the peril of others around them. This was done without thinking of how their design was going to create unintended consequences we all often face, and harming many other elements—even in their own immediate ecosystem. The concept of linear thinking was based on knowing the immediate cause-and-effect relationships between proximate factors that drove a business.

Similarly, most people “manage” their careers in the context of their immediate needs and chart it to maximize their ROI and to get the most benefit from it for themselves. Applying Design Thinking to your career changes that and allows you to derive not just a good monetary benefit from your career—which now is a welcome byproduct—but also it provides you a much deeper sense of purpose, contribution, and joy as its driving force.

So, how do you apply Design Thinking to your career and what are some of the ways you can “repair” your career to get back on a healthy and wholesome career Path that not only brings you the financial rewards you desire, but also creates a sense of deeper purpose and a sense of joy in what you do.

Although we could start this discussion of developing one’s career track starting from their early days of schooling, I am going to limit this discussion to readers for whom their time period for career management begins after one graduates and gets into their first job—majority of the readers of this blog.

Early Career: Although your early career is defined by the first few jobs you take, it may not be your real calling, where you want to be engaged in what you do with your heart and soul. Fewer than 10% of those starting their professional careers start their first job as the right landing spot for their life’s work, engaged in their sweet spot from the get go (see the quote at the end of this blog). Although luck and serendipity have something to do with it, much more depends on your early successes with choosing the right pursuits, having the right guidance, and role models, who help you shape your own vision of how you want to grow to be a productive member of the society.

But, regardless, once engaged in your early career you (the remaining 90%) must find your true passion by engaging yourself in what you have now signed up for working hard and then sifting through the parts of your job that engage you in contrast with those parts that continue to be your anathema and the parts you find distasteful in your work. If the likable parts compensate for those that you detest then focus on the former and develop your stories of leadership based on your continued exceptional contributions in the areas of your sweet spots.

While you are developing these stories you are tolerating the distasteful parts of your job through your resolve and grit to shape your career themes—much like how a piece of hot metal gets hammered out on an anvil to shape it into something perficient and valued! This is the hard part in one’s life—especially early career—to reconcile with. Now you know why the attrition rate for the newly employed professionals, their first job, is in 30%-40% range! Many of whom maunder through most of their lives always looking for that “Brass Ring,” and never finding it!

Once you have found your sweet spots in your current job and once you have compiled some stories of your leadership that define your uniqueness, you now have some handle on and have zeroed-in on your calling that will give you increasing control over your job engagement and how you can ratchet up your value-add by identifying jobs that progressively contain that element. This is a good way to converge on a career path by starting on something that is close to your acquired skills and then working hard on sifting through what works and what does not work for you.

Mid-career: The first phase of your career is during your 25-35 years of age when you are struggling to find your alignment with your sweet spot to discover your true calling. Your mid-career phase is during your 35-45 years of age, when you have arrived in your sweet spot and you are building your brand to further it.

Although this is not always possible, getting increasing alignment between what you do and what you enjoy doing is critical during this phase of your career. If you do not diligently manage this process and strive at converging on your sweet spot during this critical period of career formation you’ll find this idea of working within your sweet spot during the remainder of your life—the next 30 or so years, both tantalizing and elusive.

During both these phases of your career you must apply the 10,000-hour rule each that Malcolm Gladwell alludes to in his book, Outliers. Although in that treatment he implies that merely putting in these hours will get you to the pinnacle of your profession, I think that his assessment is a bit misguided. What he should have stressed, instead, is a diligent effort of 10,000 hours, which means you constantly challenge yourself to do one better at each turn at excelling yourself!

Late career: At this point of your career (when you are 45+) you should be a force to recon with in your own area of expertise, be that a specific technical—even technology—area, management, art, or whatever field that you chose transitioning through the first two stages. Most recognize that with rapid changes in technology it is hard to keep on top of things. But, this is where you must know how to master rapid changes in your technology area to stay on top. In fact, at this stage you must be a driver of those changes themselves.

By now you should build a brand in your professional area where you are viewed as a senior member in your chosen area of work. In addition, you must also stay current with the emerging trends by keeping up with the developments, making innovative contributions, and mentoring the younger generation. This is how you develop your brand and stay relevant in today’s fast-changing world in any area of your work until your “retirement.”

With this strategy it is important to know when to change an employer, job, and career to keep your momentum going. These days it is common to have several careers before one reaches retirement—in fact it is a sine qua non for anyone to have a rewarding life!

Coming back full circle from where we started tying Design Thinking to how this evolution of one’s career shapes one’s destiny, it is worthwhile to note that although the two manifestations of Design Thinking—in your business and in your career—look a bit different and unconnected, the connection here is how your career evolution across these three different stages culminate into an outcome that fulfills the Design objectives.

In this model, you and how you evolve with time are an element of the “system,” so you must play an active role to shape the outcome of that system. Also, time plays an important part, too, because as with a fine wine, your career matures if it is nurtured carefully for its growth and value. In embracing this approach you have preempted a disciplined path to your career growth by sacrificing transactional temptations of quick riches, fancier titles, and greater responsibilities in favor of staying on track to keep focused on how your résumé evolved. The irony here is that with this approach you make more money, surpass your expectations, and enjoy what you do; work ceases to exists as we know it!

And, this is the most important lesson to learn from personal and professional discipline, focus, and commitment to keep the long-term view of your career from the get-go. If you can conquer this mindset you’ll be pleasantly surprised how this approach yields a career that is rich and rewarding—something that you can look back on with pride and joy!

Although this approach to managing your career is rooted in having a plan, a disciplined approach to staying on track, and working towards a meaningful life’s objective, a somewhat different perspective reflected in this quote by Condi Rice may complement the perspective rooted in this blog:

“Life is full of surprises and serendipity. Being open to unexpected turns in the road is an important part of success. If you try to plan every step, you may miss those wonderful twists and turns. Just find your next adventure—do it well, enjoy it—and then, not now, think about what comes next.” – Condoleeza Rice

Good luck!