Autonomy vs. Impact

I this week was sharing with someone the results of a test I took at b-school. We had to rank-order 20+ job criteria. Top of the list for me? Autonomy. Bottom? Money.

A bit later, I saw a blog post shared in my Facebook feed that had this graphic:

It’s from someone whom I don’t know, Avichal Garg. The blog post that accompanies it (here) is very cool. I think it does a great job of articulating a major trade-off when one makes career choices. Do you optimize in the short-term for impact or autonomy?

For me, I consistently over time have chosen smaller, more nimble and more entrepreneurial job environments. I feel stifled at a big company with a great deal of process and hierarchy. I particularly dislike office politics.

Having autonomy has its own risks, however. There’s very little room for hiding. You’re pretty exposed. But, it’s also offers much exhilaration for people who like making decisions and want to co-author a company culture.

Hope you look at the blog post. It’s a good read.

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