Advice for Gifted People Which Get Isolated Out?

[lamp]

This is something which is struggling me for a while now. If you look in the business world you'll see a lot of people simply playing their position and not revealing too much about them and just trying to play it safe. Though, if somebody comes a long who does not play by their rules they'll all try to isolate him out. Often they'll even bribe other people behind the scenes and try altogether to isolate that newcomer out of the industry.

 

What I mean are those people who are often a bit eccentric, in a way they wear their emotions out, they are independent thinkers and are not afraid to disagree, they often also go against authorities. They are described as troublemakers by the regular business people. They have potential to reach the top with their attributes but they often also change the game or industry, which means they lead it to a new direction. Though, many regular business people do not want this, they rather want their routine over and over again, they want the quick money, and don't want to have to readjust to a newly changed direction.

 

I've heard many times before that those independent thinkers have a hard time to enter the industry, but once they manage to enter it they often reach to the top. Yet, I never knew why exactly they have such a hard time to enter the industry, I always used to think that an independent thinker is perceived as good by the people, now years later I see the situation much clearer.

 

For example, I've heard of a case where an extremely gifted person who had the potential to change the direction of the gaming industry got isolated out by getting sabotaged by an instructor of a very famous gaming clan - bribe was also involved in this case. I've heard that most business people in the gaming industry want people who are good but not too good. They often ask the new comers "what do you want to do after your gaming career?" they want to hear something unrelated to the gaming industry, if the newcomer says "insider" or "expert" then that could mean a possible danger to the business people, since he may be able to reveal them. They want newcomers to come as gamers and leave as gamers. Many times these independent thinkers will get isolated out by their own people, often managers.

 

Bottom line, gifted people with independent thinking combined with business sense have it very hard to enter any type of industry, I belong myself to this category, I've a great creative thinking as well as logical thinking and I also have enough business sense that people recommended me not to study business because I would not learn anything new.

 

In a way I'm asking for your opinion and at the same time advice.

 

A friend of mine said it is best to just keep everything on the low when entering the industry, and not reveal all your skills right of the bat. It is also good to down play your future a little bit and not put it on blast that you want to become the best or reach the top. It is also good to not reveal too much about yourself, and put a pokerface on just behave in a political way.

 

But then I'm thinking if one would follow these rules and mask himself like this, wouldn't he be one of those business people? Or does that only account for the beginning?

 

Perhaps you could call this the cocoon method? At first he's unapparent and once he's logged in he'll open up like a butterfly?

 

Then I'm thinking once he's a butterfly people still could and would try to isolate him out or stab him in the back they'll just have it much harder.

 

In the gaming industry they used to say there are a lot of extremely gifted people the problem is nobody lets them in, which means they get isolated out - be good but not too good.

 

Maybe I answered my own question but I'd still appreciate your opinions and perhaps advice from your experience. I don't know much about the science industry, I'm just a little bit science interested, perhaps this problem is not as worse in the science industry as in other money concentrated industries.

[Marat]

Ideally you should try to find a way either to assemble your own capital to back your ideas with some enterprise of your own, so there would be nothing to limit the impact of your talents. A second-best option might be to recruit investors for your plan and with their funds establish your own business to let your ideas have their proper effects, but in this case your investors might limit your creativity by their natural conservatism. Still, as long as you were clear with them up front about what you intended to do, your investors might be a self-selected group of people who would be the kind of bosses you would like to have.

[lamp]

Thanks for the advice, sounds good. And what do you think about the theory behind all of this, would you agree/disagree have you experienced anything similar yourself? What I should have mentioned is I also have a knack for psychology, that's why I was going all into theory with all this. I just researched the term "cocoon method" and I could not find anything about this through Google - but I think it describes it well.

 

 

 

 

[amanda more]

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Edited July 10, 2011 by amanda more

[lamp]

amanda more, you often quote people without adding anything to it, why do you do that?

[amanda more]

I think while -strategy- helps with games and everyone uses it in the workplace, it falls short. A chess game is a meritocracy and the workplace is not. It is a political arena. You are wrong to think that there are no others without this same skill set. This is hard for me to understand but it is possible to accept that if it isn't brain surgery and the patient isn't critical then it is ok for companies to muddle along. Frustrating, but you are not the only one. When I was in Silicon Valley, they helped solved this by bringing in ace contractors who worked less with the other employees but were well rewarded for the kind of thinking you mention. There is still huge politics involved because now you have to sell your ability over and over. They always talked about "culture" of the company- generally 20 something Stanford grads. But there was always others in the wings some old guys of 50 say.

 

I enjoy iphone programming but even here I'd rather be programming and building my own requires so much marketing etc. stuff.

[lamp]

What are you trying to say?

[CharonY]

Bottom line, gifted people with independent thinking combined with business sense have it very hard to enter any type of industry, I belong myself to this category, I've a great creative thinking as well as logical thinking and I also have enough business sense that people recommended me not to study business because I would not learn anything new.

 

 

It is important to realize that even if someone is highly capable one has to fit into the overall social structure. This is pretty much universal in human society, whether it is academia, company or just a random group of friends. Coming in and trying to everything different is usually not warranted, unless it can provide demonstrable benefits (and even then it usually takes some convincing).

