Let’s start with the blatantly obviously: geeks are smart. Or make that ultra-smart. And that’s why colleagues, family members — heck, even total strangers — gravitate toward them for guidance on everything from how to legally watch movies on their smartphone, to what this whole Bitcoin thing is all about (and whether they should get some).
However, there’s another common denominator that unifies many geeks around the world that is dramatically less positive — in fact, it’s rather dreadful: not fulfilling their career potential.
This is tragic on a couple of levels. First, geeks spend decades wondering why less intelligent — and in some cases, let’s just admit it: just plain moronic — people enjoy rapid career growth and all of the financial rewards associated with that festive journey. That’s a lot of pain and suffering, and alas, there’s no app to alleviate that (at least, not yet). Second, society-as-a-whole loses out because, well, we need smart people doing smart things.
And so, how do many geeks unintentionally — but invariably — destroy their career potential? There are three core methods of self-destruction.
OK yes, it’s true that in the business world — and in the non-business world for that matter — some relationships are indeed superficial and stupid. But there’s a line between being introverted and craving autonomy, and being anti-social or even misanthropic. Like it or not (and most geeks aren’t going to like it), learning how to build relationships and establish rapport is one of the smartest and most amazing things they’ll ever do. If there’s any doubt, watch (or re-watch) the 2001 movie “A Beautiful Mind.”
This is going to be hard for the glorious geeks out there to accept, but I’ll say it anyway and then brace for impact: there comes a point where being informative turns into being intimidating.
Of course, geeks absolutely don’t wish to intimidate anyone (unless, of course, that person is wrong about something and refuses to yield to correct information!). But in general everyday conversation, geeks simply want to share what they know. It’s not about ego. It’s about competence. And competence is good!
However, non-geeks can — and often do — find this “educational experience” difficult to bear. That’s because instead of feeling smarter because they’re learning something new, they feel stupid because they ought to know better. Geeks who pay closer attention to their audience — especially non-verbal cues — will find, to their surprise, that their communication skills start to open previously-hidden career opportunities.
Geeks spend a lot of time in their heads. They’d live there if they could. And why not? It’s full of facts, and it’s as if there are big and beautiful promotional banner signs in there that say: “Knowledge is Power!”.
Well, consider this: geeks who think, think, and think some more, often get stuck in their heads and lose connection to other aspects of life. For example, they can neglect their health or become one-dimensional (i.e. they know a ridiculous amount about one thing and staggeringly little about other things that most folks consider basic knowledge).
The tie-in to career growth is this: geeks who find safe and responsible ways to exit their heads every now and then will find that they become more relaxed and that they have a more positive attitude — both of which help foster career opportunities and growth. Again, this may seem far-fetched right now, but geeks who give it a try will be stunned by the improvements in every aspect of their life, including and especially their jobs.
It’s not easy being a geek. Expectations are high, and the pressure to keep up-to-date on emerging concepts and trends is relentless.
However, geeks do themselves — and everyone else, for that matter — an epic service by keeping the above in mind. They’ll make more money, enjoy more perks, have more influence, and make a greater contribution to their team and society. Everyone wins!
If you are interested in even more business-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels then we have a lot to choose from.
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