Want A Great Career? Try ABZ Planning

Richard Reis

Published in

Personal Finance Series by Richard Reis

5 min readOct 31, 2017

Hello dear,

I’m a slow typist.

So lately I’ve been practicing touch typing (using a Dvorak keyboard).

It’s going ‘aight. I’m using this website.

However, this blog has given me access to a wonderful network of people. So allow me to tap into your powers…

Wanted: If you happen to be a monster touch typist AND Dvorak layouts tickle your fancy, please share your tips with “Mr. Slow Typist” over here (hopefully he can get to 120WPM). Thanks! 😃

Anyways, onto today’s letter.

Career Planning: Then

In a time far far away, what people called a “career” was a pretty linear process.

Go to college.
Acquire skill(s).
Apply to jobs that match those skills.
Keep job until eventual death or retirement.

Spoiler alert: This strategy doesn’t work anymore. As you already know, the times they are a’ changin.

Nowadays, the average worker stays at his or her job for 4.4 years on average!

What does this mean? That you, young buck, will probably have 10–12 jobs over the course of your lifetime (assuming you’re a young buck).

That’s a lot of jobs! And changes.

This is no surprise, the world is constantly changing. On top of that, the pace of change is accelerating.

So you better start swimmin’, or you’ll sink like a stone.

Because of this, I want you to forget the old way of doing things.

Already forgot? Good.

What you need is an adaptive career plan (you know, cause it adapts). More on this below.

Career Planning: Now

Reid Hoffman probably gets everyone’s vote as “Silicon Valley’s nicest guy.”

Not only that. As the founder of LinkedIn, he knows a thing or two about career planning.

Hence why I turned to his advice before writing this letter.

Specifically, I read his (and Ben Casnocha’s) book “The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career.”

Not only did I find tremendous value in this book, but so did alllllll these people.

Today we’ll talk about Reid’s tips on finding the right job(s), next week we’ll talk about how to get them.

So here’s how you find the right job: A, B,… Z.

ABZ Planning

This is your best “career planning” friend. It will keep you a step ahead of this crazy changing landscape.

Also, it will allow you to pursue the highest upside while mitigating against the downside risks.

Sidenote: This type of planning works wonders for a normal career, but it also works great for entrepreneurs. You’ll see what I mean.

So what does A, B, and Z refer to?

Plan A

This is what you’re doing right now.

The day job, the college degree, the startup, etc... Plan A is whatever you’re working on at this very moment.

Ideally, you’re getting to use your competitive advantage/ skills.

However, don’t get comfortable. Your plan A can (and probably will) change.

You might get fired. You might get tired of your job. You might be in an industry that is dying.

Whatever your reason for leaving Plan A, this is where Plan B comes in handy.

Plan B

Plan B is what you switch to when you get out of Plan A.

Plan B can be that side project you’re working on, it can be other jobs you’re considering applying to, etc…

Make sure you’re open to different options (don’t just have one Plan B). It is better if Plan B is your “pursuit of opportunities.”

This is where you can try all sorts of different things while in the safety of your Plan A. So enjoy!

Sidenote: Some of you will read this and remember my Black Swan letter. If so, you already know Plan A is “mediocristan” while Plan B is “extremistan.” I’m a huge fan of combining both approaches.

For example: At age 26, Steve Wozniak’s Plan A was his job at Hewlett-Packard while his Plan B was the computer he worked on known as Apple I (which launched Apple… Apple!).

Plan Z

This is your fallback option (Reid Hoffman calls it your lifeboat).

It is important to have a Plan Z just in case everything goes wrong.

If failure means you’ll end up homeless, you won’t take any risks (and consequently, won’t grow).

To find your Plan Z, answer this: If all your plans go to hell, what would you fall back on?

This can be your parent’s basement, your best friend’s couch, or (if you pay attention to my letters) your savings!

This is as close as you’ll get to removing your fear of failure (which by the way, never goes away).

Plan Z is temporary. It allows you to retreat, regroup, and get on a new Plan A.

“I will spend my last dollar on these companies. If we have to move into Justine’s parents’ basement, we’ll do it.” — Elon Musk (When his companies were failing, dude had his Plan Z figured out)

Final Notes

Remember, it is important to write these down.

I’ll repeat. Write these down.

Start by writing your Plan A and Plan Z. Then jot down a few options for what Plan B(s) could be.

This is how you will thrive in the long-term. It will also allow you to keep up with the changing landscape.

Whereas most people jump haphazardly from one job to the next, you’ll take the reins of your career.

Lastly, this isn’t something you do once. Whenever your Plan A changes, you come back to this framework.

This will ensure you’re always two steps ahead of any change.

And that’s it for today!

Today, we learned:

The old way of career planning is long dead.
The new way is adaptive to a constantly changing landscape.
The new way is known as ABZ Planning.
Just to make sure you’re paying attention, did you write down your ABZ Plan?

See you next week (follow the series here to be notified).

Be well.

Thanks for reading! 😊If you enjoyed it, test how many times can you hit 👏 in 5 seconds. It’s great cardio for your fingers AND will help other people see the story.You can follow me on Twitter at @richardreeze to find out whenever others just like it come out.📚 Do you like books? If so you might enjoy my latest obsession: 
Most Recommended Books.📚