Manage your career like a CEO

Looking back on his own career, Steve Tobak, Managing Partner at Invisor Consulting, a Silicon Valley-based management consulting firm, has his own view on how to manage your career like a CEO:

When a business is failing, the talent leaves. “We’ve seen it at Yahoo, Twitter, HP, Blackberry and a host of other embattled companies,” he writes in entrepreneur.com. This exodus often is an early indicator for dysfunctional leadership and smart people who don't feel appreciated and rewarded jump the sinking ship. “Ruling your own destiny and making every opportunity count is the norm for career-minded individuals, as it should be. But there are some lessons I learned along the way that I’m sure will enhance your journey, as they did mine,” writes Tobak. And here they come:

Think of every job as a business. Jobs are like product businesses. When a product is hot, you want to maximize profit margins and return-on-investment. But before it goes south, you want to make sure you’ve got the next one ready in the pipeline. Think of companies you work for the same way.

Be professional about it. The most important asset you have is your reputation. Remember, it’s always in your and your company’s best interest to give it your all and do great work while you’re there. And be discrete. No boss ever had a clue that I was leaving until I was ready to go on good terms.

Don’t let mistakes get you down. You’re going to make some bad calls; it comes with the territory. Learn from them and don’t make them twice.

Beware the Peter Principle. Remember why you groom your own career in the first place: so you’re never the victim of an incompetent boss or a dysfunctional company. Becoming incompetent yourself would be the ultimate irony. Don’t succumb to the Peter Principle.