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0:00:05 Support for this special series comes from Mint Mobile.
0:00:06 You already know Scott Galloway
0:00:09 is an authority in business, career, and wealth management.
0:00:12 I mean, you’re listening to this show, aren’t you?
0:00:15 ProfG has the resume, the accolades, and the audience.
0:00:19 But sometimes, good advice comes from surprising places.
0:00:21 Like Mint Mobile, the cell phone provider
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0:00:29 and stick around for advice
0:00:32 from another unexpected expert later on in the show.
0:00:35 (upbeat music)
0:00:36 – Welcome to the second episode
0:00:38 of the ProfG Pod special series
0:00:41 featuring some of our favorite Office Hours moments.
0:00:42 In last week’s episode,
0:00:44 we featured Office Hours’ best of business
0:00:46 and answered your questions surrounding the brand era,
0:00:49 big tech companies, and their ethical responsibility.
0:00:51 And when a founder CEO should step down.
0:00:54 – Advertising is a weird industry.
0:00:56 It’s always like one and a half percent of GDP.
0:00:58 It doesn’t go below that, it doesn’t go above it.
0:01:00 So this is not a growth industry,
0:01:01 but you have some companies
0:01:04 that are going 20 and 25% a year,
0:01:06 which means they are sucking the oxygen out of the room
0:01:08 for the other folks.
0:01:11 Corporate America, these are platforms for making profits.
0:01:12 And at the end of the day,
0:01:14 they are going to do whatever increases their profits,
0:01:17 full stop, that’s just what they do.
0:01:20 You should assume if you’re the CEO, you are not Bill Gates.
0:01:23 You should assume you are not Steve Jobs.
0:01:25 – Today, you’ll hear best of career advice,
0:01:27 including how to ask for a promotion at work,
0:01:29 when and if you should ditch your full-time job
0:01:33 for your side hustle and when to quit your job entirely.
0:01:36 So with that, first question.
0:01:37 – Hi, Pravji.
0:01:39 Now let me introduce myself.
0:01:43 My name is Kareem and I am from Toronto, Canada.
0:01:46 I work in a marketing team at a pharmaceutical company
0:01:49 and I’ve been enjoying what I do.
0:01:52 I’ve had a very exciting journey
0:01:55 to get to where I am right now.
0:01:59 And I’ve been in my current role for about a year
0:02:03 and I’ve had something in my mind for the past few months,
0:02:05 which brings me to a big question.
0:02:07 Is it the right time for me to ask
0:02:11 or maybe even bring up the topic
0:02:14 of possibly getting a raise or a promotion?
0:02:17 I’ve been thinking about this for a long time
0:02:20 and I can’t help but wonder whether it should be me
0:02:23 to bring it up or should I just hang in tight
0:02:28 until they share with me the good news.
0:02:30 Thank you so much for all what you do
0:02:34 and I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
0:02:36 – Kareem from Toronto, thanks for the question
0:02:38 and congrats on living in such a wonderful city.
0:02:42 So it’s unusual and not a great indicator
0:02:44 or a great reflection on your company
0:02:48 that you don’t know when they announce promotions
0:02:49 and raises ’cause most firms,
0:02:51 once they get beyond a certain size,
0:02:55 say at the end of the year or in June of every year,
0:02:58 we sit people down and we talk about compensation,
0:03:02 which is usually bonuses, salary increases or promotions
0:03:04 and or none of the above, right?
0:03:06 And do a review all at the same time.
0:03:10 This is a big part of what I’ve done at all my companies.
0:03:12 I’m when someone does something especially good
0:03:15 or not so great, I do an email to the file
0:03:17 about this person at the end of the year,
0:03:19 I try to be very thoughtful about their compensation,
0:03:21 their role, their title, all that good stuff.
0:03:24 And if anybody comes to me off cycle
0:03:26 and asks for a raise or a promotion,
0:03:27 I say we don’t do that.
0:03:30 There’s only one time during the year we consider this
0:03:33 and that is in December.
0:03:36 And the fact that you don’t know when that time is
0:03:37 is sort of strange.
0:03:40 Now, what I would suggest is the following,
0:03:42 is that you find out when and where you hear
0:03:45 about compensation and salary increases
0:03:48 and that you establish a relationship with a mentor
0:03:49 or your boss such that it’s informal enough
0:03:52 such you could say, you know, which should my,
0:03:53 you can ask very straightforward,
0:03:56 which my expectations be around a bonus
0:03:58 or how are bonuses evaluated?
0:04:00 What about promotions?
0:04:02 You know, you should just have more insight.
