Ambition is a kind of universal skill. It applies to everything. Sure, you could go to MIT and get your Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics, but unless you're Gordon Freeman, you probably won't become the leader of an underground resistance movement if you don't have the ambition to match.
Yes, I know. It seems that every fantasy novel has a reluctant leader. Well, as much as I'd love to say that the vast majority of our government is composed of reluctant, servant leaders, I have my reservations. More likely, these people got where they are because of their ambition.
Put another way, you don't get to be the President of the United States by combining Diet Coke and Mentos in your mother's basement. 'Nuff said.
Why am I talking about this? Well, I've been tasked with screening potential interview candidates for the UX team at Puppet Labs. We meet over lunch and talk for an hour about... stuff... so I can get a feel for what they know and what they're passionate about.
The annoying thing--frustrating, really--is the general lack of ambition. It seems to be independent of skill set, experience, or seniority (though fresh-out-of-college graduates might have a slight edge). I don't get it. Ten minutes into the conversation, and you're not connecting, not getting that spark that says you absolutely must work with this person. All you can think about is paying the waiter and getting back to work with your colleagues who actually care about what they do.
Honestly--the main thing we're looking for is ambition. People who leap out of bed in the morning, fly to the office, sail through the day, energize everyone they touch, and go home dreaming about how they'll change the world tomorrow. It doesn't matter if they don't meet all the qualifications out of the box. If we had hundreds of ambitious individuals banging on our door every day, we'd use qualifications as a filter, but we don't. It takes us 2-3 months to fill each position.
Which made today's interview a breath of fresh air.
He's never gone to college, has been working at an Apple retail store for two years, doesn't have a UX skill set (but has strong empathy for people), and wants to start a company within the decade. Ambitious. Vivacious. Hungry for challenge and eager to learn.
I almost cried.
We're bringing him on as a management intern. An executive assistant of sorts, working under my boss. If--after three months--he rocks our socks off, we'll hire him full-time. His job? Provide air cover for the team, improve cross-team communication, and make sure people are excited about what they're working on. In short--his mission, should he choose to accept it, is to make us awesome.
In exchange, we'll teach him everything we know, send him to conferences to learn everything they know, and--when he's ready--send him off to found his own company and be awesome.
Ambition. Get it. Use it.
Oh, and I promise this will be my last work-related post for awhile. It's just--when happiness and inspiration descend on you at the same time, you can't say no.
Until next time,
- Daniel
No comments:
Post a Comment