The Most Dangerous Career Strategy in 2025

The most dangerous career strategy in 2025:

Following a path that worked for everyone before you.

Over the last few weeks, my inbox has been flooded with messages of strife and anxiety from brilliant people blindsided by layoffs.

To be honest, there is very little I can say to many. Most played the game of life perfectly. They went to great schools, got good grades, landed prestigious jobs, and worked hard.

Their stories raises a critical question: What if it's not just specific jobs disappearing, but a fundamental flaw in how we've viewed careers and success?

The linear world we've grown accustomed to is abruptly being disrupted. The ladders that guaranteed safety and success no longer hold their promise.

For decades, we've operated under the belief that:

→ Business success comes from perfect execution

→ Career paths follow logical progression

→ Expertise can reliably predict the future

My friend Gaetan recently said: "What if success was always more random than we wanted to believe? What if strategic planning was always more about the illusion of control than actual causality?"

Navigating uncertainty now requires us to:

→ Judge the quality of our decisions not just results

→ Embrace uncertainty over false certainty

→ Recognize success as probabilistic

For individuals navigating this shift:

→ Build skill portfolios, not linear paths

→ Combine skills uniquely; avoid single specialties

→ Design for uncertainty, not control

→ Test multiple career options

→ Adapt quickly; don't chase perfection

→ Diversify income streams

Following these principles won't just help you withstand career shocks, it makes you antifragile, allowing you to grow stronger from volatility and stress.

The human cost of layoffs extends beyond financial insecurity; it's the painful realization that playing by the rules perfectly was never a guaranteed protection.

Yet within this destabilizing reality lies a massive opportunity: to redefine success itself.

Success shouldn't be a singular path to follow, but the freedom to create multiple paths of your own design.

The true cost of clinging to old models isn't just stalling your career; it's missing the chance to discover who you might become when you stop following and start creating.