0:04:05 And I think it’s okay to take your boss
0:04:08 or a mentor to launch and say, I would like to be promoted
0:04:11 and I’d love your advice on what I need to do
0:04:13 to increase the likelihood I get promoted.
0:04:15 I think that people like ambitious people.
0:04:18 – Yeah, it depends if you can kind of read the tea leaves
0:04:19 is the company growing quickly.
0:04:20 Are you well like there?
0:04:22 Are you generating revenue?
0:04:25 A manager’s job is to manage expectations
0:04:27 and then ideally if they can,
0:04:29 I don’t want to say exceed those expectations.
0:04:32 I always worked for growth firms.
0:04:33 A few of those firms are done really well.
0:04:35 So we were in a position to kind of surprise
0:04:36 into live people.
0:04:38 Sometimes in a big company, it’s not growing that fast.
0:04:41 So it just isn’t, if the company’s only growing 2% a year,
0:04:44 it’s hard for them to give out 4% raises even
0:04:45 because that means they’re going to have to reduce
0:04:47 their profits or if their profits themselves
0:04:50 aren’t growing faster than 4% a year.
0:04:52 Well, you don’t want to do a set up a when lose situation
0:04:53 where they’re looking for excuses
0:04:56 not to give you a raise or a salary.
0:05:00 So it’s be a good citizen.
0:05:02 Don’t bring it up more than once a year.
0:05:04 Be grateful, don’t be bummed out.
0:05:06 And if you really think they’re screwing you over,
0:05:08 start looking for another job.
0:05:10 But I find as someone who manages a lot of people’s
0:05:13 expectations when they’re constantly pushing me
0:05:15 for raises and promotions,
0:05:18 I find that I naturally want to not do it.
0:05:20 That I have a gag reflex on it
0:05:22 and there’s certain people in my organization
0:05:23 that just work really hard
0:05:24 and I want to surprise and delight them.
0:05:26 Some people would argue it’s the squeaky wheel
0:05:28 that gets the grease.
0:05:30 That has not been my experience.
0:05:32 But boss, you need a mentor here
0:05:34 or a relationship with your boss
0:05:35 so she can start having these conversations
0:05:39 and find out when is the compensation window
0:05:42 and get advice on what you should be doing
0:05:43 to reach your goals.
0:05:44 Thanks for the question.
0:05:46 Question number two.
0:05:48 – Hey, Scott, Ryan from Philadelphia here.
0:05:49 Love the podcast.
0:05:52 Spotify told me I was in the top 2% of your listeners.
0:05:54 So objectively, I’m one of your biggest fans.
0:05:55 Here’s the question.
0:05:57 I’ve been working at a large consulting firm
0:06:00 in cybersecurity for the past 10 plus years,
0:06:03 while also leading and running multiple tech startups,
0:06:05 some of them more successful than others,
0:06:07 but obviously they’re still a side hustle.
0:06:09 As they apply to new roles within my organization
0:06:10 and even outside,
0:06:13 I’m torn whether I highlight those experiences
0:06:15 and startups or not.
0:06:18 Will it hurt me or will make my chances stronger?
0:06:22 – Ryan from Philadelphia, 2% bitch, commit.
0:06:24 Why are you in the top 1% to resist this feudal
0:06:26 given to the dog?
0:06:29 That’s right, be a 1%er.
0:06:30 – That’s a scary thought.
0:06:32 Anyways, thanks for your listenership.
0:06:35 Let’s talk a little bit about Philadelphia.
0:06:37 I had never really spent any time in Philadelphia
0:06:39 and then I went on the board of Urban Outfitters,
0:06:40 a very interesting.
0:06:44 Two of the top brands, according to millennials,
0:06:46 are Urban Outfitters and Free People,
0:06:48 both owned by Urban Outfitters.
0:06:49 Think about that.
0:06:52 One company owns two of the 10 hops brands among millennials.
0:06:55 Also, they have the coolest HQ of any company
0:06:56 I’ve ever been to.
0:06:58 They took over the Navy Yard
0:07:01 or they have their HQ at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia.
0:07:02 So you’ll be in a conference room
0:07:04 talking about quarterly financials
0:07:06 and you’ll see this old aircraft carrier
0:07:08 bobbing up and down.
0:07:11 Anyway, smart people really enjoyed my four years there.
0:07:12 I would not describe Philadelphia
0:07:13 as kind of the old Navy of cities,
0:07:15 sort of 60 or 80% of New York
0:07:17 for 40 to 60% of the price.
0:07:18 Seemed like a good quality of life
0:07:19 at a lower cost of living.
0:07:21 Anyways, Philadelphia, there you go.
0:07:23 Okay, what was your question?
