Past victories do not bring tomorrow's successes

Introduce yourself in a few words..

Hello, I am Dr. Zornitsa Yordanova – associate professor at UNSS in business information systems and innovations, expert, entrepreneur, and consultant in digital transformation with clients all over the world. For more than 15 years, I have been researching and actively implementing technologies and innovations. I mainly work with medium and large organizations to turn technologies into a lever for personal and team effectiveness and for the development of business processes, functions, teams, and entire organizations. I believe that the dynamics in which we live make the old models extremely insufficient – whether we are talking about technologies, ways of working, about business processes and models or about communication between people. New thinking is needed, new skills, and readiness for constant change. And these are the main lines of career advice I give:

Technologies will enhance the value of truly important human intellectual skills – achieving effectiveness, creation, creativity, solving complex problems, judgment, decision-making skills, using intuition and accumulated knowledge about the world in the subconscious. Therefore, each of us, regardless of profession, should take the necessary steps to enhance understanding and use of technologies, to increase our own effectiveness and relevance.

How would you describe your career in a few words?

Dynamic and colorful. Most people often joke that I probably have 35 hours in a day because I am involved in so many things. The truth is that my favorite word is “effectiveness” – and I am constantly looking for ways to enhance it. That’s why I combine various “hats” – teacher, consultant, entrepreneur – and I am happy, because they are the result of the most correct choices I have made not only career-wise but also through the prism of my personal happiness. For me, a career is not linear, but a network of roles where effectiveness and passion intertwine. In the future, the individual in career terms will not be one-dimensional or one-professional, but a system of competencies, career paths, and diverse projects that reflect the multi-faceted nature of the individual, interests, and our broader skills – as an organization.

What was the most important choice that shaped your path Inand?

The decision not to settle for “average”. Not to blindly follow the prescribed “correct” steps, but to invest time and resources in my own development and to set much higher goals than those of people around me. This took me out of the average flow and placed me among those who build new standards. Sometimes I have been pointed at for not wanting to follow the norms – but for me, there is nothing more valuable than aiming for amore progressive future, instead of resigning to outdated models.

What would you like to know at the beginning of your career, but no one told you?

I would tell my 18-year-old self that learning is not “a continuous process” as a cliché – it is a minute-by-minute process. Every time we allow ourselves to learn and put aside the ego of our expertise, new doors open. No one told me how quickly expertise becomes outdated. Today I tell my students: learn to learn constantly, to try the new, to experiment, to create, and not just to follow rules and to memorize. Aim to be better than the average level of your colleagues – that is what will give you true freedom and sustainability. And of course – embrace technologies as an ally, with which you will unlock your effectiveness and rediscover your capacity. And if today, in 2025, professionals who are not sufficiently aware of the latest technological opportunities to enhance their effectiveness, their team, and their organization are still in leadership positions, this will not be the case in the coming years - 2026-2030.

How can a person understand which profession is suitable for them?

First, forget the idea that a profession is a static and one-time choice. We live in the last years where professions exist in their old form. The future is for every profession to have a technological alternative. My bolder advice is: make it so that you as a person are like a whole organization – with many skills and roles. Technologies will help you be effective. If you are a lawyer – be a lawyer with AI skills; if you are a doctor – enhance your digital literacy, get involved in advanced technology projects in medicine; if you are an accountant – take a course in digital transformation, understand how business processes are automated; if you are a journalist – learn how AI can make you more in-depth and faster, more accurate and reasoned. Your profession is right if you transform it, instead of waiting for it to limit you.

Which skills according to Inwill be key in the next 10 years?

The most crucial skill is the ability to transform. And you can start as early as tomorrow. Every day that you postpone, you make the decision not to be where you want to be. You don’t need to learn a specific technology – it will become outdated. You need to go through trainings and practices that transform your profession into its new version. The lawyer must become an AI-lawyer, the marketer – an AI marketer, the accountant – a digital strategist. The three skills that will bring you value are:

1.    The ability to learn quickly.

2.    The ability to integrate technologies into your daily work.

3.    The ability to be authentic and show results, surpassing your environment.

 

How to build a network of useful contacts without appearing interested?

I believe in humanity and true values in relationships and partnerships – those that remain even after our career and after our life. They stand before professional titles, before the number of contacts, before the number of deals or profits. I believe that the more successful the people around me – colleagues, friends, partners, even competitors – the more successful I will be too. In short – I feel sorry for people who use unethical means to develop their careers. This is always temporary and unsustainable. A true network is built on shared values, mutual support, and the desire for all to grow together.

What is the biggest mistake you have made in your career, and what did you learn from it?

Both a mistake and an advantage – these are those over 15 years, during which I worked in several places simultaneously and was overworked. On one hand, this gave me an incredible advantage – I gained experience, skills, and speed that made me wiser and more effective. On the other – it took away the ease and leisure with which other people live their lives. I learned that being overworked is not a long-term strategy. Today I believe more in effectiveness than in endless busyness. I work smarter, not harder – and that is exactly what I want to pass on to the people around me.