Proclaiming to be an independent thinker is also kind of dangerous because it may mean that one is not a teamplayer (and there are hardly any larger projects that can be done without a team). And of course there is always the risk that one is not really as capable as one thought one was.

 

 

Bottom line: humans are social animals, social skills are always needed on top of technical skills.

 

 

 

 

 

[StringJunky]

It is important to realize that even if someone is highly capable one has to fit into the overall social structure. This is pretty much universal in human society, whether it is academia, company or just a random group of friends. Coming in and trying to everything different is usually not warranted, unless it can provide demonstrable benefits (and even then it usually takes some convincing).

Proclaiming to be an independent thinker is also kind of dangerous because it may mean that one is not a teamplayer (and there are hardly any larger projects that can be done without a team). And of course there is always the risk that one is not really as capable as one thought one was.

 

 

Bottom line: humans are social animals, social skills are always needed on top of technical skills.

 

I agree, there is no 'I' in Team.

Edited July 10, 2011 by StringJunky

[lamp]

It is important to realize that even if someone is highly capable one has to fit into the overall social structure. This is pretty much universal in human society, whether it is academia, company or just a random group of friends. Coming in and trying to everything different is usually not warranted, unless it can provide demonstrable benefits (and even then it usually takes some convincing).

Proclaiming to be an independent thinker is also kind of dangerous because it may mean that one is not a teamplayer (and there are hardly any larger projects that can be done without a team). And of course there is always the risk that one is not really as capable as one thought one was.

 

 

Bottom line: humans are social animals, social skills are always needed on top of technical skills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great post, the sentence in bold opened my eyes, perhaps it is best not to put it on blast to be an independent thinker. So, all in all, would you agree with my described cocoon method? Keep it on the low at first, downplay yourself if you have to and once you have saved yourself a good position in the industry unfold your wings?

[Fuzzwood]

I agree, there is no 'I' in Team.

 

There is a "me" tho if you shuffle the letters a bit.

[amanda more]

Great post, the sentence in bold opened my eyes, perhaps it is best not to put it on blast to be an independent thinker. So, all in all, would you agree with my described cocoon method? Keep it on the low at first, downplay yourself if you have to and once you have saved yourself a good position in the industry unfold your wings?

 

I recall a student coming back to the dorm after a very challenging test which probably had an average score of 50% and throwing his arms around "I aced that." At what point is a person being a kind of a bully with his words? That may not be his intention. Still.

[CharonY]

There is a "me" tho if you shuffle the letters a bit.

 

Also, there is meat.

 

So, all in all, would you agree with my described cocoon method? Keep it on the low at first, downplay yourself if you have to and once you have saved yourself a good position in the industry unfold your wings?

 

I would not necessarily downplay, people hire you for a reason (though not always good ones...). But it is important to get a feel for the environment, see where you fit and where your abilities benefit the group best. It is better to demonstrate ones abilities based on tangibles.

Edited July 10, 2011 by CharonY

[amanda more]

Also, there is meat.

 

 

 

I would not necessarily downplay, people hire you for a reason (though not always good ones...). But it is important to get a feel for the environment, see where you fit and where your abilities benefit the group best. It is better to demonstrate ones abilities based on tangibles.

 

I think where- what part of the country you find work is important. Although any company wants to make attempts to retain you if you are a star, in Silicon valley it is almost expected that you will have entrepreneurial desires. Just hanging out in a coffee shop in Palo Alto you would find wide acceptance of your talent. The "person in the street" has made money from people from you. Not that everything is ideal. I'd live longer even in New York City expressing my worries and difficulties. Never have I seen so many twenty somethings with millions funding them- and have to act so laidback Californian about it.

 

With so few barriers to entry why haven't you already slapped something together on the iPhone or facebook app and put it out there?

 

 

 

[Yoseph]

Hey man, being like you I have also experienced this problem but in the web design industry. I've already been deploying the "cocoon" method as it were by secretly adding all projects I do to a portfolio site, which when released will hopefully get me independant business where I don't have to rely on my boss. This will mean I get 3 times the money, as he takes 2 thirds just for having a reputable company which can get customers. I would reiterate what Marat said, take as much as you can (knowledge wise) from those around you and look like someone who wants to learn rather than someone who wants to teach, after saving up some money, invest it in your own company and break away. Good luck

[lamp]

and look like someone who wants to learn rather than someone who wants to teach,

 

Very true sentence, which is another mistake I was doing myself, I'd often know so much that the basics would bore me to death and I'd even start teaching others, which of course people often do not like, especially when you're teaching people older than you and career-wise further than you - and that is where the "isolating out" can happen.

[HiddenGemStone]

I know for me, my issue is broadness... Some people have specific "Producable" skills or abilities... myself I have something that adds to a specific skill or learnt etc... The verb/adverb... Two sides of a coin

1. Instant producability

2. Hue

 

As 2 it is a miserable experience striving to learn skills which of themselves divorced of all "inherency" are broad to learn.. I.e. writing, etc etc...

 

Hue + non specific gifts Ha Ha

 

View as gifts added to a specified skills / produce / etc...

 

2 - 1 (rocker since 1985

 

Response is not a yes or no,

It's ("What do you want")

Edited June 16, 2012 by HiddenGemStone