Making Your Grass the Greenest
Sometime around November 2005, I stumbled upon Scott Berkun’s Essay #41 – Why I Left Microsoft. At the time, I felt inspired by his courage of leaving an environment where he acquired tenure as a program manager for the Internet Explorer web browser project. In his essay, Scott Berkun writes:
So I chose to leave Microsoft less for reasons of escaping a particular place or group of people, but more to seek out a new set of circumstances to live in. Just like I sought out Microsoft to escape my fears of the post-college emptiness, I looked to leave Microsoft to create not a void, but a new space to grow in: one of my own choosing. I ran to Microsoft to escape my fears of failure. I left Microsoft to define my own idea of success.
Like Berkun, there have been times where I was concerned about becoming a “sad, confused bird of prey, circling the same territory over and over again, never understanding why there was nothing new to find.” I am fortunate enough to consistently find or receive opportunities to overcome new and interesting challenges at my current company. Some projects have been tedious and required little innovation beyond skills gained for certifications. Although such projects did not enhance my technical capability, they developed my patience and persistence. I am now working on a project that requires new programming languages, techniques, and paradigms. I am glad to not be circling the same territory. I am finding excitement in helping my current company expand. Maybe the grass is currently arguably greener at other companies, but I feel there is an opportunity for and the possibility of experiencing the achievement of the greenest grass at my current company. Unless a company is disinterested in growth, with sufficient drive and personal motivation this opportunity can be made available at any company.