It’s the answer to most things.
Where to go to school, who to hang out with, where to work?
The answer? Where you’ll learn the most.
“Above all else, focus on acquiring knowledge…Knowledge [is] like gold—a currency you will transform into something more valuable than you can imagine.”
Robert Green
I hear this suggested to new graduates looking for their first real job. But it’s more than that. It’s every job, every project, every new client, every experience.
You stressed education your whole life and now you think it’s over? It’s never over.
Learning is more important than earning, and eventually it’s what really gets you paid.
You probably won’t listen to me. Most new graduates that are offered a reasonable salary and lots of “learning” will pass and take shitty hours and the promise of a big pay day. They are tired of eating Top Ramen and they want to signal a willingness to grind and to earn. That is the measuring stick.
Someone needs to buy beers on Friday nights, right?
Have at it.
Those that have been in the workforce have a different hill to climb. They’ve upgraded.
Upgraded the house and the car. The lifestyle. It’s hard as hell going backwards, so they keep chasing that bag.
I made the same mistake.
I didn’t ask any questions about what I’d learn or what projects I’d work on. No questions about customers. I didn’t know anything about the industry and really didn’t care. I even asked to see a salesperson’s commission statement. I wanted to make sure it was real. Make sure if I did X, I’d earn Y. Didn’t think twice about learning Z. That was not part of my equation.
Shortsighted. Desperate. That’s where I was. In debt and out of options.
And then I did it. And I did it again, and again, and again. I performed, I got paid, I got gold stars.
And soon enough I got bored, complacent, and stale.
And eventually I was left wondering how I let a selfish 23-year-old choose the direction of my life.
It was a pushup contest. Each year they just wanted a few more reps. I was sick of doing those damn pushups.
Peter Drucker discussed this in Managing Oneself, where he said, “after 20 years of doing very much the same kind of work, they [employees] are very good at their jobs. But they are not learning or contributing or deriving challenge and satisfaction from the job.”
I wish I had read that 20 years ago. At least then I’d have seen it coming.
I wanted to learn and grow and change. I guess I had already changed, I just didn’t have a job that recognized it.
If you are not learning or contributing or deriving challenge and satisfaction from the job, somethings gotta give.
You can avoid that fate with a little care and attention. A little forethought. When you interview you need to keep those ears turned on. You are interviewing them as well, right? So, listen to the lessons they have learned while on the job. Same with discussing that promotion, or the move to a new division. Are the people doing that role today learning and growing?
“Employment is a two‐way agreement; both sides need to be satisfied with the deal.”
Frank Slootman, Amp It Up
What mistakes have you made?
What mistake do you see new employees make?
What has surprised you?
These questions will get you closer. Real stories that you can hear and draw your own conclusions from. Would the same scenario surprise you? Or is the answer obvious? If it’s child’s play, if the work is too easy, you might feel like you can make an immediate impact. You might feel like you can run this place someday. They would be lucky to have you, no doubt, but that might not be the place to put your energy.
I can remember looking around at the sales floor when I started, I was taking a mental accounting of who I was better than. Rude, pompous, and arrogant. I made a list of people I’d “leapfrog” on the way to commissions and promotion. And then it happened.
It felt good too.
That dopamine scrambled the signals though, it pulled me off the path, so let me help guide you.
Fill your head now so you can fill your belly later.
Don’t change roles when you stop earning. At that point it’s too late.
Change when you stop learning. When you stop growing.
Leaders are readers, earners are learners, but all that can be painfully long-term thinking. So, keep it simple. When choosing the next big thing, take a long hard look at where you’ll learn the most.
