Reshaping Our Perception of Success

Reshaping Our Perception of Success

on May 4th 2012 with 39 comments

Over the course of these last two weeks, I had the pleasure of attending an Envato meetup/conference in Malaysia. As you might expect, Envato is composed of ridiculously smart and talented folks…folks so smart that it quickly becomes intimidating!

But I’m not here to talk about the conference specifically; instead, I’d prefer to ramble a bit on one of my largest takeaways from the event.

The Old-Fashioned “Path”

The Path

One day during the conference, I had a chat with Envato’s current (temporary) lead development manager, Pete, about the traditional concept of advancement in a company. In many ways, we’re designed/brainwashed from an early age to follow a very specific path:

  • Begin at the bottom.
  • Slowly work your way up to your target position (meaning the job in which you are most content and fullfilled).
  • Finally, despite your instincts advising you otherwise, you disregard your current contentment, and instead continue once again up the stairs… to management.

That’s a good thing, right? Well, in our industry, specifically, maybe not.

Management can be a bit of a scary word. It indicates Excel, not code. It indicates… management, not development.

Our life-long training tells us that this is what’s supposed to happen.

But, nonetheless, it’s still a higher level (hopefully higher paying) job. Our life-long training tells us that this is what’s supposed to happen, if we desire to be successful. You’ve worked hard; now you get to manage others (and maybe drink scotch). This is the path.

For creatives, though, does this sort of role make us happy?

  • Is this what kept us up late at night learning how to code?
  • Are we selling our souls (to be dramatic) for slightly more money?
  • Are we addicted to some silly notion of control or power or respect?

Sure, we may have a bit more input into the direction of the business, but does it make us happier? For the last year or so, I’ve struggled with this very thing. I adore my current job: I’m able to help shape the future of education in the creative fields (more on that later this year), and spend all of my spare/free time learning how to be a more efficient developer. What could be better than that?

Still, though, that lingering feeling always rested in the back of my mind: I’m only “advancing” in the world if my job title/rank increases sporadically. I had (and have) no desire to change my current involvement/role in the company (Envato), but, nevertheless, felt that I should reach for these more traditional managerial roles.

This old-fashioned notion of advancement is a silly metric for success.

The Lesson

Pete taught me that this old-fashioned notion of advancement is a silly metric for success. Instead, we have to reshape our perception of what both success and fulfillment are. Remember when I noted that Pete was the development manager at Envato? Well, technically, at his own choosing, he’s the temporary manager, while we search for a new development manager. Despite the fact that he’s certainly qualified for the job, he doesn’t want it – which I find incredibly admirable. Instead, his skills/desires rest firmly in things like software architecture. In his own words, that is where he is able to contribute most effectively to the company. So, a bit oddly, perhaps, he is currently in the position of finding and hiring his future manager.

Closing Thoughts

It’s interesting how the older I get, the more and more I come back to this one word: “contentment.” It’s not about job titles, or vanity, or even money (to some extent); it’s simply about contentment. Do what you love, and forget those old-fashioned job titles and notions of success. Or…

Figure out where you’re most effective in your company, and do…that. Period.

 
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I'm the editor of Nettuts+, and love making the process of building for the web as easy as possible. Also, I'm finishing up my latest book on Laravel Testing! If you want be friends, say hi on Twitter.  

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  • Andie

    Nice one Jeff !! Loved the last line though !! :)

    • http://przemek.szelenberger.pl Przemyslaw Szelenberger

      True words dude!

      I have friends who earn more money but they don’t love their work!

      P. S.
      Sorry for my English.

  • Kel

    Stop moving up if it means you’ll no longer be smarter than your boss. That’s my rule. I’ve broken this rule so many times.

  • Kel

    Management is a bit of a safe-haven when your life circumstances mean you can’t compete with the young guys with all that time on their hands to compete with you. It doesn’t make it cool to move there, but it explains the decisions… What’s scary is that once you go there, it’s very hard to go back not because of inertia or one-way signs at one company, but because you fall even further behind and atrophy. And managing people who can’t do your job close to as well as you can is so not fun.

  • uvegla

    I admire computers from the first time i ever saw one. For a long time, i havent thought of seriously becoming a programmer or whatever, because most around me thought it is stupid and a dead idea and i should “get a haircut, and get a real job”. So I was there without a clue what to do with myself. Than one day I had a chat with an old lady and she said: “Son, life is too short, so do what makes YOU happy, because you either break your back working for someone else, hating your job, making him happy, or you work just as hard, but for yourself and your own fulfillment.” Programming my life away since than, so thanks, whereever you are.