0:07:24 Oh, whether or not you,
0:07:27 when applying for internal roles,
0:07:29 talk about your side hustles.
0:07:30 This is situational.
0:07:34 I can only tell you how I would respond.
0:07:37 And that is as your boss, I don’t think I’d respond well.
0:07:39 And I’d be like, Ryan, if you want a promotion,
0:07:43 here’s an idea, focus on this fucking job boss.
0:07:48 So I can tell you that I get having side hustles.
0:07:51 Actually, I don’t get having side hustles.
0:07:52 Let me cut to the chase, Ryan.
0:07:56 I think your side hustle needs to be your main hustle.
0:07:58 I think you need to have one hustle.
0:08:00 So do the hustle, but do one fucking hustle.
0:08:02 And that is if you want economic security,
0:08:05 find something that satisfies you to the extent
0:08:07 that you don’t feel the need to do a side hustle
0:08:09 and go all in on it.
0:08:12 I mean, the idea, I think the reason I’m,
0:08:15 one of the reasons I’m economically secure,
0:08:17 probably the primary reason I’m economically secure
0:08:19 is I was born in the right place at the right time.
0:08:21 But in terms of my economic security
0:08:24 coming from my professional success, it was focus.
0:08:26 And that is I went all in, Ryan.
0:08:27 I went all in.
0:08:30 I was in the office on weekends,
0:08:32 returning emails immediately.
0:08:34 If you’re at a small organization or a place
0:08:36 where people are looking to develop economic security,
0:08:38 the way you develop economic security
0:08:41 is by garnering an unfair share of that market
0:08:45 and getting more economic currency than your peer group.
0:08:47 I mean, the average wage globally
0:08:48 is I think about $18,000 a year.
0:08:51 So if you want more than that, you gotta be in an economy
0:08:53 and you gotta bring more productivity.
0:08:56 And part of that is just pure elbow grease and focus.
0:08:59 So I’ve never understood the idea of a side hustle.
0:09:00 I get it if you’re at a big company
0:09:03 and they’re paying you well and you wanna stay there,
0:09:06 but okay, if you’re gonna have a side hustle,
0:09:09 have it for a while and then it either takes off
0:09:10 and you go all in on it or give it up
0:09:12 and go all in on your company.
0:09:14 Because my guess is the fastest blue line path
0:09:16 economic security, your current job,
0:09:19 would be to be great at it or specifically great er
0:09:20 as in focus more on it.
0:09:23 So my advice to anybody who has a side hustle
0:09:25 is if, let’s put a time limit on it.
0:09:27 And if the side hustle begins to grow,
0:09:31 then quit your current job and go all in on your side hustle.
0:09:32 But the way to economic security,
0:09:33 the way to success,
0:09:36 the way to professional currency in my view
0:09:39 is 110% focus on one thing.
0:09:40 Thanks for the question.
0:09:43 We have one quick break before our final question.
0:09:44 Stay with us.
0:09:51 – Fox Creative.
0:09:53 – This is Advertiser content from Mint Mobile.
0:09:59 – Well, the first time I saw a Bengal cat was in 1991.
0:10:01 In that moment I knew my life’s work
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0:10:08 I’ve been breeding Bengal cats ever since.
0:10:14 Now it’s not easy or cheap.
0:10:16 I feed them all a strict raw food diet,
0:10:18 plus with a veterinarian
0:10:21 and an endless array of toys and activities.
0:10:24 I had to embrace personal financial responsibility
0:10:27 to make it all work.
0:10:28 I cracked down on my spending
0:10:30 and got smart about my savings.
0:10:33 My investments and my retirement.
0:10:35 Now not only are my friends jealous
0:10:37 of my cat lady lifestyle.
0:10:39 I mean, who wouldn’t be?
0:10:42 They’re jealous of my checkbook.
0:10:46 My finances are positively boring, darlings.
0:10:48 Anyone can be an expert,
0:10:50 even those you least expect.
0:10:52 Only a small-minded person would look at me
0:10:54 and think crazy cat lady.
0:11:00 I’m not crazy, I’m fabulous and fabulously wealthy.
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0:11:30 Texas and Fees Extra, see Mint Mobile for details.
0:11:35 – Fox Creative.
0:11:38 – This is advertiser content from Mint Mobile.
0:11:43 – Well, the first time I saw a Bengal cat was in 1991.
0:11:46 In that moment, I knew my life’s work would be to bring
0:11:50 more of these exquisite creatures into the world.
0:11:52 I’ve been breeding Bengal cats ever since.
0:11:58 Now it’s not easy or cheap.
0:12:01 I feed them all a strict raw food diet,
0:12:04 plus with a veterinarian and an endless array
0:12:06 of toys and activities.
