Figure out what makes you different and do a lot more of it.
principle — attributed to Sarah Shewey
Shewey's stated career advice for anyone at any stage is to figure out what makes you different and do a lot more of that. And keep going. The instruction inverts the dominant career playbook of credentialing, fitting in, and conforming to industry templates. Differentiation is the thing that compounds. Sameness gets commoditized. The implication for individuals is structural. The signal you produce that nobody else produces is the foundation on which a career builds. Investing in that signal pays back across decades. Investing in being the same as everyone else produces a career that flattens to industry average and stays there.
For individuals thinking about career direction and for leaders coaching team members on professional development. The principle is most useful at career inflection points where the next move is being chosen.
differentiation, career-advice, self-discovery, persistence