How to do your Work while keeping your job
Almost no one puts in
the work to create or invent
Seth
Godin, “Linchpin”
For the last 10 years of
my life I was putting myself in the same challenging situation: I would get a
Software Developer job and would try to keep it for a while. It’s not very hard
for me to get a job, because I interview well. Keeping a job is not hard
either, because I’m a fast study and I welcome feedback. But it’s very hard for
me to contain myself within a job description while keeping my sanity.
I like to shake things up,
ask stupid questions, and do the impossible. And I like to do it 9-to-5. It’s very hard to pull off for a number of
reasons:
- Most people like security, boundaries and
status. People don’t like changes An innovator is sometimes perceived as a
‘climber’
- Some people tend to work hard rather then
smart, seeing clock-watchers as lazy and indifferent.
- No one likes to hear criticism. No one likes
to throw away a piece of work they invested their time in. No one likes to
feel non-inventive or non-creative.
But for a creative person,
not creating is torture. For an inventor, not inventing is suicide.
Let’s define Work as
something no one else can do, because you were born to do it. Let’s define a job
as a sum of expectations that sometimes manifests in a job description. How can
you do your Work on the job? How can you change the world, make friends, and be
home for dinner? I don’t have the ultimate answer but I’ll tell you what works
for me.
ü
Stay curious
and fascinated. Never stop asking questions. Make every co-worker your mentor.
It makes people feel respected and valued. Acknowledge a good idea whenever you
see it. Don’t forget to say “WOW”. Don’t forget to say “Thanks”
ü
Worry about
co-workers first. Your first inventions should help your co-workers, not your
clients. See what your colleagues are spending most of their time on, find what
hurts them the most and try to fix it. Make peace. Fix a broken window. Bring
an apple to a hungry teacher.
ü
Get to know
your users or clients. What bothers them? What’s missing? What would make them
happy beyond belief? No go and invent something.
ü
Build the
first prototype, write up a design, draw a picture, do something tangible.
Invest time to make it pretty. Now take it to your mentors, one by one and
humbly accept criticism. Improve. Iterate. Repeat.
ü
Once you have
something ready, present it to anyone who has time to listen. Never stop
selling your product. Keep telling stories, keep asking questions. And keep praising
your mentors for the wonderful ideas and assistance in doing your project.
The approach I described
can be easily illustrated in a family environment. A family gets home. Everyone
is hungry. The designated cook goes to the kitchen and starts cooking. An hour
later, the family gathers at the table. As they taste the food, the people
might think: “That’s not my favorite dish” or “It’s not cooked right”. But if
the cook asks the family members to come over and help in the kitchen, then
everyone will enjoy working together and will enjoy the result much more. It’s
harder to be critical about the result if you invested an effort in the
process. And if everyone enjoyed the food it’s easier to ask someone to do the
dishes.