  • amooney

    I have worked in the IT industry for quite sometime but never felt fulfilled. My wife has always encouraged me to do something creative because she believes I am a creative person.

    Last year I found myself in the position where I could either stick to earning a good salary but remaining unfulfilled or, leave it all behind and do something I actually enjoyed. I am now a 34 year old full time student just finishing my 1st year of a 4 year degree in Web development and loving every minute. If I’m not studying for Uni I am looking through all the tuts+ sites learning new things.

    Looking back at how I was before I now realise that success should be a measure of how happy you are and not how much money you earn. Of course if you can earn good money and do what you enjoy then that makes it even better.

    “Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work another day in your life” Confucius

    • Uldis

      yeah, finally “do something creative”.
      its funny, that so many people thinks that programming and development is not creative :)
      just a note, nothing personal.
      Finding out, that developing something can be creative was a turning point for me.

  • http://halucinated.com Steve

    Love it!

  • ivan

    Great article. Maybe success is not only an up oneway trip, maybe we can find a better place for us right aside of us.

  • http://blogthingsdot.blogspot.com dan blogs

    I was previously in denial about some ‘heavy duty’ programming languages not being my cup of tea – I’ve always been annoyed by syntax (a million curly braces and brackets here and there) but in recent years I accept it in part because its not for everyone, and in part because of frameworks and libraries.

    ‘Success’ is sometimes just is ego food, and you obviously don’t have to be a computer programmer to be a successful person.

  • http://www.petarzivkovic.com Petar Zivkovic

    That’s always a tricky decision to make. Sometimes, even if you love the job you’re doing right now, the direction your company or your career is headed to won’t allow you to continue doing that exact job… so you will find in life that you always have to roll with the punches.

    Even if you don’t feel like a step up the corporate ladder is what you really want, you’ll find that the higher up you get, the more influence you have over shaping (and controlling) your work situation, and ultimately loving the job you excel at, and you do excel at it since you are getting an opportunity to advance.

    Worst case scenario, it’s not what you expected, and you just go back to your old job (moving down the corporate ladder is easier than moving up).

    Just my 2c. But generally, yes; do what fulfills you and you will be much happier and ultimately more successful (in life, if not in the corporate world), and that is what is most important.

  • http://www.pdvictor.com Peter Drinnan

    I think the next wave business will be driven by CIOs who know the core IT systems better than anyone else. These will be the people who will have the most influence on corporate strategies. CEOs will have the role of dealing with all the crap the CIOs don’t have time or desire to deal with.

  • supporf

    we say: if money doen’t make happyness give it back in other side we also say money is a good servent but a bad boss.
    finding something in the middle is perfection
    thank you jeff for the enlightenment. always good to view your screencast or to read your posts
    thanks keep going

  • Steve

    So true. I was offered a promotion, but turned it down because I wanted to keep developing for now. Didn’t wanna always do management and no code.

  • dj

    @jeff… I have to chuckle a bit at your enlightenment. Most of us (old enough to have purchased an Apple I) have had to deal with this issue in our lives – although perhaps not so soon as those in the computer industry need to these days.

    Personally I’ve gotten to the point now that I’ve had jobs where I used Excel as many times as I haven’t; so, I may not remember “back then” as vividly as I ought. But, I think I might be able to lend you a preview of a future piece of insight you’ll probably be dealing with next. Even though I remember each position I’ve had very well, and even though I barely remember any of their names, I can remember what kind of boss/manager they were and how difficult my job was under them. Many times I’ve been smarter (or more knowledgeable) in a job than my boss; much of the time not. I can tell you this however: there is no greater joy in a job than doing something you enjoy and are good at; unless, perhaps, it’s doing it under a boss who has done it before you and can actually facilitate your productivity instead of being an obstacle that you must circumvent.

    I received this once, and have given it to others more than once: “Someone who knows how to do something will almost always have a job. Someone who knows why something is done will usually be his boss.” Life’s a JOURNEY – it’s all good!

  • http://blair.rorani.com Blair Rorani

    Valve (make Portal, other popular video games) have a flat management structure. To the point where people take turns leading project teams who are self-managing anyway. Your peers decide who gets what bonus based on their contribution to the business.

    I think in some ways management is like teaching – now that I can learn most things on the Internet from experts and tutorials and discussion etc., school is becoming less valuable (depending on your industry of course). Teachers used to be the only ones who knew stuff and knew how to pass it on.

