Today I met with my VP to share the plans around a marketing campaign I'm building. He's a super sharp, super direct fellow who likes to drill deeply on anything and who can take the conversation anywhere. So the advice that we were given was "be prepared and know your stuff". True to form, he spent the first hour talking business and marketing strategy - no slides, no charts - just pure understanding of the business from every angle. It all flowed easily - the man knows our business, and sitting there he pushed me and my partner in ways that were terribly uncomfortable, but insightful.
It reminds me that MS is a great place to work for a number of reasons, but as I approach my first year anniversary I think it's amazing how much I've grown and how being around really REALLY smart people helps to sharpen you. If and when I leave, I don't imagine there will be any challenges that I can't solve or work through. That doesn't mean that I know everything - far from it. But I do think that I have more confidence to attack problems, collaborate, and get things done. When you're pushed and pulled and asked continually to do new and different things enough, you realize that you're up to the challenge. That's one of the great things that will come from this experience. It's hard, and frustrating, and challenging. And so many times I wish I were in a simple job doing simple things. But if this is the right place for me, and I think it is, then at the end of this adventure I'm going to be wicked sharp. Looking forward to that!
2 comments:
Um...I would say you already qualify as "wicked smart"!
What a cool opportunity to work with such awesome people. I bet if you read their blogs they would say the same about you. I have said it before, but you are one of the smartest guys I know.
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