This idea that learning to learn is more important than learning itself
Back when I was 15 years old I was regular, inquisitive student focused on learning / knowledge
Wasn’t paying as much attention to the process of learning
What things enhance my ability to learn
Learning to learn is more important than what you know
Pivoted a lot in my career across domains and functions to grow myself as a general manager
Pivots forced me to learn and adapt in the current context
It’s ok to question the question
As a young self / student trying to figure things out you often think about the world very simplistically in terms of stimulus / response or questions and answers
You take questions at face value
Often the person asking the question is the one starting the conversation
Questioner is driver
Answerer is being driven – trying to literally answer the question
During the course of my career in life I’ve realized there is so much value in trying to question the question rather than just trying to answer it
This industry has been around for 40 years. Within RSA we are questioning the very mission of the industry
Eradicate all risk and create unhackable world
Just focus on safer world and recognize nothing is unhackable
Question the question in order to make progress
Step back and review the questions you’re asking or progress can stall
Are we framing the problem the right way
Not how can we do what we do better
Instead should we continue doing what we do
Leadership lesson – learning as a leader
What other people feel is very important, and what other people feel is more important than what they think
Story over data
15 year old self is focused on data, facts, things you can hold onto, things that are concrete
No appreciation for the motive and the story aspect
I’ve realized the power of storytelling and a good story
Data is subservient to a good story
To get people to do things, you need to get them to FEEL a certain way
Can’t do it with just facts and data
Best way to influence is with storytelling and the story arc
Joel – StackOverflow
Covered a lot of Microsoft stuff
Started in 1991 on Excel team
Unintended consequences of impact of code on society
Worked on feature in Excel that caused it to run arbitrary code when you open a spreadsheet
It was a beneficial feature in 1991
No internet – no concept of sharing a spreadsheet
Seems like its over your head because software development has gotten more complicated
Tools that we build upon – abstraction layers
Accept payments: Stripe / twillio
Role of StackOverflow is to make it possible for developers to accelerate work and work at a higher level of abstraction because it acts as a safety net for those larger problems
It gets better – LOL
One of the things that’s great about my job and building a startup is that I am constantly learning new things and expanding my horizon
Did liberal arts degree
Took anthropology class in senior year
Cultural anthropology
Most boring class I ever took
Exercise in struggle through boredom
20 years later I discovered that all of the good decisions I was making were based on anthropology
Made Trello (sold for $425 million) and StackOverflow based on anthropology
Lecture – the cultural anthropology of StackOverflow
Place in your profile that tells you how many people you’ve helped
The “economy” of StackOverflow is based on helping people
Waste time considering 140-character vs. 280-character rather than thinking about whether to ban Trump
Understanding human beings
Second most useful class psychology
Mike Convertino – F5 CISO
Try a lot of things
Zero in and continue doing the things that you love amongst those things
Don’t listen to naysayers
If you love it – do it anyway
I don’t feel like I’m “done” trying things
I used to play around with electronics a lot as a kid
I wanted to understand how they worked
I started tearing them apart
Took a few years before I learned how to put them back together
Grew up with tinkerer / hacker mentality
Dissect things and figure out how to put them back together to meet your needs
In Air Force as junior captain
Working in communications
Technology and interoperability
Told boss he wanted to go to meet with Marc Andreesen about this new “browser” thing
You know Mike – a communications officer in the Air Force needs to focus on this set of things
This small computer thing is just not something you’re going to build a career on
Chris – Microsoft
Been at Microsoft for 26 years
Went to college in Boston
Only 2 jobs in his life — the family Italian restaurant and got job at Microsoft right out of college
Talk to new hires at company about things I wish I could have told myself when I started
Things I had to learn the hard way
Don’t be afraid to take some risks with your job selections
Every time I did something that I thought was risky, it turned out not to be that big a risk
Times I took a very different job than the one I was doing
Somewhat “dangerous”
Sort of like starting over
You don’t know the team, the job
If you always just take a job that’s similar to the one you already have you don’t grow and expand
You don’t have to have a 5-year plan to have a wonderful career
Its fine to have one but its important to be willing to re-write your plan
Be prepared to take advantage of exciting new opportunities
This notion that its ok to take lateral job moves
Even if your peers are getting promoted faster than you
It’s an artificial way of “keeping track” of career progression
Lateral moves can provide unique opportunities that expand your future prospects
Worked writing for Bill Gates
The opportunity to work with and be in the sphere of influence of Bill Gates is much greater than the financial compensation of a small promotion
As a hiring manager, I love when people raise their hand and say “I want that job”
People who say I love my job and what I’m doing, but if you have a project or unique task I want to help
Exposes the person to unique experiences
Take initiative and volunteer
People have more control over their own destiny than they believe
Don’t wait for the company or your manager to approach you and/or tell you what your next job is going to be
Forge your own plan–there is no natural progression that is just going to be handed to you
Over the course of my career I’ve been rejected for a number of jobs I pursued
I have learned over time what makes me unique and what special skills I bring to the table as well as what my weaknesses are and what I’m not good at
Tiffany Cook – WE
I have a 7yo and 11yo boy
7yo in second grade
11yo just starting middle school
Considered the question through the lens of recent conversations with 11yo
First thing that came to mind is what I tell my own boys
Curiosity
The world is so much bigger than you think
When you have the lens of thinking about other people’s points of view
Where are they coming from
Eternal quest to always learn
Without curiosity you stop learning
You also lose empathy without curiosity
Curiosity has evolved over time in terms of what it means to me
I feel like I know less now than I did then because I have realized how much I DON’T know
Second thing is confidence
Somewhat in conflict with curiosity
Belief that you can succeed
I was youngest child in my family by 12 years
I lacked confidence early in my career
It made everything much harder
First 5 years or so it was challenging to have the confidence to speak up
I got lucky that I had strong female leaders around me early in my career to foster my confidence
Someone told me “you’re not at the little kids table anymore. You can speak up.”
