"Every person has a trajectory. Your trajectory is the path you create for yourself."
- Trajectory, page 7
"Through all of these periods and milestones you should pause along the way for introspection to ensure that you are still doing that which is important to you…[your trajectory] can change as your circumstances and aspirations evolve."- Trajectory, page 18-19
Throughout the 7 strategies, Van Rooy consistently emphasizes the importance of being open to change and acknowledging that trajectories can change dramatically. This is sometimes in response to other changes outside of an individual’s control, but it is important that as an individual you choose how you approach your response to these outside influences. He also notes that what can appear as negative circumstances can become very positive experiences which are also self-affirming where individuals exercise their choice.
The book contains 7 strategies which David calls ‘lessons’:
"It is persistence that truly differentiates those who are successful from those who are not. Leaders with this key attribute continually look into the future and set goals for themselves, regardless of any prior failures or setbacks."- Trajectory, page 57
I loved this idea that ability, whilst important, needs to be coupled with persistence if success is to be achieved. Van Rooy bases much of this lesson on research and identifies that linking your ability with persistence will give you an ongoing differentiator in life. Persistence increases when you are involved in doing what you love, and it is emphasized that this intrinsic motivation will amplify your performance. Today there is a lot of talk about the importance of authenticity in life generally and in leadership. Van Rooy quotes Tony Hawk who explains that “you cannot be fully authentic if you are not intrinsically connected to your goals” (60). It makes sense that this intrinsic drive is facilitated through applying persistence.
This lesson has a simple but significant message: “you cannot entirely change your ability, but you have much more control of your willpower and how strongly you persist toward your goals” (66).
"If you fear failure you will also begin to limit your creativity and risk-taking – your willingness to think big…And when you fear failure you also will begin to procrastinate."- Trajectory, page 162
This lesson is based on the concept that learning from failure and seeing it as constructive means that we can develop even steeper upward trajectories for ourselves. Van Rooy acknowledges that “humans are hardwired to have an intrinsic fear of failure” (159) but that we need to avoid learned helplessness. This is where we decide that factors and people outside our control determine our success whereas success is our choice and it is what we choose to do in responding to the ‘failure’ that matters. This requires that we learn from our mistakes and don’t allow our failure to be the reason we give up, and remember the importance of persistence. We need to use failure and learn from it to know how to avoid it in the future, or at least not repeat the same mistake, “if past is prologue, then you must learn to use your past – including failure – to write what happens next” (167).
This was a great book to read and the activities at the end of each chapter were extremely useful in assisting me in thinking about my own career trajectory and identifying my own goals and aspirations over the next 3 to 5 years.
David Van Rooy is Senior Director of International Human Resources Strategy & Operations at Walmart. In his prior role at Walmart, he was responsible for the world’s largest performance management and employee engagement programs, covering nearly 2.2 million employees globally. Before Walmart his most recent role was at Marriott International, where he led global HR operations and systems for several Centers of Expertise (COE) including compensation, benefits, workforce planning, performance management, associate engagement, and learning. He also held several Talent Management and Marketing roles of increasing responsibility at Burger King Corporation.
