Stepping into Silicon Valley

On 8-9 April this year, I got to take a peek at the innovation geekdom that is Silicon Valley.  As a member of LinkedIn100 - a group of customer advocates for the professional networking giant - I represented Singapore at a conference that took place at LinkedIn's headquarters in Mountain View.

Stepping into Stirling Court on a lovely spring morning, we were treated to the breakfast buffet at the staff restaurant, which had everything you'd expect to find at a professional catering facility in the heart of Silicon Valley.  Healthy, yummy and free!

LinkedIn's headquarters sits within the Google bubble and it was easy to spot all the signs of social media success.  The Toyota Priuses in the parking lot, bicycles whizzing around the campus, engineers in hoodies coding furiously on their MacAirs at picnic tables and park benches.

One of the most memorable segments was a fireside chat with Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn.   The key takeaway for me was an idea from his soon-to-be-published book entitled Tours of Duty.

What a talent or knowledge worker really looks for today is neither lifelong employment nor a freelance nation.  They are looking for tours of duty - a 3-5 year stint where they can contribute their talents towards a specific mission or goal.  At the 3 year-mark, they would welcome a "honest conversation" with their leaders to see if there are enough challenges left in the organization for them to sign up for another tour of duty.  If not, they are introduced to other teams or organizations that would provide them with other "tours of duty".

This idea really resonated with me because it's exactly what I've been doing with my own career over the last 20 years.

Thank you LinkedIn for a wonderful experience!

Hanging out with other LinkedIn100 members in front of a giant Lego logo