Two years ago, I entered the IT world.
I met all kinds of people.
I haven't formally majored in management
or professionally researched user experience,
but because it was so similar to what I went through while building and running my own brand,
even though it wasn't objectively credentialed...
I unwittingly get many quasi-consulting requests from various people.
They resonated with what I said, and they were satisfied.
But as time passes...
when I talk with people I am meeting for the first time, or practitioners I encounter when first joining a company,
or even with people on a TFT I am working with, and I share my views,
I often get bewildered responses.
Recently, listening to the worries of younger folks starting new businesses,
from their first expression ("Who is this guy?") to the one when we part ways ("Totally with you!"),
I was suddenly reminded of Minerva, and I came to see myself through his eyes again.
If Minerva had revealed his identity and situation from the start,
could his influence have grown so enormous in such a short time? ...
Working in IT,
I'm often tired from having to go through so many rounds of "verification."
People resonate with me, but still doubt and just wait.
Then they see some outside firm doing it
and belatedly rush into the same work.
And then they're busy benchmarking those firms... well...
It bothers me. With this situation repeating over and over...
Now, after going through this a few times,
I can quickly see whether there is or isn't an "answer" in any given situation.
The line from the book Positioning — "Facts can never change perception" —
as time goes on, I feel it to the bone(?).
I don't think this is a chronic problem unique to Korea.
It's the same in every country and for everyone,
as long as the target is a person who is still living.
It's no different from public enterprises asking for TOEIC or TOEFL scores to hire people.
What's needed is simply an objective indicator. Through a metric that can only be reached with steady, sustained effort,
they can pick people with peace of mind.
In truth — when I was younger, I firmly drew a line and rejected all that.
I thought those times were simply a waste spent getting the other side's approval (others' gaze).
I figured I should devote that time to my specialty, and that nothing would be lost by not mixing with such people.
Now — I think we need to distinguish between what we want to do and what we have to do.
Persuasion and empathy are not made from the pristine values we hold in our own heads.
The pristine values we force upon ourselves can, in the end, amount to just masturbation.
If I said the gap between amateur and pro is no different, would that be a hasty generalization?..
Anyway, lately I'm seriously thinking about grad school...
