Charles Handy and The Age of Unreason
The historical source that predicted the shift from a single job to the risk-diversified model of an employment portfolio.
"Both/And" | The Portfolio Career
Not one track. A portfolio of identities.
The world where you choose one profession, stay in it for decades, and climb a fixed track, is changing.
A portfolio career isn't giving up stability. It's a way to build it differently: a mix of roles, skills, projects, and income sources, that lets you develop, realize more of your potential, and rely on more than one anchor.
On "Bursa Live" I shared why I too believe you shouldn't have to choose one professional identity, and how to build a career that holds more than one direction.
The end of the 9-to-5 era
The term "portfolio career" wasn't born yesterday. Back in 1989, Charles Handy, one of the most influential thinkers in management and work, presented in his book The Age of Unreason a view of a less linear, more flexible, varied, and changing world of work.
Instead of relying on one role, one organization, or a fixed predetermined track, you can think of your career as a portfolio: a mix of work, projects, consulting, initiatives, and income sources. Not to do everything at once, but to build more resilience, freedom of choice, and the ability to adapt to change.
The model doesn't cancel out professional depth or commitment. It lets you expand them over time, build several professional anchors, learn as you go, and re-choose the balance that fits your life stage.
From financial ROI to Life ROI
Most of us learned to measure a career through financial ROI: how much we earn, what the next salary is, and what the return is on the time and effort we invest.
It's an important measure, but it's not enough. A career can look great on paper, and still carry a price of constant overload, burnout, damage to health, or giving up the time that truly matters to us.
Life ROI is the measure that brings life itself into the picture: income and professional growth alongside energy, health, time, family, freedom of choice, and a sense of meaning. A portfolio career lets you build this mix consciously, not chasing everything, but choosing what's right for you now.
IncomeProfessional growthTimeHealthFamilyFreedom of choiceMeaning
Where to start? 3 must-follow sources for portfolio people
HBR
02Prof. Herminia Ibarra (Herminia Ibarra)
The world's leading expert on career transitions, behind some of the most influential HBR articles on evolving professional identity.
Portfolio Collective
03The The Portfolio Collective community
A global platform of roughly 16,000 portfolio professionals, bringing together content, tools, and community for this way of working.
Sound familiar?
The Lost in Y community is built exactly around portfolio people and the both/and model. If this describes what you're looking for, or already living, this is your place.