Today I had a conversation with my team lead. I asked him what I should do to fit into the team further, given my capabilities and what resources the team will need in the long run. Instead of giving me a straight-forward answer, my lead made two plots on the wall, which answers my questions in a better way.
First, he drew a small box and labeled it as "known known", and a much larger box and labeled it as "unknown unknown". He said, as a new University grad, I may already know what I am capable of: machine learning research, feature engineering, and data analysis, etc. However, it is still too early to conclude on my capabilities: there are still many areas that I have not got exposed to. By doing more different work and exploring in more diverse fields, I may be able to find where my true motivation lays and where I have much more competitive advantages than others. Be patient and open-minded -- that's his suggestion to me. At the age of 20s, I need to encourage myself to explore around, get hands on a few different areas by doing actual projects, and keep reflecting on what truly makes myself fulfilled and happy.
Be patient and open-minded
Secondly, he talked about what the team will do. Instead of writing an ambitious, well-designed roadmap, he plotted a funnel through which our customers go through step by step to solve their needs. He pointed at the end of the funnel and said that is what we are working on: to create direct benefits for customers to solve their needs. However, it is very clear to see that in order to generate more values for the customers, we need to look bottom-up until covering the entire span of the funnel -- simply put, it is not about what we plan to do; in essence, it is all about what our customers want and how we can solve their needs. The market landscape and the internal environment of a business may change rapidly, so it is extremely hard to think of a plan out of the context and closely follow it. If we can focus on the core of the business and the fundamental needs of the customers, the plans will come next naturally.
It reminds me of what Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, once said:
If you want to build a successful, sustainable business, don't ask yourself what could change in the next ten years that could affect your company. Instead, ask yourself what won't change, and then put all your energy and effort into those things. -- Jeff Bezos
