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The best way to deal with things you don’t enjoy doing or aren’t good at is to avoid them. If this sounds like slacking, I invite you to listen to Bob’s story.

He owned a profitable business and enjoyed what he did. One of the secrets of his success was having the courage early in his career to sidestep his weaknesses and dislikes. I’ve fictionalized his story to protect privacy and I’m telling it with permission.

After college, Bob got a temp job in marketing research. He was soon hired full time. Then the firm offered to send him to school for more training.

He felt guilty walking away from the opportunity. But he didn't enjoy working with numbers and computers — which are central to marketing research.

Instead he decided to focus his career on what he enjoyed doing and did well. A skills analysis revealed he was good at making presentations. He also enjoyed teaching.

After exploring several options, he settled on outplacement services as a career. It relies heavily on presentations and client coaching. He soon found an entry-level job. Eventually, he started a solo operation offering outplacement services to small businesses.

He spends most of his time using his verbal communications skills, and hires a secretarial service to type and do his billing.

Bob was no slacker. But much of his success can be attributed to what he avoided and delegated.

(The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of St. Louis Public Radio.)

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