Lenny Rachitsky: uncertainty

Transcript context

…You've done something very special. I appreciate it. This podcast episode is already very special. The point you just made reminds me of something that I heard you talk about, which is this oh shit moment. I don't know if it's related to what you shared of just giving people a sense of whether they're making progress in their career. Can you talk about that? Sure. Yeah. I think I picked this up originally from Seth Godin, the author, and it just totally stuck with me. The basic thesis is that moments that stretch you or moments that you feel uncomfortable in or you find yourself saying, "Oh shit, I shouldn't be here," or, "I'm under qualified to be here," those are the moments you should be seeking out. Those are the moments that stretch you and give you a new foundation. And so I have found that they turn out to be a pretty good way to calibrate whether someone is growing in their career. So oftentimes you'll hear a career question like, "Hey, do you feel like you're growing in your role?" And that's a very ambiguous in my opinion way to ask this question. And a much sharper way is like, "Hey, how many, oh shit moments have you had in the last six months, year, two years, and what are they?" I think if you ask yourself that question and the answer is, "It's been a really long time since I've been stretched in some meaningful way or I've felt like I'm under qualified to be there," then it may be worth digging into.…

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