When you visit your favorite restaurant, do you always order your one favorite dish or switch once in a while to something new on the menu?
What is the mental framework you use to decide whether to stick with the known delicacy or explore in search of a new favorite on the menu?
If you chose your current favorite, did you stumble on that based on someone’s recommendation or settled on through your trial and error method and multiple visits to the restaurant? If you ordered something new, is it because you were bored of current dish or you were feeling adventurous?
How is this related to our careers?
During the early part of your career, by choice or necessity, you select a particular technology or domain that also (usually) happens to be hot and pays well. In other words, you found your favorite dish. You grew well by learning the ropes and developing expertise in a few years. Then, invariably, you will eventually hit Peter Principle. Huh?
Peter Principle says that you will always be promoted until you reach your level of incompetence. The later that you hit Peter Principle limitation, the harder it is to break free out of this constraint. It feels like a 20 car train taking an abrupt left turn while traveling at 120 mph.
What you have done all these years is exploited a competency or domain for its maximum utility. However, if you had forgotten to try the new dish on the menu or learn and add a new technology or competency to your repertoire once in every few months (explore), it becomes that much more harder to pivot into a newer and (usually) a better role. If you aspire for a great career, it is very important to be a “Student Always”.
Constant exploration makes you a wanderer and constant exploitation makes you a settler and obsolete.
Each person has to decide what is the right balance between exploitation and exploration. This is such an important concept that even at the macro level of a company, an entire book this predicament aptly named “The Innovator’s Dilemma”. The book discusses the concepts of Iterative Innovation (Exploitation) and Disruptive Innovation(Exploration).
How does it normally feel during the different phases
Exploitation
- Cruising in the comfort zone.
- Adding on limited complexity built on top of your expertise.
- Perfecting and optimizing your expertise.
- Repetitive and bored (sometimes).
Exploration
- A lot of ambiguity.
- Tremendous increase in level of difficulty to even accomplish basic things in the new field.
- No clear end in sight (sometimes)
- For some, this phase makes them even question their own abilities. (Don’t worry, all of us are very capable).
How do we deal with this?
- Always, be curious about new developments.
- Make it a habit to learn something new to a basic level of competency once in every few months.
- Accept uncertainty and ambiguity as gifts to grow and thrive.
- Deliberately consider ideas that challenge your thinking and force you to explore out of your comfort zone.
- There is a no guarantee that the new skill you learn will ever be helpful but celebrate what you have become, an able life long learner.
If you have reached this far, let me know what you think?
BYC 
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