Make little bets

Test the waters before leaping in

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that when you are contemplating a career change
or any other big change in life, make little bets.

(00:27):
Don't bet at all that you will thrive in something new. Instead,
find the smallest possible way to test your hypothesis that
this is a good move. Today's tip comes from Dory Clark,
a coach, consultant, and speaker who's been a guest on
my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds. In an article

(00:51):
in Harvard Business Review, Clark encourages those contemplating a new
career to ask themselves, what is the smallest way to
test my hypothesis? In other words, if you think something
would be your dream career, find a small way to
test that idea out before you make big bets to

(01:13):
pursue it. Figure out a way to get a little
real life experience in data about whether this career change
will actually suit you. In the article, Clark gives the
example of a person who thought she wanted to be
a florist, but discovered after a day shadowing a florist

(01:34):
that she couldn't stand the cold of the flower coolers.
Florists turn out to spend a lot of time in
their coolers. Much better to invest one day job shadowing
to come to that realization than to have this person
quit her day job enroll in a floral design program

(01:56):
only to figure out that being a florist wasn't necessarily
a good fit for her after all. So what are
small ways to test your hypothesis that a new career
is right for you. Job shadowing, informational interviews, and reading
books can help you figure out what might be a
good fit without you spending lots of money on training,

(02:19):
and without you upending the career you already have. It's
also wise to find small ways to test hypotheses about
other big changes too. For instance, if you think you
would like to buy a beach house, talk with friends
who have beach houses about the time and expense that
is required for upkeep and any unexpected headaches. Spend several

(02:44):
weeks at the beach this summer instead of just one,
to see whether you would really like to spend most
of your summer at the beach, and to figure out
whether you can work remotely from there. If you think
you'd like a dog offer to dogs for a friend
who is going out of town for the weekend. It
is fun to imagine going for a long walk with

(03:06):
a dog on a sunny Saturday morning. It's another thing
to fit dog care into an already full day and
contend with rainy late night trips outside for the dog
to do its business. You want to know what you're
getting into. Or maybe you're fantasizing about getting an MFA
and poetry. That could be amazing, But it might be

(03:31):
wise to take a single poetry class before you decide
to spend all your spare time and money for the
next few years squeezing coursework into your already busy schedule.
By finding small ways to test hypotheses, whether about career
moves or other major changes, you'll be able to get

(03:52):
good information to inform your big decisions. Making little bets
before are making big beds raises the chances that you
actually get a big payoff in the meantime. This is Laura.

(04:12):
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast. If you've
got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

(04:40):
production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.