All in Aspirations

Jack Of All Trades - And The Bit We Don't Hear

Jack Of All Trades - And The Bit We Don't Hear

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Aspirations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Teams

There’s a perennial debate about the value of generalists versus specialists, that is, are we better off as generalists or should we all work to become specialists. We all tend to have a particular view as to which one is actually better, certainly from a career development perspective. And usually our point of view is encapsulated in a popular figure of speech - or at least the portion(s) of it that we quote, to serve our case.

If we believe in the generalist approach, we like to use the term “Jack of all trades”, as in “She’s so versatile, she’s a Jack of all trades”.

What We Do With Fear

What We Do With Fear

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes

I’m trying to get my head around the psyche of successful people when they’re pursuing a specific, ambitious goal. Not specifically about the actual goal that is set, or the process of going after that goal (the breaking up of it into manageable chunks, the diligence to work on one bit at a time, the refinement and redirection as you learn from each specific execution, etc.). Rather, the mindset that these folks have as they work to get what they want.

This Is Where It Begins

This Is Where It Begins

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Strategy

As it’s the start of a new year (and for some, a new decade, which it isn’t but let’s just go with it), there’s no shortage of articles, online or otherwise, about making a fresh start, doing the things you always wanted to do and becoming who you want to actually be. I’m 100% onboard with all of those goals and if that’s what your plan is for 2020, then more power to you.

That said, there is a foundational requirement on this path to self-actualization that I think gets missed, and that is, that in all the positive, rah-rah emphasis of doing what we want, we miss the basic stock-taking that …

New Years And Starting Again

New Years And Starting Again

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes

New years are always, conceptually at least, a time for new beginnings. A time to reboot and do all those things we didn’t get done last year (or the year before), that we’ve been meaning to do for so long and finally become who it is we really want to be.

As exciting as that prospect is, it also tends to come with no small amount of historical baggage: the stop-starts of prior years, the past attempts that didn’t last beyond the month, the changing personal circumstances that make specific choices harder than they would otherwise be.

What We Know

What We Know

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Leadership, Life, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Sales, Strategy, Teams

“If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters." — Epictetus

I’ve been turning this quote over in my head for a long while now, and there’s something about it that resonates incredibly strongly with me. 

The trouble is, I can’t quite figure out what.

Is it suggesting that if we are focused on becoming expert in a particular area, we mustn’t be afraid of appearing stupid or unknowledgeable i.e. that we’ve figured everything out already…

Owning Your Ground

Owning Your Ground

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Private Equity, Sales, Strategy, Management Consulting

In my last post, I talked about the importance of avoiding stasis in your strategy, that being comfortable with the middle ground is a straight path to irrelevance. Maybe not today, but certainly someday.

So a response - an active, progressive strategy to do something is absolutely essential. It’s essential to be on the front foot and proactively define a clear plan for continued success.

That doesn’t, however, have to mean going after the big boys head-to-head. It doesn’t necessarily mean trying to become THE market leader. 

Stasis Is Not A Strategy

Stasis Is Not A Strategy

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Management Consulting, Private Equity, Marketing, Strategy, Sales

We tend to think of the middle ground as a safe space to be in. You’re not out on a limb at the bleeding edge, but you’re also not trailing the pack. There’s no bloodthirsty Coke versus Pepsi battle at play, but you’re also not spending your days fighting for survival. 

It’s tempting to get comfortable there. You simply play your position, fight with other ‘middle of the road’ brands and focus on the ‘middle of the road’ customers

"...Like Tears In Rain..."

"...Like Tears In Rain..."

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Entrepreneurship, Life, Personal Codes

The other day, I stumbled across a Reddit discussion where someone asked the question: “Everyone sees the world in a different way; so when someone dies, it is - in a way - the death of an entire world. So, Reddit…what unique world will die with you?”

As with all things reddit, there were a myriad of responses, but one of them was from a person who’d created an imaginary world - 4 books worth of content and characters in his/her notebooks and sketchbooks - and was working on getting it out, commenting:

From Ally To Accomplice

From Ally To Accomplice

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Strategy

When you’re growing a business, it’s no surprise that you need friends who will advocate for you. I’ve relied on more than my fair share over the last 15 years as I’ve built the business - friends both outside the firm as well as within it - and they’ve been essential to the success that we’ve achieved. 

A subset of these friends have gone above and beyond - they’ve truly put themselves out there for us. These are individuals who’ve (certainly in our early days) put their reputations on the line, or gone out of their way to help the firm, or given materially of their precious time to further our goals. 

The Home Office

The Home Office

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes

A few weeks ago, I set up my home office, a small room in the basement where I can focus and get my work done. I’ve set it up with everything I need so that I can be productive and not get distracted by whatever else might be going on at home. 

In the span of these last few weeks, it’s already become my ‘haven’, a place where I can tackle my most important projects, where I can do all of the things I’ve got planned. It’s something I’ve wanted even before we moved into this house. 

"If Some Regard You As Important, Distrust Yourself"

"If Some Regard You As Important, Distrust Yourself"

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Entrepreneurship, Communications, Careers, Leadership, Life, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Sales, Teams

Epictetus’ words are easy to understand, but difficult to practice. Not surprising, given that it’s in our nature to be liked, to gain approval, to be considered valuable.

The problem is that when we accept these opinions, when we consider ourselves to be “important”, we think we’ve “arrived” and achieved some special end-state or level of wisdom.

Getting Things (And Ourselves) To Change

Getting Things (And Ourselves) To Change

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Life, Personal Codes, Strategy

We all have ideas about where things should ideally be in our lives. Our work should look like this, or our political situation should operate like that. Our relationships should function in this particular way or our personal friendships should manifest themselves differently.

We tend to pore over what these idealized end-states ought to look like - often in excruciating and emotional detail. But getting “there” can be extremely difficult, a journey where the path is entirely uncertain or, worse, impossible to traverse.

Why We Don’t “Do”

Why We Don’t “Do”

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Strategy

What it boils down to is this: there’s a legitimate fear that if we actually make something, we’ll have to face the true state of our skills and accept how much improvement we still have ahead of us” Chase Jarvis - Creative Calling

This is the hard part about creating - particularly for the very first time, when we’re trying something brand new.

The Idealism Of Youth...

The Idealism Of Youth...

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Teams

…Is not a phrase I’m entirely comfortable with.

Sure, there’s a maturity that comes with age - what we can refer to as wisdom. This experience also has a way of tempering our roughest, ‘least-rounded’ impulses which. in so many ways, is not at all a bad thing.

But the idealism of youth brings with it a daring, an audacity that has (more often than not) broadened our way of thinking, pushing our boundaries and forcing us to confront those things that hold us back yet we’ve taken for granted.

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