๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿพโ€โ™€๏ธ In 2011, I was hired into my first junior role in tech @Groupon

๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿพโ€๐Ÿ’ป By 2020, I was headhunted into a VP role in a global tech company @Brandwatch

๐Ÿค– I achieved this progression in less than a decade, without ANY coding skills

๐Ÿ”ฎ How did I do it?

*a thread*

๐Ÿค“ I established a track record of results.

๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿพ No magic formula can replace hard work: do your job well & hit all the targets you are set.

๐Ÿ˜ฌ When you're struggling, ask for help so you can stay on track to get results, or collaboratively adjust targets.
๐ŸŽจ I stayed creative.

๐Ÿง™๐Ÿฟโ€โ™€๏ธ When challenges arose I was bold enough to try new solutions. Not everything worked, but constantly trying produced valuable innovations.

๐Ÿง  I was proactive in finding new, better ways to get the job done.
๐Ÿคฉ I was a self-promoter. I recorded my achievements & ensured they were mentioned in any performance / compensation reviews.

๐Ÿ˜Ž I put myself forward for any opportunities to gain recognition e.g. speaking opportunities or awards.

๐Ÿ‘€I actively worked on gaining visibility.
๐Ÿ™‚ I was myself. Some say you need to be ruthless to succeed. I don't buy it. I'm a nice person so I'm nice at work, too.

โค๏ธ I didn't fake it. I always acted on my values, and spoke up when something didn't feel right. I showed integrity.

๐Ÿค— I was a team player. To everyone.
๐Ÿ‘Š๐Ÿพ I toughened up & thickened my skin. Mostly to absorb constructive feedback better.

๐Ÿ—ฃ I learned how to ask for feedback that showed me my blind spots & flaws so I could work more effectively.

๐Ÿ‘‚๐Ÿฝ I learned how to listen without defending myself, and simply absorb & learn.
๐Ÿš€ I took risks. When a career opportunity arose that better served my purpose: I jumped at it.

๐Ÿ‚ I embraced change AND I embraced failure.

๐Ÿ˜’ Things don't always go to plan, I accept that, I expect that.

๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿพ Every step in the journey made me wiser & more resilient.
๐Ÿค  I followed my gut & learned to filter out naysayers & those who didn't get me.

โœŠ๐Ÿพ @hustlecrewlive wouldn't exist if I listened to super smart, experienced tech pros who told me it wouldn't work. We're on track for 7 fig ARR. And it's my side hustle.

๐Ÿค“ I did things MY WAY.
๐Ÿค— I built a support network who understood my ambitions & eccentricities.

๐ŸŒˆI embraced my differences & uniqueness & leaned *heavily* into these.

โค๏ธ I surrounded myself with people who bigged up these parts of me.

๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿพโ€โ™€๏ธ In doing so, I built my self-belief & self-confidence.
๐Ÿ“š I never stopped learning & challenging myself.

๐Ÿง I surrounded myself with people smarter, more ambitious & driven than me.

๐Ÿคฏ I expanded my knowledge thru podcasts, articles, videos, books.

๐Ÿง  I built a network of mentors I've never met but whose content I've absorbed.
๐Ÿ“ˆ An economist by training, I accepted the sacrifices required to succeed.

๐Ÿ˜• I accepted missing out on fun stuff when in-between jobs or starting @hustlecrewlive.

๐Ÿ› I accepted times I could only afford essentials.

๐Ÿ˜ฅ I accepted declining mental & physical health, too.
โœ๏ธ Finally, I mastered the art of story-telling.

๐Ÿ—บ I never had a plan for my career progression, although I always so desperately wanted one.

๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿฝโ€โ™€๏ธ I just keep putting one foot forward, then at specific milestones, craft a compelling narrative looking backwards.

๐Ÿ’ซ Good luck.

More from Tech

These past few days I've been experimenting with something new that I want to use by myself.

Interestingly, this thread below has been written by that.

Let me show you how it looks like. ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿป


When you see localhost up there, you should know that it's truly an experiment! ๐Ÿ˜€


It's a dead-simple thread writer that will post a series of tweets a.k.a tweetstorm. โšก๏ธ

I've been personally wanting it myself since few months ago, but neglected it intentionally to make sure it's something that I genuinely need.

So why is that important for me? ๐Ÿ™‚

I've been a believer of a story. I tell stories all the time, whether it's in the real world or online like this. Our society has moved by that.

If you're interested by stories that move us, read Sapiens!

One of the stories that I've told was from the launch of Poster.

It's been launched multiple times this year, and Twitter has been my go-to place to tell the world about that.

Here comes my frustration.. ๐Ÿ˜ค
A common misunderstanding about Agile and โ€œBig Design Up Frontโ€:

Thereโ€™s nothing in the Agile Manifesto or Principles that states you should never have any idea what youโ€™re trying to build.

Youโ€™re allowed to think about a desired outcome from the beginning.

Itโ€™s not Big Design Up Front if you do in-depth research to understand the userโ€™s problem.

Itโ€™s not BDUF if you spend detailed time learning who needs this thing and why they need it.

Itโ€™s not BDUF if you help every team member know what success looks like.

Agile is about reducing risk.

Itโ€™s not Agile if you increase risk by starting your sprints with complete ignorance.

Itโ€™s not Agile if you donโ€™t research.

Donโ€™t make the mistake of shutting down critical understanding by labeling it Bg Design Up Front.

It would be a mistake to assume this research should only be done by designers and researchers.

Product management and developers also need to be out with the team, conducting the research.

Shared Understanding is the key objective


Big Design Up Front is a thing to avoid.

Defining all the functionality before coding is BDUF.

Drawing every screen and every pixel is BDUF.

Promising functionality (or delivery dates) to customers before development starts is BDUF.

These things shouldnโ€™t happen in Agile.

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