Alina Bas Consulting

Real vs. Realistic

Does it matter whether something is real if it feels realistic enough? This question was famously posed in the sci-fi drama Westworld, when an android hostess was asked whether she was real. She answered: “Well, if you can’t tell, does it matter?”

As technology advances, it is becoming harder to tell the difference between realistic and real. Things can feel real because they were designed to feel real. And this makes human discernment more important than ever, judging when realistic is enough, and when real should not be substituted. [See the link in the first comment: how to tell the difference and when it matters]

𝗨𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁: If you’re employed, Do This Now. Don’t assume you’ll have time to prepare for a layoff later, or that a layoff won’t affect you.

Some people are finding out they’ve been laid off when their login access is denied. The badge stops working. No meeting, no warning. Just locked out, which is followed by a brief impersonal email from the organization about termination.

Five, ten, twenty years of doing solid, reliable work, and often being called indispensable, and then one morning, your entire professional history inside that company disappears behind a login you no longer have.

If you’re employed right now, don’t assume you’ll have time to prepare later. 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄:

1. 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.

Save personal contact info for colleagues, clients, and partners, to the extent you are legally allowed by the company. Connect on LinkedIn. Get personal emails or phone numbers where appropriate, because if you only have work emails for your colleagues and rely on the company system to pull up those email addresses, you can’t connect anymore if either one of you gets fired.

2. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀.

Save messages of praise, thank-yous, and recognition. Within policy allowance, keep what reflects your contribution.

3. 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.

Reviews, feedback, ratings. Anything that tells the story of your work.

4. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

Maintain a private, ongoing log of projects, decisions, outcomes, and metrics. Not a resume. A raw archive you can shape later.

5. 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Start forming your own point of view publicly. Write, comment, share insights. If your voice only exists inside your company, it may not travel with you when your role changes.

Preparedness is not about being paranoid, it is about taking ownership.

The career is yours, and your organization is your partner for part of the journey.

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I coach executive clients to make clear decisions under conditions of uncertainty. If you feel it is time to think more deliberately about your career and act on it, book a Strategic Planning Session through my site (link in the comments; AlinaBas (dot) com (slash) schedule).

Check whether your company sponsors leadership development for your role, as our work may breathe new life into your current position. This might be the most practical step you take this year for your career, in addition to learning AI.

When was the last time you said a genuine, happy “wow”? What actually contributes to you feeling “wowed”? Read "When even the Moon feels boring", https://www.alinabas.com/blog/when-even-the-moon-feels-boring Image Credit: