To the Graduating Class

For as long as you can remember you’ve been a student. You’ve attended class, did your homework (mostly), worked on projects, and taken tests. You’ve done that year after year for a long time. Your persistence has paid off, and you’ve accomplished something truly great. I sincerely congratulate you, and wish you the best on the next phase of your life.

As you leave the familiarity of school and enter a new environment, may I suggest a few professional attributes that will propel you to the top and keep you there. These attributes characterize the successful professionals I know and respect.  

Be Curious

Curious people are interested in what they do. They’re curious about the details of the problems they’re working on. They’re curious about how other people have solved similar problems in the past. And they are particularly curious to know how well they can solve those problems themselves.

Curious people are interested in others. They get to know their co-workers, pay attention to what they are good at, and learn from their best practices. Curious people pay attention to what others say. They listen and ask questions when they don’t understand; “The boss just said EBITDA, what does that mean?” “I’m not familiar with PVT, what is it?” Curious people are quick to look things up on the internet, in books, and in dictionaries. They’re always growing their knowledge and understanding.

I’m reminded of a past co-worker who ordered sample parts from our factory. Those parts arrived for his inspection, but for lack of curiosity, the samples sat unopened and out-of-site in his desk. When the boss found out, my co-worker nearly lost his job. The boss argued that he neglected important work. The boss was right, important work was neglected. Curious people can hardly wait for the samples to arrive, to open them, and see if they satisfy the project needs.

Be Careful

Careful people pay attention to the work they’re doing and particularly to the work they need to deliver to someone else. Being careful matters because the projects you’ll work on matter. Thousands, or even millions, of dollars may realistically be impacted by the decisions and/or recommendations you make. Be careful about them.

Careful people check their work before delivering it to someone else. Careful people assume there is an error in the work, and that it is their job to find it. Learning to do this with your own work is invaluable. Of course, you’ll make mistakes. We all do. But try not to make mistakes that are otherwise easily avoidable.

In 1999 NASA Mars Climate Orbiter mission failed because of carelessness. The orbiter survived the launch but was then sent on an incorrect trajectory toward Mars because of a mix-up in units. Subcontractor Lockheed Martin used English units, while NASA was using metric units. This was a 327 million dollar mistake.

Be Consistent

Consistent people can be relied on.  The people you work for and with are counting on you to be consistently present, and to produce work that is consistently good. When you are consistent in this way, it will be you who they think of to lead the next project or to do the next big job. Being consistent means that your boss can put you into their plans, knowing that you will most likely deliver. If you want to be influential, be consistent and you’ll find that somehow you’ve become part of the most important things going on at the company.

Perhaps a sports analogy will resonate: Michael Jordan is the model of basketball consistency. He was the MVP six years in a row, during those six years his team won 412 times and lost only 80 (he played 1072 games in his career). Michael Jordan’s consistently good performance put him at the center of everything – the games, the strategies, the media, and history.

Consistency matters in design and engineering too. In his book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, author Mason Currey spells out the daily practices of over 160 influential people, including Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Nikola Tesla, Frank Lloyd Wright, Benjamin Franklin [1]. In each case a noticeable commitment to consistency pervaded their lives.

Be Committed

Committed people share common objectives and goals. The company that hired you considers you part of their strategy for accomplishing their goals. Understand what those goals are, what your role in achieving them is, and be committed to those goals. Do everything you can to help your boss succeed. If you and your boss are both committed to the company, a win for her is a win for you, which is a win for the company. Anything short of this is not really what your company wants from you. I hate to say it, but without your commitment, the company is better off without you.

I’m on a pretty awesome team right now and we’re committed to our goals, which each team member shares as if it’s their own – because it is. Commitment brings alignment. Companies are powerful when their workforce is aligned. Align your professional goals with the company’s and your rate of success will skyrocket.

Be Kind

Kind people are good to work with. Your company will have all sorts of people; be counted among the kind. Kind people learn to give and take feedback in a healthy way. Kind people recognize the value of everyone at the company, even those positions that seem to be of lesser status. Kind people help and look out for each other. Kind people create the environment that attracts talent, brings out the best in people, and makes you and others love their job. In recent years the Harvard Business Review has published multiple articles on kindness being what sets successful CEOs apart [2,3]. They are worth reading.

Moving Forward

In summary, be curious, be careful, be consistent, be committed, and be kind. You may think these five attributes are simple or even insignificant. They’re not. I’ve seen them playout many times in multiple people’s careers including mine. You may think you’re already good at them, and you may be. I believe however that these attributes have deep meaning that can always be better understood, practiced, and improved.

References

[1] M. Currey, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, 2013

[2] E. Botelho, K. Powell, S. Kincaid, and D. Wang, “What Sets Successful CEOs Apart,” Harvard Business Review, May-June 2017, https://hbr.org/2017/05/what-sets-successful-ceos-apart

[3] B. Groysberg and S. Seligson, “Good Leadership is an Act of Kindness,” Harvard Business Review, Nov 2020, https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/good-leadership-is-an-act-of-kindness