I've been waiting a long time to borrow a quote from one of our greatest (IMHO) living American philosophers and the occasion has finally arrived. This great philosopher is, that's right, long-retired New York Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra. One of my favorite "Yogi-isms" seems to be a recurring theme in this blog.

The quote? "When you get to the fork in the road, take it."

It came to me as I was talking to a mentee who is in search of a new job, and is currently at the proverbial fork in the road and facing a catch-22.  That is, when gainfully employed how is it you alert people that you are actually on the market?  And, once the word is out, what are the repercussions if your boss finds out or someone on the gossip trail either maliciously or unintentionally leaks the intel, creating an awkward situation

There is always an element of risk when striving for something better than what you have. For the 99%, it will and forever shall be this way. You have to accept that anytime you try to improve your standing, someone else may not like it. If you have a great job by all appearances but you feel inside it's not quite enough, the only person who can fix that is you. And, once you have decided to fix it, it's been written that "the better part of valor is discretion," so examine who you know, who you need to know and then how to leverage specific people within your network to your advantage.

Hence, taking that fork in the road becomes more of a happy hour conversation and less of a philosophical dilemma resulting in career paralysis.

doug@knowledgewebb.net

*Chantal de la Rionda edits this blog