0:12:09 I had to embrace personal financial responsibility
0:12:11 to make it all work.
0:12:14 I cracked down on my spending and got smart
0:12:17 about my savings, my investments, and my retirement.
0:12:20 Now not only are my friends jealous
0:12:24 of my cat lady lifestyle, I mean, who wouldn’t be?
0:12:25 They’re jealous of my checkbook.
0:12:31 – My finances are positively boring, darlings.
0:12:34 – Anyone can be an expert, even those you least expect.
0:12:37 – Only a small-minded person would look at me
0:12:42 and think, “Crazy cat lady, I’m not crazy, I’m fabulous.”
0:12:44 – And fabulously wealthy.
0:12:48 – At Mint Mobile, we’re experts in affordable phone plans
0:12:49 with great coverage.
0:12:52 Get unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month
0:12:54 when you buy a three-month plan.
0:12:57 Head to mintmobile.com/profg
0:12:59 to cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month.
0:13:02 Trust us, we’re experts.
0:13:04 $45 upfront payment required,
0:13:06 equivalent to $15 per month.
0:13:08 New customers on first three-month plan only.
0:13:11 Speed slower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited plan.
0:13:12 Taxes and fees extra.
0:13:14 See Mint Mobile for details.
0:13:19 – Welcome back, question number three.
0:13:21 – Hey Scott, love the show and appreciate all the help
0:13:23 and guidance you bestow upon the masses.
0:13:25 My name’s Robert, I’m 30 and living in Los Angeles
0:13:27 and I’ve been working in investment banking
0:13:29 since leaving grad school, about 10 years.
0:13:31 Thus far, I’ve made a good living with this career,
0:13:33 but as of late, gotten to the point in complete disillusionment
0:13:35 with where the field ultimately takes you.
0:13:38 Among the many red flags, most of the higher-ups
0:13:40 of the firm were alcoholics and/or divorced
0:13:43 and seem to just be supporting an expensive lavish lifestyle
0:13:45 without size pay.
0:13:47 While I understand this is a privileged problem,
0:13:49 I’m about to cut the cord and quit in your future.
0:13:51 I envision my next chapter being one to two years
0:13:53 playing a tourist visa game,
0:13:54 working odd jobs around the world
0:13:57 and figuring out my next chapter in life is gonna be.
0:14:00 While I have enough save to support many months on the road,
0:14:01 I do plan to look for professional
0:14:04 and investment opportunities throughout the Odyssey.
0:14:07 Any advice you’d send my way prior to embarking?
0:14:10 – First off, I feel you.
0:14:13 Jobs typically bifurcate into one of two things.
0:14:15 They’re either very stressful,
0:14:17 but very interesting and rewarding,
0:14:20 or they’re very, very non-stressful but boarding
0:14:21 and not that intellectually stimulating.
0:14:25 I found investment banking to be this unique combination
0:14:27 of an incredibly boring subject matter
0:14:30 with a shit ton of pressure placed on it.
0:14:32 And I spent a lot of my life at the printer.
0:14:36 We actually printed prospectuses or S1s for public offerings
0:14:40 and my job was to go through this fucking prospectus,
0:14:42 this 80-page prospectus,
0:14:45 read it frontwards and backwards to find errors,
0:14:48 to make sure the base rental payment on page 33
0:14:52 wasn’t base rental payments on page 81.
0:14:54 And if I missed anything and there was a typo,
0:14:57 I could no joke, there was a good chance
0:14:58 I’d be fired the next day.
0:15:00 So I’d be up till four in the goddamn morning
0:15:01 proofing a prospectus.
0:15:04 It was just awful work.
0:15:07 I thought I was gonna be doing deals on the Concorde
0:15:08 and hanging out with interesting people.
0:15:11 Instead, I worked with a bunch of abusive assholes
0:15:13 and they were assholes.
0:15:15 And it was just incredibly boring work.
0:15:17 Now, having said that, it was a fantastic training
0:15:19 because work is hard, taught me attention to detail,
0:15:22 taught me sort of how to manage people with big egos.
0:15:24 But everyone in my firm, not everyone,
0:15:26 the majority of the senior people, not happy,
0:15:28 would rather be doing something else,
0:15:31 but it got to the point where they built a lifestyle,
0:15:34 where they needed to clock their half a million,
0:15:38 million, two million dollars a year in investment banking
0:15:40 and could either go be the CFO of a company
0:15:43 and take a 60% pay cut or go try and start a business
0:15:45 and none of them were really entrepreneurs at heart.
0:15:47 So they were kind of all trapped, if you will.
