Lead:

The so-called "path dependence" was first proposed by the American economist Douglas North, which refers to the inertia of technological evolution or institutional change in human society similar to that in physics, that is, once you enter a certain path (whether "good" or "bad"), you may become dependent on this path. Once people make a choice, it's like embarking on a path of no return, and the power of inertia will make that choice constantly self-reinforcing and make it easy for you to get out.

Xiao Zhang has been engaged in human resource management since graduating from university, and has been working for 3 years, and his job has been relatively stable. Until 1 month ago, Xiao Zhang helped a friend to meet a customer to talk about a business, but he didn't expect that the first time he went out, he actually negotiated the business without danger, the customer was very satisfied, and the friend was even happier.

"I got a lot of fun and satisfaction afterwards, and I suddenly realized that I had a strong talent for it, which I had never experienced in the menial and tedious human resource management work." Xiao Zhang said.

Later, Xiao Zhang carefully analyzed his personality: optimistic, outgoing, and willing to do challenging and innovative things since he was a child. When he filled in the college application, he obeyed his family's wishes because his family repeatedly insisted that he apply for the human resources major. But since graduating from university, he has been doing human resource management in the company, and his job stability has always been lost. This thing is like ***, and now Xiao Zhang finally knows what he has been longing for in his heart.

"After so many years, it is hard to find what I really like, to understand what to do to get passion and satisfaction, and to know what I am suitable for...... But is it too late to start all over again? Xiao Zhang was in a dilemma.

Situations like Xiao Zhang's are actually very common in today's workplace: when he was young, he didn't know what he wanted, and his parents or teachers showed him the way, so he followed that road, and after walking a long way, he found that this road was not the one he wanted to take, and when another "Cotai Strip" appeared, it was not easy to change the road.

Zhang's case involves the principle of path dependence in economics. The so-called "path dependence" was first proposed by the American economist Douglas North, which refers to the inertia of technological evolution or institutional change in human society similar to that in physics, that is, once you enter a certain path (whether "good" or "bad"), you may become dependent on this path. Once people make a choice, it's like embarking on a path of no return, and the power of inertia will make that choice constantly self-reinforcing and make it easy for you to get out.

Someone put 5 monkeys in a cage and hung a bunch of bananas in the middle of the cage, and whenever any monkey reached for the banana, he taught all the monkeys a lesson with high-pressure water until none of the monkeys dared to do it again. Then replace one of the monkeys in the cage with a new monkey, and the new monkey did not know the "rules" here, and actually stretched out his upper limbs to get the bananas, which angered the four monkeys in the original cage, so they performed the punishment task on behalf of the people, and beat the new monkey until it obeyed the "rules" here.

The experimenters kept swapping out the monkeys that had been subjected to high-pressure water punishment at first, and eventually the monkeys in the cages were all new, but none of the monkeys dared to touch the bananas again. At first, the monkeys were afraid of being "strained" and did not allow other monkeys to touch the bananas, which was reasonable. But then people and high-pressure water no longer intervene, and the new monkeys cling to the "no bananas" system, which is the self-reinforcing effect of path dependence.

Everything people have about habits can be explained by "path dependence". It tells us that in order to prevent the negative effects of path dependence from occurring, it is necessary to find the right direction at the beginning. Everyone has their own basic mindset that will largely determine your future life path. And the foundation of this model was actually laid as early as childhood. Make your first choice, and you've set your own life.

In the international IT industry, Dell computers are a myth of wealth. Dell Computer has grown from $1,000 in 1984 to $31 billion in sales in 2001. Dell has two major magic weapons: the "direct sales model" and the "market segmentation" method. According to Michael Dell, the founder of Dell, he had laid the foundation for these two magic weapons as early as a teenager.

At the age of 12, Dale embarked on his first business venture, in order to save money, he no longer wanted to sell stamps from auctions, but instead persuaded himself that a neighbor who was also fond of philately would entrust him with stamps, and then advertised them in professional publications. Unexpectedly, he earned $2,000 and tasted the benefits of ditching the middleman and "direct contact" for the first time. With the first time, you can never forget it. Since then, Dell's entrepreneurship has been inseparable from this "direct sales" model.

When he was in junior high school, Dell was already in the computer business. He buys the parts himself, assembles them and sells them. In the process, he found an IBM personal computer that cost $3,000 and could be purchased for only six or seven hundred dollars. At that time, most of the computer operators did not know much about computers, and could not provide technical support to customers, let alone provide suitable computers according to the needs of customers. This inspired Dell: to abandon the middleman and modify the computer yourself, not only in terms of price, but also in terms of quality and service, and to be able to provide computers with different functions according to the direct requirements of customers.

In this way, the "direct sales" and "market segmentation" models that later swept the world were born. The core of it is to truly design and manufacture products according to the customer's requirements, and deliver it directly to the customer in the shortest possible time.

Since then, Dale has continued to do so with the pattern he discovered. In less than 20 years, from 1984, when Dell dropped out of school to start his own company, to 2002, when it was ranked 131st on the Fortune Global 500, Dell became one of the most famous companies in the world. It was the right path chosen when starting a business for the first time that laid the foundation for Dell's successful career.

So for those who suffer from "path dependence", how should they avoid the mistake of "path dependence" at the beginning of entering the workplace?

First, it is important to choose your first job.

Choose the professional learning that you are interested in, but also more in line with your personality and ability, and tailor a challenging, objective and practical career development plan for yourself, and follow the plan step by step, which is conducive to a virtuous circle of career development.

Second, fully understand yourself and make a good life plan.

If we can recognize our true interests and abilities earlier, and clarify the career path that suits us, then make a series of effective job searches, this is a more rational and worthy approach. If you can successfully get the job you love in the job search, this is the best result, but if you can't do it in one step for the time being, then you might as well base yourself on the current career opportunities, you can give priority to survival, but you must always be clear in your mind what your choice is, look for job opportunities, accumulate knowledge and energy, and pave the way for smooth employment in the future.

Third, once you have chosen your own work, you must resolutely implement it.

Choosing means choosing one of two or more answers. Any choice has a price, and there are gains and losses. Once you have made a decision on what you think is appropriate, you will resolutely carry it out. When you're not sure if you've made the right choice, you might as well listen to your friends or seek help from a professional career planning consulting agency. Hesitation only wastes time.

Therefore, in order to avoid the trouble of "path dependence", we must do a good job in the direction of life, clearly know our strengths and interests, and then make a good life plan for our strengths and interests, so that success can be easier.