Sorry for the silence. I could come with a lot of excuses but I will not. I just hope you will enjoy the last of three posts on becoming successful. Enjoy reading!

Let me start with a question: Have you ever felt that you were passionate about something you had absolutely no talent for? Or have you had a job where your talents and the things you really loved were not appreciated? Personally, I can answer yes to both. I love to cook but my talent is missing – my study group from CBS will agree. And my passion and lack of talent certainly did not do me or Mærsk any good when I worked for them.

The real-life example is of course exaggerated; however, the point is that it is important to assess what you are good at (Talent), what really motivates you and gets your blood pumping (Passion) and how it fits with the overall purpose of the company you are working for (Organization). If you find yourself in the sweet-spot where all three are aligned you have substantially increased your odds of becoming successful.

However, if one of the three is misaligned you are on a track to failure. Why is that? If you are really good at something that is perfectly fit with the company’s vision you will do good – but only in the short term. You will eventually burnout.

The same goes for a lack of talent. You can have all the passion in the world for marketing but if you have no talent for understanding consumers’ needs, well – start looking for something else to do before your manager calls your bluff.

I suggest that you ask three basic questions in order to assess if your TOP is aligned:

* PASSION: What makes me really happy – when is it that I forget about time and space and just can’t stop working?

* TALENT: What am I really good at?

* ORGANIZATION: How does my passion and talents fit with the job I have?