Andreessen: career planning equals career limiting

You have heard of Marc Andreessen, haven’t you? I’m sure you have. He’s the guy who founded Netscape Communication, the company that introduced the Netscape web browser to the world.

Once, he was reflecting that the world was an incredibly complex place and everything was changing all the time. Don’t we all know that? Yes, we do.

However, he also has some good ideas about career planning and I’d like to share one with you here. In Andreessen’s words, you can’t plan your career because you have no idea what’s going to happen in the future.

He believes that you will have no idea what industries you will be entering, what companies you will be working for, what roles you will be having, where you will end up living or what you will contribute ultimately to the world.

We are all subjected to change and you will change, industries will change, the world will change and we cannot possibly predict any of it.

In other words, what he’s saying is that if we attempt to plan our career, it will most probably be an exercise in futility. In the end, it may frustrate us and blind us to the really significant opportunities that life will throw our way.

Therefore, he says that:

Career planning = career limiting

and the sooner we come to terms with that, the better.

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