    Managers are less necessary if people learn to manage themselves and if you hire people who are willing to do this.

    The Valve model then works and means it’s more aspirational to do work that matters as the article talks about, rather than climbing a ladder.

  • http://bretglassett.com Bret Glassett

    Your closing thoughts are right on.

    It makes me happy to see an article such as this posted on a popular site. The moment I dropped my preconceived perception of what success what and left my desires to be the best, well know anything, I instantly became happier and enjoyed my work more than ever.

  • Gaurav

    Catch 22 situation

    Boring Job = More Money = Happiness – - ;

    and

    Exciting Job = Less Money (*maybe) = Happiness + +;

  • Michael Borum

    This is such a great topic of discussion! My own perspective is that of a developer-turned-manager, and one that I hope sheds some more nuanced light on the issue.

    I’ve been in this business for over 18 years–almost as long as the Web has been here. I’ve worked as a developer, manager, director, and been self-employed during that time. What I learned was that, in most organizations, whether they are large or small, for profit or non-profit, leadership matters. Unless your company or organization is successful at implementing a “flat structure” approach (and believe me, few can pull it off–it’s all about the humans), you can find that although you love what you do (and maybe even get paid well to do it), you hate the environment or context in which you are doing it. Sometimes it’s just as easy to move–get another job–but that option doesn’t always exist, and you may want to stay where you are for any number of reasons (you love your coworkers, there aren’t many other opportunities where you live, you’re committed to the mission of your organization or really love your clients).

    For me, moving into management meant I could create a better workplace and lead where I felt others were failing. I was sufficiently frustrated that I decided I was going to step up and “fix things,” and in most cases I have been successful. Developers who complain about their circumstances always have the option of creating change from within, and sometimes that means moving into management. Many people simply don’t know how to manage, or they think they do because they obtained an MBA from an elite school. That does not prepare you for the real job of working with other human beings, creating opportunity, knowing when to get out of the way, and cutting out most of the b/s that goes on in businesses and non-profits. It is a highly refined skill just as much as anything else; it is not simply a job title with more money and responsibility, and I believe the best managers are people who have done the jobs of the people they manage and lead, and who stay connected to that work on a daily basis. Only then can you really have the empathy necessary to not only succeed as a manager, but more importantly to ensure that your team succeeds, and that they are fulfilled and rewarded by the work they do.

    I love design and development work, but at my age (41), and at my level of seniority, I make sure that I hire people better at it than I am, and create a learning environment for them to continually build their skills and knowledge and apply it to their work. I find great satisfaction in hiring someone with talent, cultivating them, giving them opportunity, and seeing them run with it and excel beyond my wildest expectations. I’ve hired people with little experience who went on to be amazing art directors and creative directors and developers who did world-class, award-winning work, and I’m not too humble to take the credit for giving them the opportunity. I really let them lead me–tell ME what THEY needed in order to succeed–and I did that. THAT is how I measure my own performance, and one of the reasons why I can justify earning a higher salary.

    However, being a successful manager also means creating budgets, learning complex (and poorly designed) finance and human resource systems; being in way more meetings than are necessary; juggling competing priorities that frequently make no sense; dealing with tidal waves of email, often from people who are less competent; coping with personalities and politics; and being above all a diplomat on behalf of your team, an ambassador to the rest of the organization, taking your vision forward and fighting the good fight on behalf of your team and keeping them “safe” and free to focus on the work they love. It’s not for everyone, but it can be just as rewarding when done well.

  • http://www.jacktardesign.com/ Justin

    well put this. in the end, happiness is the most important (although, half the battle is figuring out what that is!).

  • VF

    “Figure out where you’re most effective in your company, and do…that. Period.”

    It may look like simple but difficult to find where we are effective. There is more than one component:

    - The area where one is at its best

    - The area where one thinks is doing his/her best

    Sometimes, life needs coming out of comfort zone and the transition periods may look like “out of harmony” and those times the “contentment” kind of thoughts can make halt to the sweet changes in life. :)

  • skylos

    Jeff, I enjoyed reading this post but I have a totally unrelated question.
    What happened to the WP tuts section, is it dead?

  • Stephen

    Right now I am a Chili’s manager. I think the job is great and has great benefits. But, I also follow my passion on the side of being a web developer. Who says you cannot do both? I am learning to stick with one career for maybe 10 years. Then save up a lot of money to start my own business of web developing after I have payed my dues. Again, but at the same time do some web jobs on the side. Always have a plan B if plan A fall through.

  • Hermann

    @amooney:

    true words!!!!

