Thursday, January 13, 2022

How to avoid professional mistakes?

Photo by Ali Yılmaz on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here! 


When I said towards the end of last year that there was a real possibility to hit my 40/40 target this year, I was making a few assumptions.

One of them was that the bonus would be paid out in Dec/Jan, which is wrong now that I know more about it.

So unless some miracle happens in the stock market, it is going to be hard to hit the target this year.

And judging from now, it does not seem the stock market is going to be too good this year, which may not be a bad thing. 

But yes, the possibility is going to be real next year.

Photo by William Bout on Unsplash

It is one of my problems, reaching conclusion without really thinking it through.

  • Simplify things too much to avoid the complexity, missing critical steps and assumptions along the way
  • Make assumptions that seemingly makes sense, without proper validation. The bonus schedule is a quick and easy thing to validate
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

The consequence could be very bad.

  • Hand in wrong work that could lead to wrong decisions
  • Get challenged and need to rework whatever is submitted
  • Make promises that are impossible to fulfill

All of this damages my reputation and career potential.

Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash

And most of the time, it is not hard to avoid this.

  • Follow the right mindset — solid work is the bottom-line
  • Do not get lazy
  • Lay it out on paper (processes, timelines, assumptions…)
  • Think about it a few times more
  • Run sanity check from different angles
  • Check with people to get a fresh perspective

I need to make myself a checklist so that I go through all those next time. 


Till next time!

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