The Dark Horse Project
Todd Rose, director of Harvard's Mind, Body and Education program, and computational neuroscientist Ogi Ogas set out to understand why some people had fulfilling, successful careers.
45 of the first 50 people they interviewed had unusually winding career paths. They were embarrassed about how they jumped from one thing to another over the course of their career.
What was even more incredible was that they all thought they were anomalies.
The research found a name, the dark horse project, because even as more subjects were added, they all saw themselves as dark horses who followed what seemed like an unlikely path.
Each dark horse had a novel story, but a common strategy: short-term planning: "Here is who I am at the moment, here are my motivations, here's what I found I like to do, here's what I'd like to learn, and here are the opportunities. Which of them is the best match right now? And maybe a year from now I'll switch because I find something better."
When Nike co-founder Phil Knight was asked in 2016 about his long term vision, it turns out he just wanted to be an athlete. He wasn't good enough so he tried to figure out a way to stay involved with sports. He ran track with a college coach who tinkered with shoes and who later became his co-founder.
His main goal for his nascent shoe company was to fail fast enough that he could apply what he learned to his next venture. He made one short term pivot after another, applying the lessons as he went.
"I feel sorry for the people who know exactly what they're going to do from the time they're sophomores in high school." - Phil Knight
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This came from a book called 'Range' by David Epstein.