  • Hamid

    contentment, contentment, contentment….

    gr8 article mr way,that’s why i like you man.keep it up m8.

  • http://www.dynumo.com Adam

    Nice article!

    Shows why companies should be willing to pay people raises even when they are not moving into the managerial roles.

  • Dougieladd

    I hear you Jeff… I recently (and scarily) took a year off from work and bought two round the world tickets. (did you go to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia??)… I’m currently in Honduras (Utila – diving).

    I was a ‘senior’ designer for an elearning company for 9 years then I got a job as a web designer for a language learning company, which lasted all of three months before the company went bust… This gave me the kick I needed not to be afraid and to take the year off, which is no mean feat when you’re 45 and have sold your tiny house to fund the trip as the only source of income!

    It’s easy to stay with something because you’re comfortable ie comfort zone. But I think you only really grow when you can scare yourself a little and survive. This trip I’m on has opened my eyes to the REAL world… but funnily enough there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t been on an Envato site or done a little markup or PSD stuff here and there… I enjoy it you see… it’s who I am. Do what you enjoy… is my advice… but don’t be scared to throw yourself a curve ball once in a while it’s how you know your alive :)

    I’m back home in August where the job hunting starts all over again… but at least I’ve done things I never thought I could. And seen things for myself instead of relying on newspapers and mainstream media.

  • http://lukepeters.me Luke

    I absolutely agree with you. If the traditional path is all you can see then you’re seriously limiting your personal happiness and sense of adventure and fulfillment.

  • Reinier Kaper

    Awesome article Jeffrey!
    And a very nice “twist” from the other articles (for which I’m ever thankful).

    I can only talk from my own experience, but I have been working as a project manager for 7 years (first in IT, after that in web-development). I was “happy”, I “progressed” and got “better” jobs, all the traditional way (meaning more money and status).

    A year ago my wife and I left behind our country (the Netherlands) and moved to Canada. We literally moved everything, although we’re not even official immigrants, including all the “progress” we made in our jobs and careers.

    I found a job at a web development company, doing maintenance work on websites. I’m talking uploading images, changing some HTML, etc… People were “worried” as I kind of went backwards as far as career goes.

    Now comes my point: while having this job, I had the chance to pitch on templating work (HTML/CSS), Javascript stuff, jQuery things, etc… and I found out THIS is my passion. Although I’m “new” in the field (at least as a professional), I learn daily, I progress so much more then I have ever before and I’m actually really good as well (something I’d never say about myself in other contexts).

    I don’t want a “higher” job (progress? YES, of course, but I LOVE doing this!), as this is what I’m good at and what gives me energy. Maybe it will never buy me a yacht, but I don’t even want one! ;-)

    So I think it comes down to how you perceive your “job” (some see it as a way to make money, some see it as what they love doing).

    Hope this could be my 2 cents ;-)

  • Reinier Kaper

    Did I do something wrong? It seems my comment has been deleted :-S

    • http://www.jeffrey-way.com Jeffrey Way
      Author

      Nope – just needed to be pushed through the approval queue. :)

      • Reinier Kaper

        Sorry about that, my unapproved post showed up after I posted that question ;-)

        One more addition though: I read a very small book about 2 years ago. It was a conversation with the Dalai Lama about “work” and the author asked the Dalai Lama how he felt about his work, to which he honestly replied: “work? I don’t think I have a job, I just do what I’m good at and where my heart’s at.”.

        I found that inspiring for me as a very “Western” raised person. You can work your whole life without feeling fulfilled, or you can do what you’re good at and what you love and maybe even make money with it!

  • http://mydesigntuts.com Juan

    amazingly said, My admiration for this guy is huge, Jeffrey way your word are full of wisdom. thank you for all the hard work you put into teaching us how to do things.

  • Marchy V

    In real world money matters the most. Here are some words for aspiring software developers. Don’t just make the great applications, make the applications that bring the most revenue.

  • http://apps.fileration.com/ chris

    Nice article it’s always nice to find your own way to success.

  • http://www.anoldfashionedchristmas.com/victorian_images_1_10.html fashioned

    Hello my loved one! I want to say that this article is amazing, great written and come with approximately all significant infos. I would like to look extra posts like this .

  • Michael Scottsdale

    IDEO started the idea of the T-Shaped employee. It’s rather intuitive to developers as we are often masters of one or two programming languages but can also develop in others.

    There are a few articles about this online. It seems to be going global.
    http://blog.cartondonofriopartners.com/the-t-shaped-revolution/