56 years at work: three lessons I would pass on

This month I celebrate 56 years of continuous full-time employment.

Fifty-six years of getting up, turning up and getting on with it.

That gives me plenty to reflect on. It also gives me a useful question: what would I tell the young man who started work all those years ago?

Three things come to mind.

First, take more risks.

There will always be a reason to wait. More research to do. Another qualification to acquire. A little more money to accumulate. Somebody whose approval would make the decision feel easier.

You can spend years preparing for a move that only begins to make sense once you make it.

Understand the downside. Make sensible preparations. Then accept that you will be making the decision with incomplete information.

You are allowed to apply for the role, raise your prices, change direction or build something before you feel completely ready.

Confidence often arrives after the decision.

Second, fail faster.

Give an idea a fair chance, with a clear definition of what success would look like and a date to review progress.

Then pay attention to what actually happens.

It is easy to become attached to the plan, especially when you have announced it enthusiastically and persuaded other people to come along.

Changing course can feel embarrassing. So we give it another month. Another injection of cash. Another elaborate explanation.

Meanwhile, the cost keeps rising.

Learn what the experience has to teach you. Make the adjustment. Sometimes that means improving the idea. Sometimes it means stopping.

You can honour the effort you put into something and still decide it has run its course.

Third, follow your gut around people.

Qualifications, experience and a persuasive conversation can make somebody look very attractive on paper.

Watch what happens afterwards.

Do they keep small promises? How do they speak about people who cannot help them? What happens when they make a mistake? Can you disagree with them comfortably?

Give your instincts some evidence to work with.

If you find yourself repeatedly explaining away somebody’s behaviour, pay attention to the explaining.

And when you meet somebody whose values, conduct and energy feel right, make room for that relationship to grow.

The people around you have an enormous influence on the quality of your working life. Choose them with care.

After 56 years, I am still learning. I still have decisions to make, ideas to test and people to meet.

Perhaps that is the best way to celebrate this anniversary: take one decision I have been postponing and put these lessons to work.