Yahoo! acquired micro blogging software Tumblr for $1.1 billion this
June, and asked founder David Karp to stay on as an employee. Do you
think he’ll still be with the company by Labor Day? I doubt it.
Forbes
reports that Karp walked away from the Yahoo! deal with roughly $200
million, so he doesn’t need the job. I think it is more than his
financial independence that will drive him out of Yahoo! In fact, my
guess is--and I’ve never met Karp in person--he is probably
unemployable.
Here are five signs that you, too, may be unemployable:
1. You’re smarter than your boss, even though you don’t have an MBATrue
entrepreneurs get bored quickly in school. The list of college dropouts
includes Tumblr’s Karp and other names you might know: Steve Jobs, Mark
Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Bill Gates, to name just a
handful out of hundreds of household names that did not have the
patience for school.
Big companies use advanced degrees as a way
to filter out candidates for hiring and advancement; so if you don’t
have an MBA, you’ll forever be smarter than the guy or gal you’re
working for.
2. You get distracted easilyJetBlue’s
founder David Neeleman is one of the more public examples of the
well-documented link between ADD/ADHD and entrepreneurship. Some say his
ADD/ADHD contributed to the board removing Neeleman as JetBlue’s CEO in
2007. Many studies have made the connection between ADD/ADHD and
entrepreneurship. There is even a LinkedIn group called “The ADD/ADHD
Entrepreneur” for these entrepreneurs to connect online.
Signs
you have ADD/ADHD include being distracted easily, starting several
projects without finishing them, and being a hands-on learner. Sound
familiar? If so, don’t expect to last as a company man or woman.
3. You think visuallyHave
you downloaded the Penultimate app for your iPad because you like to
draw ideas? Do you find yourself jumping to the white board in a meeting
room to try to describe a situation visually? An inclination towards
visual thinking is an indicator of ADD/ADHD and another sign you should
avoid getting a job where you have to lobby for your ideas in writing.
4. You have trouble listening to othersSome
of my favorite entrepreneurs love talking about themselves. They like
describing in detail their latest innovation, which is great if you’re
in the mood to be regaled. The problem is this: If you try to enter into
the discussion, their eyes start to drift, and it’s clear they are just
waiting for a lull in the conversation so they can start talking again.
It’s so natural, you probably don’t even know you’re doing it, so ask a
buddy you trust or a spouse who will give it to you straight. If you
tend to be distracted when other people are talking, avoid going to work
for someone who not only will want to talk, but who also will
expect--even insist--that you listen.
5. You start lots of projects that go unfinishedBe
honest: Do you find yourself starting something only to lose steam when
you come up with your next great idea? That’s fine if you run your own
company where you can delegate the execution to others, but it also
makes you difficult to manage. Bosses like innovation to a point, but
companies need employees who have the patience to see their ideas
through.
Every entrepreneur has been faced with the question:
Should I get a job? Some new grads decide to put their entrepreneurial
dreams on hold to get some training on someone else’s dime before they
start a business. Other owners get an offer to buy their company,
contingent on them working for the acquirer for a few years. In still
other cases, the entrepreneur’s company fails, leaving him with the
decision to start something new or get a job to make ends meet.
Which
leaves you, the entrepreneur, with one more question: Are you
employable? If not, you--like Karp--should probably stick with owning a
company, not working for one.
