And that’s a very good thing!
A lifetime’s worth of experience will not erase a fundamental truth: each human being is unique. What could you say then about the mix of people building a business?
If you see smoke, probably there’s a fire somewhere. Based on observations, filtered by what happened in the past, when we see smoke we come up with a story on where’s the fire, and what we need to put it out. We look for those we feel are worth to listen to that problem story: those that have the patience and expertise to connect with our vision and perception.
“The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” Aristotle
I have worked on several digital platforms, with clients from over two dozen countries and industries. I know cues don’t provide clear paths, it’s the details that make the difference we’re after.
Employees, resources, the market, positioning, features, customers, needs, and expectations make up an ecosystem that can’t accommodate conventional solutions.
Of course, I see where they point at. When I spot the patterns I jump and think it’s a slam dunk! Our brains are wired to optimize, in order to reduce the cost of processing. That’s why, when you hear a problem framed the same way so many times before, you relax and embrace the closest match. I did it plenty of times, as a rookie.
But I know better now.
The symptoms are the first step on the path to discovering the solution with the most desirable outcomes and lowest resource requirements. So, we walk through a design process to properly identify what’s creaky and actually needs oiling. Sure, it may seem tedious, but it’s illuminating.
I balance experience and enthusiasm by keeping an open mind to the challenges your organization is facing.
Those questions I ask during our first meeting don’t feed my curiosity, and my answers might not feed yours. At the risk of irritating you by asking “Why is that?”, I refrain from blurting out recipes, and plug into your matrix.
Because my job is not to know, it’s to find out.
Originally published on ionutmaxim.com, Aug 17, 2021.