How to recognize a toxic work environment and when is it time to leave?

Very simple: if initiative is punished, if “average” is the standard, if new ideas are met with silence or mockery – you are in a toxic environment. If the organization lacks a culture of learning, has no openness to technologies, and everything revolves around “this is how we have always done it” – that is a red flag. In that case, the question is not “if”, but “when” to leave. And the answer is: as soon as possible. Because staying in a toxic environment is a choice – a choice to slow down your career, to limit your development, but most importantly – a choice not to live truly happily.

People are the core of every environment. Where there are intrigues, disinformation for personal gain, attempts to discredit, gossip, lies, using others, or excessive ego – there toxicity is born. And these people rarely change. The best that can happen is to be clearly identified and limited by others – then their toxicity turns inward and begins to poison only themselves. The real choice for you is not to allow this energy to define your life. Because the cost of staying – is much higher than the cost of leaving.

 

What would you do differently if you could start over?

If I could start over, I would invest earlier in my own technological adequacy. This would save me years of effort and hesitation. Very often at the beginning, I accumulated "knowledge" and "experience" in the classical sense, instead of building systems, tools, and skills for efficiency. Today I know that this is the difference between a person who simply works and a person who builds new standards. Therefore, my advice is: do not postpone. Start now. Connect with me on Linkedin and I can be helpful to you personally or to your team or company.

How to maintain our motivation in times of stagnation?

Stagnation is a signal, it is not a punishment. It is not a time for rest – but a time for action. It tells you that it is time to make a change. The surest way to regain your motivation is to learn something new, but most importantly to implement a change – a tool, an approach, a technology.

When AI or automation shows you that you can accomplish in 15 minutes what used to take you hours, motivation comes instantly. The time you free up can be directed towards much more meaningful activities and projects. The truth is that humanity is much more capable than to be limited to routine, "manual" professions solely related to survival.

Stagnation is an invitation to direct our energy towards new horizons: expanding intellectual capabilities, medicine and extending life, studying space, preserving the environment, deeper understanding of human intellect, psyche, and soul. Countless new paths for development lie ahead of us – and the faster we free ourselves from the chains of our current ignorance and limitations, the faster we will reach them.  

How to achieve a balance between professional and personal life?

The classic advice "work less" no longer works. Balance is not about less work, but smarter work. When you automate routine and integrate technologies into your daily life, you free up time for yourself and your loved ones. Balance comes not from the number of hours in the office, but from the ability to be effective, to set boundaries, and to choose wisely where to invest your energy. Technologies are already available, people just need to open up a little to change – you be among the changing people, not those who are closed and deny change.

For me, personal balance comes from knowing that I am useful and that I am available – both for my professional projects and for the people I love.

When is it time to change our career, not just the job?

A true career is energy and growth. When that energy disappears and you no longer feel development, it is time for change. But if we add the exceptional dynamics of changes in industries, professions, and the world as a whole – it becomes clear that change occurs regardless of us. We will not escape it.

There will be a divide among people: some will continue to work the old way – without technologies, without efficiency in new dimensions, while others will be the "new ones" – those who are light years ahead of the rest, more efficient, bolder, and more successful.

Changing careers is not a failure – it is the strongest investment in yourself. But before you reach that step, you can do something extremely useful for your personal and professional development: dare to be a bearer of change in your own organization and team. If you manage to transform your environment, it often turns out to be the best "new beginning" that does not require you to run away, but to lead.

If you had to give just one piece of advice to people seeking success, what would it be?

Choose to be leaders. Most people do not even make this choice – they stay in the comfort zone of the "average". But success belongs to those who consciously decide to rise above the average and set new standards.

Leadership is not a title or power – it is the ability to move ahead of the wave, to learn constantly, to use technologies as leverage, and to show results that others do not even believe are possible. But one more thing – leadership is also inner growth: to let go of ego, pettiness, and fear of the new, to embrace partnerships, creation, and the pursuit of the common good. To be collaborative, generous, and a hundred percent ethical – not only in actions but also in thoughts.

True success comes when you combine the courage to be ahead of others with the humanity to uplift them along with yourself.

What is Your definition of a "successful career"?

A successful career after 2026 is the ability to continuously develop and be adequate to the present moment. It is not so important what you have achieved until yesterday, but whether today you can learn, adapt, and transform your profession according to the new reality.

I increasingly meet professionals who were adequate at one point and are no longer – and this is a huge risk in the dynamic world we live in. But this risk can be managed – through proactivity, through change, through creation, instead of through passive compliance.

For me, success is achieving real results and being effective – for yourself, for your team, and for society. This is a career that brings not only recognition but also freedom: the freedom to choose your direction, to develop in new roles, and to leave a mark.