My email sig has been “Defy Mediocrity” ever since I found myself at a job where I ran out of work to do. Since then I have challenged myself to do excellent and difficult work. Did crazy stuff with Eclipse and databases for a couple years, then Swing and patient bedside devices for a few years, then 14 (!) years with Android and Payments.
As of 6 days ago, I no longer work for Square. I was laid off with 900+ others. Now, more than a few folks would challenge that I was ever anything but mediocre. Did I so quickly abandon my credo?
No. I chose mediocrity. Or what seemed it. About 10 years ago I realized I wanted to multiply others, make them better, faster, smarter. I continued my work, but at every turn I’d lift up teammates or even the larger organization with knowledge and empathy.
I even dived into management for a couple years. At first seemed like a good fit with the whole amplify mindset, but the reality of that means I’d also necessarily depart entirely from the engineering and technology I loved. During this time, for one of my employees, I wrote “How to Fail at Your Job Every Day for Years” which I guess is an ode to everything I loved about being an engineer.
For my last year at Square I was able to be an engineer again and I’m so glad I got to experience that again. The last four months especially had been the pure bliss of working closely with skilled engineers on focused projects.
Of course I’m left with that melancholy ache. Would I do anything different? Sure, lots of things. But I wouldn’t have tried to make myself somehow anything other than who I am.