Hi folks, Andrew here 👋, bringing you conversations on work. Thanks for reading, and please share with anyone who would find this interesting.
Asking for help is a competitive advantage
My jaw dropped (maybe I have a flair for the dramatic sometimes) when I read this from Ami Vora’s Asking for help is a competitive advantage:
Instead of worrying about looking weak, I try to reframe asking for help as a way to enlist people in my journey. I've found most people are really excited to help others out, but aren’t sure how.
Re-frames like this often feel like a cheat code to me. I really like this one.
You’ve probably heard before that asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness (which I of course agree with).
But this idea is a new framing for me: asking for help is also a great way to enlist other people in your journey. And many people are excited to help out.
What value are you adding?
From Linda Zhang, on gaining an edge:
I was a management consultant. One of the things they teach is to double down on strengths over neutralizing non-fatal weaknesses. Strengths give us our edge.
and then
As Kendall Roy proved, there’s no freedom in being a cog built to fit only one machine.
But being an interchangeable cog that fits any machine is not ideal either. After all, a cog is the very definition of a mass-produced commodity.
Read all of What value are you adding?
It’s largely about creating products, but the author also touches on differentiating yourself (as an employee, as a job applicant, etc).
I think it’s a really important idea, too.
You don’t want your skills to be so specific that you’re only useful to one company or even one team. Not many places value what you bring.
But you also don’t want to be so general that everyone else can do what you do. Those skills may not be valued as much.
As always, balance.
Four on the floor
Ever wanted an interactive history of House music? Me neither. But fouronthefloor.fun by Kate Mangarella is a pretty fun look at the people, places, and times that gave us house.
Enjoy!