How To Feel Powerful

When was the last time you felt powerful?

For me, it was about a month ago when I turned down a potential client because I didn’t think we would be a good fit. We had a few calls to discuss how we could work together, and something just didn’t feel right. Previously, I would have squashed the alarm bells in my gut and signed the contract.

But I’ve been in business long enough to trust that little voice that says, “don’t go there.” So, I wrote a polite email to this person and said I cannot work with them.

That felt powerful.

Power is having options. I know I have other options, so I can choose to walk away.

The digital divide separates the powerful from the powerless.

Wikipedia tells us that the digital divide is the gap between those who benefit from the Digital Age and those who do not. This includes people without access to the internet, and those who don’t have the basic skills to use computers.

This is indeed a serious problem, but that’s not what this article is about.

The people who listen to my podcast or take my courses are not working in blue collar jobs. In fact, they are often the educated elite, working in covetable jobs or leading businesses.

And yet.

Very impressive people often secretly confess to me that they don’t know anything about technology and that it scares the crap out of them.

Just yesterday, I got a LinkedIn message from a Stanford MBA, who has been listening to my podcast and wrote to thank me for all that she has learnt from me. This is a person who literally got an MBA in the heart of Silicon Valley.

What on earth is going on?

If you are not a developer, you are primed to feel insecure by the messages coming out of Silicon Valley. If you want to build a business, Y Combinator, the world’s most famous accelerator, says they won’t let you in without a technical co-founder.

If you are in a corporate, your employer is probably fighting to hire developers for huge salaries, while you don’t even know what developers actually do.

Even the customer service people working in the Apple store are called Geniuses! Just because they know how a Mac works. Seriously?

The result is that if you don’t have a technical background, you’re primed to feel a bit sh*t. You’re primed to believe that you’ve missed the boat, that tech is too hard and just isn’t for you.

Smart people, who otherwise have tremendous achievements, believe this!

This is nonsense.

It breaks my heart when I see smart, capable, hardworking people limit because they think “tech stuff” is too hard.

I often see clever ambitious people forcing themselves to learn to code, because they think that this is the only way they can understand tech.

Coding is a great skill and brings out the best in some people, but not in all. I don’t like it and I am bad at it.

But nevertheless, I have a good understanding of technology, have successfully led product teams, and advised on digital strategy and tech investing. I am not a genius.

What I do know is the language of tech. I understand the key concepts and how the value chain fits together. I know how to speak tech.

Why is that useful for you?

Here, I could tell you a bunch of numbers: the US tech market is predicted to grow by 7.8% in 2022. Companies are predicted to spend $4.5 billion on digital transformation next year.

If you’re reading this, you already know this stuff. Yes, learning to speak tech could increase your earning potential.

But there is a more important aspect: a deeper personal one.

Opportunities become open when we believe they are available to us.

We apply for jobs that we think we are likely to get. We pitch for clients that we think will say yes to us. We put our hands up when we think we know the answer.

If we do not have the confidence to go after clients in tech, or to apply for jobs in innovative companies or offer a view on a digital trend, then no matter how much the economy booms, we won’t be part of it.

This is a crappy self-fulfilling prophecy, that I see all the time.

Maybe you don’t want those jobs. Maybe you decide that the tech client you’re pitching for is an asshole. Maybe you decide that actually you want to take a career break and smoke weed all day in Tahiti.

But I want you to be able to choose. I want that choice to be yours. I want you to believe that you could get the job, or the client, or become the thought leader on digital trends in your field.

This is why, from the bottom of my heart, I believe that learning to speak tech is the best career decision you could possibly make. Quite simply, it opens up opportunities in your world. Choices are power. Your power.

To get more powerful, sign up to the next How To Speak Tech: Masterclass For Leaders