I have worked for over 40 years in different corporate and start-up jobs, and have had over 26 bosses during my career.
Some were throwing some super ambitious 18-month goals at us, which forced me and the team to work nights and weekends to launch a new platform, only to miss the mark with customers, and end up with layoffs and stock options that became worthless. This despite the warnings that I and other senior engineers were telling them after seeing this kind of playbook fail in our previous companies.
Some of them understood that taking smaller risks by doing multiple, small-scale experiments that failed is the fastest way to listen and learn from customers. These small weekly & monthly experiments, especially the failed ones, are a goldmine of insights. They address real-world problems, instead of some "visionary" B.S.
Smart leaders will spend time at the front lines, doing actual customer support work to understand their pain points. I have had a few of those as my boss, and even travelled with them overseas to see firsthand how they engage with customers. I've learned so much from them.
Like you say, "Your struggles are where real learning takes place."
Hi Lee. I think so many people discount the value of simply showing up. Like your example of going to the gym even when you didn’t want to.
There’s real, compounding value in being consistently present.
I’ve actually walked in, took a minute and left. And I’m not alone which makes me believe sometimes showing up is all you need in that moment.
Thanks for the shout-out, Lee!
I have worked for over 40 years in different corporate and start-up jobs, and have had over 26 bosses during my career.
Some were throwing some super ambitious 18-month goals at us, which forced me and the team to work nights and weekends to launch a new platform, only to miss the mark with customers, and end up with layoffs and stock options that became worthless. This despite the warnings that I and other senior engineers were telling them after seeing this kind of playbook fail in our previous companies.
Some of them understood that taking smaller risks by doing multiple, small-scale experiments that failed is the fastest way to listen and learn from customers. These small weekly & monthly experiments, especially the failed ones, are a goldmine of insights. They address real-world problems, instead of some "visionary" B.S.
Smart leaders will spend time at the front lines, doing actual customer support work to understand their pain points. I have had a few of those as my boss, and even travelled with them overseas to see firsthand how they engage with customers. I've learned so much from them.
Like you say, "Your struggles are where real learning takes place."