Archibald had a clear goal in mind when he graduated from college—he wanted to become CEO of a successful company. But instead of setting out on what most people thought would be the “right,” prestigious stepping-stone jobs to get there, he asked himself: “What are all the experiences and problems that I have to learn about and master so that what

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Loops, in other words, are what lead to sustainable, compounding, growth. In a career context, this means asking: “What are the things you can do today which make it easier to obtain your desired resources and career opportunities tomorrow, in a way that’s defensible and compounds overtime?”

“Yes, I’m ambitious,” a friend told me recently, “but climbing the corporate ladder does not interest me like it used to. A title, a bump in pay—it’s not satisfying. What I need to feel successful and fulfilled is completely different. Am I doing something that brings satisfaction? Do I feel like I’m learning? Do I feel like I’m contributing? Do I ... See more

As the company grows and the organization scales, your role within the organization will change. It will become a lot narrower and more focused and this frustrates most early employees. But that doesn’t mean you’re having less impact, you are probably having a larger impact in a more focused area. So, you’re right, if you’re just heads down and do

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