Be the chicken’s head or the phoenix’s tail? This is a choice

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[Letter] Hello, teacher. I am 30 years old this year. Half a year ago, I switched from being a marketing manager at one of the top 20 real estate companies to serving as the head of marketing at one of the top 80 real estate companies. I originally wanted to make a big impact on a larger platform, but the company sold the project due to poor decision-making; the new project has been delayed for over half a year and still shows no sign of coming anytime soon. The top three real estate companies invited me to work as a marketing manager, and I was very conflicted. Should I stay at this company to pursue a position, better salary, and a better platform, or should I take a lower position with a lower salary to work for one of the top three real estate companies? [Uncle Chuan’s reply] To be honest, as someone in the real estate industry, Uncle Chuan thinks you are already amazing. You really love this industry and the work of marketing; after 10 years in this field, you have already reached management positions in many large real estate companies. From your brief few lines describing the current situation and your questions, I can see that you are eager to get an answer, but I would like to ask you a question first. For a 30-year-old like you, what is the most important thing right now? Is it economic income? Is it a title? Is it the accumulation of experience? It’s hard to see the future; let’s take a look at history first. 1. After 4 years in the industry, I gave up a high-paying job to switch to planning, choosing the path that would suit my development. One aspect of my professional experience really caught my attention: in my fourth year of working, I spent a year learning planning skills within the company, which enabled me to quickly become someone who understood both sales and planning – thus gaining a unique competitive advantage in my field. This was undoubtedly a very successful investment in my career. It was precisely this choice of critical moment that provided strong support for several subsequent career decisions. As you said, looking back, when faced with a 60% reduction in income, you were able to firmly choose the path that would benefit development, proving that you are someone who understands the value of investing in the future and is not concerned with short-term gains ； 2. Are there any clear next-step plans to pursue larger platforms? In the years that followed, it seems you managed to change jobs fairly smoothly. Aside from the initial period when you were in the industry and worked for a longer time, subsequent job changes lasted only 2 years or 2.5 years each. Have you noticed this pattern: during those periods, did you manage to learn more? Is there still a lot of output? Many reasons for leaving a job are the desire to move to a larger platform. But once you do end up at such a larger platform, what is your personal plan? Is it to settle down and work hard, with the goal of completing the project, or is it just a higher stepping stone? If your goal is to become the project manager, do you know how far you are from reaching that position or from becoming the regional manager? Marketing falls under the back-end aspects of a project. For a real estate project, from the initial stages to planning, from construction to operation, from design to general contracting – does one need to gain experience in all these areas? For those who work in the field between large and small companies, the easiest thing to do is to repeat tasks. What’s more exciting is to explore the unknown based on what is already known, while the most difficult task is to elevate things to a higher level. 1. Personal development is more important than the size of the company. Judging from your hesitation, it seems that the top 80 real estate companies and the top 3 companies are the most important choices to consider. However, in my opinion, for personal development and career positioning, the size of the platform is not the primary factor; it’s more about an individual’s enthusiasm and level of engagement. Based on past experience (10 years in the real estate industry), since you enjoy marketing work and like the challenges it presents, as well as the opportunity to be exposed to new things, I suggest that this time you should shift your focus. Instead of concentrating on the size of the company, think more about the opportunities available – whether you want to become an expert in business operations or part of the core management team Which platform can meet this inner need of yours? If you go to a company that ranks high in the real estate industry, it seems like the platform will be better and the company will have more reputation; you won’t be idle either, as you’ll immediately have work to do. But do you really need to gain experience through repetitive work at this point? Large platforms offer more opportunities for hands-on experience, but their management structures are certainly more stringent, and their promotion systems are also more complex. What is common in large platforms is strict oversight, as talent converges there and competition becomes fiercer. How can one define oneself so as to be more than just a skilled worker? If one aims to enter the core management level, smaller platforms offer more opportunities, as they place more emphasis on the halo effect; crises are more likely to occur there, and for those who wish to rise to higher positions, such crises represent an opportunity for advancement. But with nothing to do now, it’s indeed awkward. 2. Job functions are more important than job titles. Sometimes, just because your position becomes that of a director does not mean your abilities match those of a director. In my view, the biggest difference between a manager and a director lies not in abilities, but in foresight, strategic vision, the network of connections one has built, and the level of authority one possesses. Therefore, simply emphasizing whether a company is large doesn’t hold much practical significance; what’s more important is to consider the scope of authority you have, as well as whether your direct supervisors approve of your ideas and give you the authority to act on them. Uncle Ogawa works in brand management. Every time I receive a call from a headhunting agency, in addition to asking about the position and salary, there is one thing I never forget: the relationship between my department and the marketing department, as well as the position of the person I report to and the scope of their responsibilities Because only in this way can I determine whether the department I am in has decision-making power and whether it belongs to a core department. For an individual, the company is such a large organization that there’s very little we can control. So rather than doing that, it’s better to find out exactly what the role and scope of authority are in one’s own department, so as to determine whether there will be opportunities for one to utilize their skills there, as well as what challenges and opportunities might arise. 3. Once you go there, you must stay firm; to stay firm, you need to persevere. If a company wants to develop core management talent, such individuals must have strong performance, an appreciation for the company’s culture, and the determination to persevere. Based on such a rough estimate, if you join a company and want to excel and achieve outstanding results, two years is sufficient; but if you aim for a promotion or to reach the core management level, it will likely take 3–5 years. If you want to make another significant leap up after getting promoted, you may need more internal and external training as well as additional resources. With each choice you make, figure out what you currently lack; this way you can make the appropriate preparations. Whether you decide to switch platforms or not, it will help you see the next step more clearly. Changing platforms and positions is a criterion for evaluation, but it is not the only one; to whom do you report? What do you lack the most at the moment? What skills will this job help you develop? These are the criteria for changing jobs and for evaluating platforms. In fact, there is no time in life that is wasted in vain; waiting can also be a necessary process of reflection in one’s life, allowing you to consider what you lack at the moment Being able to chase down opponents relentlessly is indeed a skill, but always taking the lead role makes it difficult to remain part of the leadership team. Core leaders need to have vision and composure; what’s more important is their self-awareness and decision-making abilities. One must first understand oneself before understanding the outside world, and judgments made after aligning these two perspectives will surely be the most appropriate ones. Article source: GetDao – Classical – Super Individual column