The next Career Q&A is with John Mayfield. I\’ve had the good fortune of knowing John for more than 10 years and he\’s one of the most genuine and kind people that I know. I love his advice on adopting a give first mentality, the power of developing soft skills, and why people shouldn\’t over-index on compensation in the first 15 years of a career.

John Mayfield is an early stage investor at Album with investments in Route, Neighbor, Filevine, Podium, Divvy, Weave, Qwick, and Homie, as well as a board member with the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association. Prior to Album, John was an early employee at Qualtrics and pre-IPO Instructure where he worked in sales, marketing, and new product launches. Prior to that, he spent several years in Silicon Valley working on M&A valuations for top software companies such as Oracle, HP, Yahoo, Cisco, and Amazon.

What’s a book that has influenced your career or life, and why?

One book that has had an influence on me that I almost never hear people talk about is The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. The book is a must-read for anyone working with other humans. The concepts in the book have helped me identify in myself some of my unconscious reactions to work and life situations, it’s helped me in my approach to relationships, and overall improved the way I find energy to go after my goals. 

What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore?

Don’t underestimate or forget the power of your relationships. I have loved watching friends and acquaintances from my past reemerge in my life in different contexts and being a resource to open up new opportunities for them and them for me. It’s something you have to live through to fully appreciate and I’ve found it very rewarding. 

Early in a career, it can feel like you don’t have a network but I’d challenge that and advise a college student to look around and develop relationships with those in your classes, clubs, and social groups. There are always people you can build friendships with and help out. Adopt a give first mentality and look for ways to help, it will come back around and it just makes life more enjoyable. The power of compounding is alive and well in the relationships you form early in your life and career. 

Advice to Ignore: I think most colleges have a built-in incentive to minimize risk and find the most expedient way to get people jobs–makes sense right? For some yes, for many or most I’d argue no. My experience is that colleges care very little about how fulfilled or meaningful your work will be and more about graduation and placement statistics. 

I believe that for college students, embracing uncertainty, tolerating more risk, being okay with developing networks and skills over steady pay, and having a more open aperture for opportunities creates more serendipity and many times more meaningful paths for a fresh graduate. 

If you could go back in time to when you were entering the workforce and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Salary is the primary focus for many people from the start and can lock you into a path that has limited upside, or worse, into a life you hate. Focus the first 15 years of your career on finding the right mentors, networks, experiences, and skills. After the first 15 years, you can start optimizing more for pay grade. 

What’s one of your proudest professional accomplishments? 

I’m most proud of the partnership we have at Album, the culture and brand we\’ve built so far, and the incredible founders we\’ve been fortunate to back. 

Since entering the workforce, how have you changed or transformed?

Growing up, school and early jobs teach you that it’s all about memorizing the right answers and doing tasks correctly and fast. I think I entered the workforce having that same mindset. 

Through years of experience and struggles, I’ve learned that it’s much more important to have softer skills like persuasion, critical thinking, and human relationship skills. While hard skills are important and have their place, at some point, you have to learn how to persuade other people to join your point of view after you’ve taken the time to think through something deeply. I now focus much more on how I effectively create accountability both in myself and others and find ways to create leverage in my day and structurally in our business.

When have you felt stuck in your career? How did you break out of it or push forward?

This is where a good mentor comes in. Find someone who is two steps ahead of you in an area where you’re interested who can help you navigate. I also get a lot of value out of reading books and a number of podcasts. A few podcasts I’d recommend whether you’re in the investment world or not include: Invest Like the Best, The Knowledge Project, and Naval Ravikant. 

What habit or practice helps you manage stress?

I’ve recently picked up a daily breathwork practice. Breathing is something that we rarely think about but can create a massive shift in our state if used deliberately. There are techniques for anxiety, general stress, lethargy, sleep, and more. There are many apps out there but I use Breathwrk and Wim Hoff.

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