Trusting my instincts is a critical part of why I am where I am
Listen to the voice in your head
Follow the questions your intuition presents you
President and Chief Product Officer – Ayman?
Been there 3 years
Previously Cisco for 16.5 years
Focused on innovation and building new products
Take myself back down memory lane
Back 15-20 years
What would I do differently
What are my key takeaways
While we’re in school and trying to decide on a field
Focused on learning
You don’t actually learn the skills you need for a specific job
Goal is learning to learn
Fast forward to last year and this year
Spend a lot of time focused on success of business
Business today is now built for change, not built to last
Adapt and change with dynamic landscape
We put a lot of effort into developing a long-term plan
Common interview question: What do you want to be doing 5-10 years from now?
More important than a 5-year strategy or plan is ability to identify trends and changes and adjust
The programming language you learned in school changed
Languages change almost every year
As I reflect on my career
When and where did I grow the most– it was when I felt challenged
When do you know when its time to do something different?
When you feel comfortable and you know how to do all of the things it’s time to move on
Youre not growing and learning
Katie Moussoris
My 15 year old self had a lot going on.
I was on the same BBS as the folks from the L0pht and Cult of the Dead Cow, and we’d meet up and hang out, exchange hacking ideas and pick locks. I could just focus on financial security, and share the wisdom that stock market and housing bubbles do exist, so get ready.
But that seems like a missed opportunity for the hardest lessons:
Learn to actively listen with empathy, especially when it comes to those with whom I disagree. This was a complex skill, requiring multiple similarly hard prerequisite skills to build. It was the hardest to build, and I’m still building it, yet the return in kind and the positive results in the form of bidirectional changes have been worthwhile. Stare long enough into an abyss, and your eyes might adjust to see more than darkness in there.
I would have encouraged my young, curious, hacker self to just keep her head up while bracing for what will ultimately grow into the ride of her life.
I’d tell her to place her belief in herself first, and choose friends and partners who behave as such. Root out and dismiss anyone who proves through action or inaction that they aren’t on your side.
Start a company. Not in a few years. Now. The cost of failure is lower when you’re young. You can afford to try several experiments in business and in life, and you should do so as soon as you can. You should also write a book.
Jennifer Steffens
Katie
My 15 year old self had a lot going on.
I was on the same BBS as the folks from the L0pht and Cult of the Dead Cow, and we’d meet up and hang out, exchange hacking ideas and pick locks. I could just focus on financial security, and share the wisdom that stock market and housing bubbles do exist, so get ready.
But that seems like a missed opportunity for the hardest lessons:
Learn to actively listen with empathy, especially when it comes to those with whom I disagree. This was a complex skill, requiring multiple similarly hard prerequisite skills to build. It was the hardest to build, and I’m still building it, yet the return in kind and the positive results in the form of bidirectional changes have been worthwhile. Stare long enough into an abyss, and your eyes might adjust to see more than darkness in there.
I would have encouraged my young, curious, hacker self to just keep her head up while bracing for what will ultimately grow into the ride of her life.
I’d tell her to place her belief in herself first, and choose friends and partners who behave as such. Root out and dismiss anyone who proves through action or inaction that they aren’t on your side.
Start a company. Not in a few years. Now. The cost of failure is lower when you’re young. You can afford to try several experiments in business and in life, and you should do so as soon as you can. You should also write a book.
Stuart McClure
I would remind my 15 year of self the following:
Everything will be ok J
The secret to life is working hard and never giving up.
Protect those who cannot protect themselves.
Trusting someone before it is earned is a painful way to live but the only way to truly feel free
Let go of the past, people’s transgressions against you and any grudges, they only create toxicity in your life and don’t impact the transgressor’s life one iota.
Look back to learn, be present in the present, and look to the future to improve.
Give of yourself and it will be returned exponentially.
Stay away from people who say “the only racket I don’t like is the one I’m not involved in.” They will “game” you like they do their world.
Always be honest and pursue the truth.
Find your true passion. It’s the one that never feels like work…
Ron Gula
If I knew what I knew now i would say three pieces of advice:
1) It takes a much longer time for people to change their minds, habits and preferences than you realize, even with sound logic, planning and communication.
2) No matter how humble, honest and fair you are, you will still pay for the sins of others who came before you and were not.
3) Never forgot your goals. If you don’t have a specific goal, you will never know if you have succeeded and others will define your level of success for you.