Career Fuel - Howard Gray

This page pulls together my top articles, resources, and podcasts on developing and fueling a career.

There are pieces on going out solo as an independent consultant or freelancer; positioning yourself; building resilience; which labels to use in your work; and much, much more.

Below are some of my most popular articles by theme, or keep scrolling to access every Career Fuel article.

Thirsty for more? Got a topic in mind you’d like me to write about? Just drop me a line.

Top 10

Entrepreneurship

Freelancing

Positioning

Storytelling

Resilience

All Career Fuel posts

Finding your edge February 15, 2021
Now Obvious January 31, 2021
How to find portfolio/audience fit January 31, 2021
“This call may be recorded for quality & training purposes” January 28, 2021
A departure point for innovation January 18, 2021
How I do Morning Pages January 15, 2021
Frames and Lenses December 14, 2020
Free or full price November 24, 2020
Do you remember your first 10? November 24, 2020
The Rust November 19, 2020
30 degree days November 18, 2020
Zenith & Nadir November 3, 2020
Pareto in a pandemic November 3, 2020
The $15m unbranding November 1, 2020
The flipped fortune cookie October 14, 2020
The Rough Edges October 12, 2020
The cycles of alchemy October 5, 2020
Do you like dogs? September 21, 2020
A simple recipe for working independently April 26, 2020
Pre Game / Post Game April 26, 2020
The Entertainers April 2, 2020
The Dollar Bill and The Golf Ball March 26, 2020
Opening Credits January 10, 2020
Thinking in Bits December 28, 2019
Undertaking a 2019 Annual Life Review (Guide & Template) December 11, 2019
Serious Fun December 10, 2019
Life’s a Pitch…but for who? November 26, 2019
The Tension: Chaos / Order October 29, 2019
The Tension: Time / Energy October 22, 2019
The Tension: No One Cares October 15, 2019
The Tension: Natural / Rounded October 1, 2019
The Question: ‘So, what do you do?’ September 24, 2019
The Tension: Microscope / Telescope September 17, 2019
Overwhelm, Skateboards, and a new podcast August 27, 2019
The Secret August 27, 2019
Stories around the fire August 22, 2019
On Stage August 6, 2019
Talking to Humans: Go anonymous July 30, 2019
Talking to Humans: No intro, no get-go July 30, 2019
Fear, Envy, and Contempt July 24, 2019
Group Dynamics: Sitting in Circle July 16, 2019
What was it like? July 10, 2019
Learnings from the other side of an accelerator program June 27, 2019
Alchemy before Chemistry June 24, 2019
No Reply = No Interest? June 22, 2019
Work labels: word salad and connotations June 19, 2019
Switching to Annual View June 19, 2019
Lucky Number 7 – and a 40-degree day June 17, 2019
Two types of role model June 17, 2019
Positioning: Get Uncomfortably Narrow June 15, 2019
The Vessel & The Lens June 15, 2019
KPIs: The slide snap June 14, 2019
Dominant Design May 29, 2019
A simple way to get unblocked May 25, 2019
22,000 songs in your pocket May 21, 2019
Back to business school: the new case study May 18, 2019
Freelancer to Entrepreneur: The Forest, The Mountains, and the Water May 15, 2019
Labels In, Labels Out May 15, 2019
Going Solo? You’re still in the Rat Race May 10, 2019
Why we need to get rid of ideas May 10, 2019
Becoming a wizard May 8, 2019
Overrated Mentors, Underrated Coaches April 30, 2019
The Rotation April 26, 2019
Two Tunnels April 24, 2019
Keep it boring April 16, 2019
Bonus Content April 15, 2019
Signposts and Surprises April 6, 2019
Cultivate your questions carefully April 5, 2019
Game Time: History Repeating April 3, 2019
A lot can happen between now and never April 2, 2019
Over Indexing March 30, 2019
Question time: Getting booked to speak at conferences March 26, 2019
Gateway Drugs March 26, 2019
Cross Training: The ChefTender and The KitBar March 23, 2019
Natural or Rounded? March 21, 2019
Idea Fuel: The Creative Observer March 1, 2019
Battle Scars February 28, 2019