0:15:48 Now, there’s some, a small subset of them
0:15:50 that really enjoyed it.
0:15:51 But I literally think for most of them,
0:15:54 the term work was the appropriate term.
0:15:56 Anyway, the fact you’re getting out
0:15:58 and you’re pulling the ripcord, good for you.
0:16:02 Having said that, I wouldn’t take too much time on the road.
0:16:05 As a matter of fact, and it may be too late for this,
0:16:10 you know, it’s so much easier to find a job with a job.
0:16:13 Is there any way you could find a job
0:16:15 or try and figure out what you wanna do next
0:16:19 whether it’s a startup and then take your three months
0:16:20 sojourn?
0:16:22 I know that I’m sounding like your dad right now,
0:16:24 but you’re just a used car.
0:16:26 You’re not as attractive when you’re interviewing
0:16:27 and you don’t have a job.
0:16:29 There’s no sense of urgency.
0:16:32 In addition, my experience with people who kind of go
0:16:34 to touch Indians and, you know, practice yoga
0:16:36 or whatever it is you’re gonna do
0:16:38 or hang out with llamas in Argentina.
0:16:40 Do people do that as a thing?
0:16:41 I don’t think I’m gonna have this epiphany
0:16:43 of what you were meant to do.
0:16:45 Maybe, maybe, I think most people who do that kind of stuff
0:16:46 and they have an epiphany,
0:16:49 it’s that they should return to the religious roots
0:16:50 or get more involved in non-profit,
0:16:52 but they usually don’t think,
0:16:54 oh, I should really be in healthcare,
0:16:55 maintenance software or something.
0:16:58 I don’t know if that’s gonna happen on the road.
0:17:04 So look, I don’t know enough about what your skill set is.
0:17:06 If you’re at an investment bank and you’ve done well,
0:17:07 you’re good in services.
0:17:09 So that lends itself really well to consulting.
0:17:11 You have an understanding of finance.
0:17:13 So that lends itself to operations
0:17:16 or to be the CFO or in finance.
0:17:19 But my suggestion is at your age,
0:17:22 I would go or you think you have some interest
0:17:25 or you think you can leverage your investment banking skills
0:17:27 and an industry that’s growing.
0:17:29 Having said that, it means I don’t know.
0:17:31 I would need to know more about you, my brother.
0:17:34 What I would suggest though is that you begin
0:17:35 to make those inquiries sooner rather than later
0:17:37 and just so I can play dad for a moment.
0:17:39 Time’s gonna go really fast.
0:17:41 And what you don’t wanna be is wake up a year,
0:17:43 two years later and you let perfect be the enemy of good
0:17:46 and you didn’t take any offers to just chase anything down
0:17:47 and you start to smell.
0:17:49 What do I mean by that?
0:17:51 Once you’re out of the job market for longer than a year,
0:17:52 you begin to smell.
0:17:53 And I know how terrible that sounds.
0:17:54 And that was people like, what is wrong?
0:17:56 And your skills begin to atrophy.
0:17:59 So I would be making as many contacts as possible,
0:18:01 having coffees, following up with people,
0:18:04 get an idea of what you wanna do, have a plan maybe
0:18:06 and then take off.
0:18:08 But anyways, you’re obviously a very talented guy.
0:18:11 Investment banking I found paid off for the rest of my life
0:18:14 in terms of the skills and the discipline
0:18:15 and attention to detail.
0:18:16 It taught me even if you don’t like it.
0:18:19 And I also think if you don’t love it
0:18:20 or you don’t have to have the money,
0:18:22 I think you’re smart to get out.
0:18:25 It is, in my opinion, a fairly soul-crushing,
0:18:28 non-redeeming way to make a living.
0:18:31 Too much, too much.
0:18:32 Thanks for the question.
0:18:35 That’s all for this episode.
0:18:36 If you’d like to submit a question,
0:18:37 please email a voice recording
0:18:39 to officehours@proptimedia.com.
0:18:43 Again, that’s officehours@proptimedia.com.
0:18:56 Support for this special series comes from Mint Mobile.
0:18:58 If you want the best advice for questions
0:19:00 about career, parenting, and business,
0:19:01 you turn to Scott Galloway.
0:19:03 If you want the best advice for how to save
0:19:04 on your cell phone plan each month,
0:19:06 you turn to Mint Mobile.
0:19:09 Go to mintmobile.com/profg
0:19:12 to get your new three-month premium wireless plan
0:19:14 for just 15 bucks a month.
0:19:17 That’s mintmobile.com/profg.
0:19:19 $45 upfront payment required,
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0:19:28 Taxes and fees extra.
0:19:29 See Mint Mobile for details.
0:19:31 you