As we all become more connected, we’re finding exponentially more opportunities to impact people and organizations. This assumes that you are committed to adding massive value in everything you do. I believe that the only limitation you will have as you move forward is your relationship skills limitation.
Let’s agree that your technical expertise in your chosen profession and aligning yourself with a good organization (or starting your own business) that offers a viable product or service at a reasonable price is just admission to the game. That just gets you in the room.
In a world (use that guy who does the movie trailer voice) where finding talent has never been easier (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) the differentiator is no longer your technical expertise. Wanna get good at something – just watch YouTube. Anything in the world you want to learn is there. Just go to khanacademy.org, heck…MIT just put their college courses on video online for anyone in the world to watch. For free!
No, the differentiator is now ‘are you someone people WANT to work with?’ When there is an abundance of talent (there always was, it was just more difficult to locate before), positioning yourself as someone who is a pleasure to work with becomes more important than ever before.
People skills, not technical skills. Technical skills can be bought. Cheap. People skills are literally priceless. Because with the right people skills you set your own price because you add massive value. Double down on relationship skills.