A Beginners Mindset
When Being Clueless Is Your Superpower
I had no idea what I wanted to do while getting out of the Army. It was scary. I had an Electrical Engineering degree, but after five years of being removed from school, I couldn’t tell the difference between a resistor and a capacitor. At that point, it was just cool to say I had the degree.
The main skill sets I had built in the Army were leading people and executing a plan. Oh, and an uncanny ability to fall asleep anywhere, anytime. I sought out help from a veteran recruiting firm called Orion Talent. They match junior officers like me, a Captain, with companies seeking veterans. They had an upcoming conference near me, so I signed up.
I interviewed with five different companies, all different jobs: A Telemetry Engineer at Honeywell (unfortunately, it was in Kansas [sorry if you like Kansas, but Jackie was not moving there]), a Production Manager at Owens Corning (pink panther, anyone?), a Project Engineer at Managan Software Solutions, a Six Sigma Black Belt at TAMKO, and a Quality Engineer at St. Jude Medical (not that St. Judes).
I took the job with Mangan because it most aligned with where I wanted to be and the team I wanted to work with. Also, they didn't test my nonexistent software knowledge during the interview. The industry of building software was entirely new for me. The sector where we built software for Functional and Process Safety Engineers for Oil and Gas refineries was even more foreign. I didn't know what I was doing, but the Army taught me well enough to fake it 'til you make it, right?
My first goal was to design something for one of our biggest clients, BP. I started setting up regular meetings with one of our champions, peppering him with questions and listening closely to specific problems. I felt like a toddler asking "why" to everything, but with a deeper voice and better vocabulary (kind of).
One of the first problems I discovered was the antiquated process for doing safety overrides. Everything was paper-based and needed multiple approvals and checklists filled out. I also knew nothing about wire diagrams and software requirements, but I knew how to use Microsoft Paint (I apologize to my Apple peeps). I’m serious; I used MS Paint to design a software feature for a Fortune 100 company. It was like bringing a crayon to a CAD fight. And you know what? They loved it. The next thing I knew, we got a purchase order to build the feature. From that experience, I continued finding problems, designing solutions, and working with developers to build them. I was the ultimate customer advocate. I wouldn’t show the software until I knew it was what the customer wanted.
To increase my credibility, my company paid for me to get certified as a TÜV Functional Safety Engineer. It was a pretty big deal to be approved. I was a bit intimidated by the expertise of my classmates. However, as we started to dive into the material, I understood some concepts better than those of Functional Safety Engineers. The same thing happened with one of the other project engineers from Mangan, who was also a veteran. We seem to be experts already. We took the final exam at the end of the course and we' were the first to finish. Did we mess up and become overconfident in our knowledge? Nope, we aced the exam with the two highest grades my company has ever had, and I'm a terrible test taker.
Here is a video I recorded about my experience finding success by having a beginner’s mindset.
Rookie Smarts
Have you ever felt like a fish out of water in a new job? According to Liz Wiseman's book "Rookie Smarts," you might be the most valuable person in the room. This book was mandatory reading for my President at Mangan.
Wiseman argues that newcomers to an industry can sometimes outperform seasoned pros. It's like how a toddler can figure out a smartphone faster than their grandparents. Why? Because rookies approach tasks with more creativity, flexibility, and an eagerness to learn.
But beware! Relying too heavily on experience can be like Blockbuster thinking it wouldn’t be wise to buy Netflix (The CEO thought it was a joke).
Beginner Mindset Lessons
Here are some lessons from pivoting careers multiple times and trying to maintain a beginner’s mindset with every new venture.
Talk to Experts: Don't just ask questions to hear experts talk (although some do love the sound of their own voice). Really try to understand their problems. Your fresh take might help them see the forest they've been missing through all those trees.
Build Something: I found the most value in learning by designing and building software. To make something, you need to understand how it is supposed to work genuinely, and opportunities to design and build will help you learn faster.
Fresh Perspective: Our perspective comes from a lifetime of experiences—the problem is, it’s only our lifetime. Often, a lot of experience with some things makes us complacent about new perspectives. Sometimes, we need someone to ask “Why?” like a persistent 4-year-old. Why do we do it this way? If you listen to their perspective, you might just learn something.
Continuous Learning: Never stop learning. NEVER. It's why I became a Professor - that and the elbow patches. As Richard Feynman said, "If you really want to master something, teach it." I've always had a spark for knowledge, but it turned into a bonfire when I returned for my Master's degree. Reading everything (fiction or nonfiction) makes me determined to learn at least one thing a day. It's like compound interest for your brain!
Improved Collaboration: Ideas are like sparks that catch the kindling on fire, eventually setting the logs ablaze. You might need a lot of sparks to start that fire, so regular brainstorming sessions are crucial. Bring in people who don't fully understand the problem - they might ask the question that turns into the spark that lights the fire that burns the... you get the idea.
Enhanced Creativity: I loved working at Mangan because my manager let me be fully creative in my designs. This creative freedom allowed me to truly understand my customers' problems. Let your inexperienced team own their creativity—they might surprise you with their Picasso-like problem-solving skills.
Conclusion
So, next time you feel like you're over your head, remember that your lack of experience might be your secret weapon. Embrace your inner rookie, ask the "dumb" questions, and approach problems with the wide-eyed wonder of someone who doesn't know it can't be done. And for goodness' sake, don't let anyone tell you what you can't do.
Don’t get captured,
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