Lessons learned...again
April 8, 2005
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While your high-tech work often has its ups
and downs, some weeks can do a wonderful job reminding you what your work
is all about. Some of the lessons you learn are new and others are simply
a re-education in something you may have forgotten. Regardless, these
are important lessons to remember. This week I want to relate a few of
the lessons that have been reinforced for me during this abnormally busy
week. Perhaps you can use them as a way of examining the lessons you learn
on a daily basis.
Be kind
One important part of my work (and my life) is feeling that I have made
someone’s life a little bit better. Whether big or small, the knowledge
that I have had an effect on their life gives me the biggest kick. I can
often fly through 4 or 5 tough consulting calls if I know that sometime
that day I did good in the world.
Today was one of those days. I received a call from a gentleman who has
attended my free library classes in the past. He had an emergency. His
computer had stopped working, but this was the least of his worries. His
wife had recently become an invalid and, along with his existing worries,
he needed the computer to help negotiate the, sometimes Byzantine, bureaucracy
of his HMO.
An hour or so later I arrived and quickly figured out that his scanner
had died and was causing his computer to crash. We chatted over a few
other, smaller problems and then I had to be on my way. Due to the short
travel time and easy fix, I had already decided not charge him for this
service call. I could tell he was under a great deal of stress and I saw
an opportunity to do something good. When I told him no payment was needed,
he offered his sincere, emotional and profuse thanks. It touched my heart
to think that I could offer some small sliver of happiness and make his
life one tiny bit easier. That made my entire day and will stay in my
mind for weeks to come.
Lesson 1: Be kind, to a fault
Not everything
Both before and after this call I had been experiencing some extremely
difficult problems. In fact, after many hours of work, I realized that
I might not be able to resolve them at all. It seems that replacement
of the malfunctioning computer and printer may be the only solution. Of
all the situations I find myself in, this one bothers me most. Even though
the problem may reside in hardware or software I take it very personally
when I can’t provide a solution. It can put me into a funk for days.
Silly? You bet. Reality? It is -- in my world and probably yours as well.
Each and every time this occurs I have to re-learn this important lesson...
Lesson 2: You can’t solve every problem
I don’t care how skilled or intelligent you are, there will always
be those few intractable problems that will defeat you. Does that mean
you should question your own abilities, berate yourself or simply give
up on your career? No. It simply reinforces a fact of life, you can’t
win every time. That said, you should use every unsolvable problem as
a learning experience. What did you learn, even if you couldn’t
solve the entire problem? What further research could you pursue? You
never know, but somewhere down the road, you might be able to solve the
problem, once you get more information and experience.
Ups and downs
Every career has its high and low points and you never know which is on
the way. All you can do is remember that life is cyclical and all things
do eventually come to an end. While today may have been tough, tomorrow
may be better. If today was a joy, watch out for tomorrow. You can’t
control the cycles, but you can control your reaction to them.
Lesson 3: Everything changes
Don’t let yourself get wrapped up in the depths of a bad day, or
the euphoria of a good one. Enjoy the good and suffer the bad, but always
know that another day is only 24 hours away.. When the going gets tough,
concentrate on the good work you will do tomorrow – and the next
day – and the next. It is here that the true joy of your high-tech
career resides.
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