How to build your network in a new city, country or culture February 27, 2019
Beyond the 1 hour meeting February 25, 2019
7 Lessons from Jim Collins on The Tim Ferriss Show February 25, 2019
Suggestible, Susceptible? February 22, 2019
The Portfolio Career Podcast February 22, 2019
The Prestige February 21, 2019
Be Like Bowie February 20, 2019
Tension February 20, 2019
The Crier, The Glue, The Word, and The Arrow February 19, 2019
How to articulate your vision in 4 post-it notes February 19, 2019
Bringing the Essential Mix to work February 15, 2019
Pressure brings performance – or does it? February 13, 2019
5 x Why, 5 x Who February 13, 2019
The Action & The Juice February 12, 2019
The Gallery February 5, 2019
From the Magpie to the Hummingbird February 4, 2019
A simple way to overcome nerves and anxiety in a first meeting February 4, 2019
Why we should think more like Detroit’s techno pioneers February 4, 2019
Managing the feeling of being scattered February 4, 2019
Employee of the Month February 1, 2019
Should you be Standing Out, or Fitting In? January 31, 2019
Rules of the Game January 30, 2019
Finding mentors & advisors: 1:1 or a roster? January 29, 2019
Trade-offs January 29, 2019
Trust, Lock-in and Switching Costs for Coaches, Consultants, and Advisors January 28, 2019
What do they remember you by? January 25, 2019
When is it hard to do, or easy to finish? January 25, 2019
Workshop Slide Deck (guided): Lifecycles in products, companies, and careers January 22, 2019
Why Penn & Teller ignored the audience January 19, 2019
Navigating Uncertainty: Climbing the Ladder, Going out to Sea January 17, 2019
It’s hard to tell other people’s stories January 17, 2019
Hiring? Look out for the goalkeeper January 15, 2019
The trouble with saying No January 14, 2019
Trend Spotting: How to identify what’s coming next January 11, 2019
Be the person you needed when you were younger January 1, 2019
Undertaking an Annual Life Review (a Guide & Template) December 28, 2018
What kind of artist are you? December 27, 2018
The Microscope & The Telescope December 17, 2018
Two quick tips on Trend Spotting December 17, 2018
Being Typecast December 14, 2018
Demo Night December 14, 2018
The Quick No December 11, 2018
If Jobs were Houses December 11, 2018
Lowercase skills December 11, 2018
The fissures on your path December 2, 2018
How to create your own personal investment thesis November 26, 2018
Pressing pause on Tetris scheduling November 26, 2018
Life Advice from Underground Resistance & Marcus Aurelius November 25, 2018
3 elements for making deals as a freelancer or consultant November 21, 2018
Untangling Time & Energy November 14, 2018
3 elements of a successful entertainment venture November 13, 2018
From Code School to Podcast School November 9, 2018
Company Name* (required) October 30, 2018
Shipping, Unshipping and the Creative Handbrake October 23, 2018
Mind the Gap: A primer on Biases and Mental Models (slide deck) October 23, 2018
Intensity or Technique? You choose September 18, 2018
3 circles for managing control, influence, concern, and anxiety September 17, 2018
5 lessons from Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola September 10, 2018
Forcing Mechanisms August 28, 2018
Connecting different dots May 23, 2018
Here’s your perfect brief April 25, 2018
Are you built for the big company? Take a tip from Ripley April 25, 2018
Enjoy the silence April 18, 2018
Career Fuel: signal vs ability, illicit activities, and the future of work April 6, 2018
What’s your circle of competence? March 27, 2018
Advisor, Mentor, Coach, Counsel: what’s in a name? March 22, 2018
Career Fuel: Portfolio planning for the full stack freelancer March 7, 2018
Get paid like a DJ March 7, 2018
Harness your curiosity. Beware the Magpie. January 2, 2018
When you’re not killing it August 7, 2017
Note-taking, creativity and 80s action movies May 22, 2016
So you wanna be a boxer? March 24, 2016