In 1980, I sat on a summer bench with my friend Jimmy Steele. We talked about the future, our options, our hopes and our dreams. He had already left school and was studying civil engineering at Paisley Technical College, which was just outside of Glasgow, Scotland. I was about to enter my fifth, and hopefully final, year at school.
“So what are you going to do after leaving school?” he asked.
I told him art was my favourite subject, so I hoped to go to art college to study graphic art design. I wanted to become an illustrator of book covers and, more importantly, of album covers for the music industry. I was really into music!
I had ideas for fantastic landscapes and creatures that I felt would bring the covers and records to life — striking text and colourful fonts — all airbrushed and painted by hand. I imagined I would design dragons and angels, princes and thieves, lovers and rockers.
Jimmy cautioned me that the creative arts field is a tough industry to break into, that talent alone may not be enough. He said I might be better off to consider a more solid career option with better job prospects, even as a safety net or a fall back option. “A trade to fall back on” was how he put it.
I thought hard about it. The two roads diverged, and at the time, I was sorry I could not travel both.
I chose the option that would challenge me more.
I decided to study engineering. I got my degree. I became an engineer, but then realized I wasn’t much good as an engineer! So over the years, I have moved from engineering to project management to operations to business management.
Each time I faced a career option, I applied the same logic I did at school. I would ask myself: Which option will take me out of my comfort zone, and which option will give me the opportunity to learn more?
Sometimes, this meant that I would have to move away from my foreseen path, or I would have to take a pay cut or even have to move into new areas not originally planned.
And, as one option led to another, I never looked back. But, each step allowed me to make new mistakes, to learn new skills and to meet new people. And slowly, over time, I learned my trade.
The arrival of CDs, followed by music downloads, meant that my dream of designing album covers would have been short-lived anyway, even if I had been any good at it. But, I didn’t know that at the time.
I was lucky to have a friend that made me really think about my options at such a critical time in my life. And, I’m happy to say, he is still a friend to this day.
I chose one road, and that made all the difference.
Bob Keiller is an industry leader and the chief executive of Wood Group. To read more from him go here.
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