I’ve worked in three very different industries: entertainment, tech, and politics. I have spent my professional career in either LA and DC, and although they have very different environments, I’ve encountered many of the same personalities, just with a different application.

For example, there’s always the person that is proved wrong about something, so they withdraw to their “specialty” as if defying you to challenge them in that arena:

  • Entertainment: “Well, I specialize in Post so can’t really speak to that.”
  • Tech: “Yeah, the frontend is more my thing.”
  • Politics: “I’m more of a Policy guy.”

(These are actual quotes from people that could have been brothers that just chose different career paths, they were so similar.)

People are the same wherever you go. You can succeed in a certain industry by knowing all of the specific workings of it or find such a unique niche to specialize in—and there is nothing wrong with either of those options. But you can succeed in any industry by knowing how people work. I’ve never been a super technical expert in any of these fields, but I learned who to listen to about what to inform my decisions, trust them to execute, and recognized which deals and partnerships to accept or pass on based on personality. Who knows, maybe I’ll try Finance next.