Finding a computer programmer job was the first professional problem I faced. First, I had to make a resume listing all programming languages that I knew, and projects I had worked on. Second, I emailed over fifty companies. I told them about my interest in working for them. Third, some of them got back and told me to do an interview. Fourth, I spoke to a group of 3 to 6 people at various companies who had gone through a similar process as me. One company was kind enough to consider me worthy of giving a job. Finding a job without job finding skills felt magical. I never understood then how it all worked. I now understand the magic a little better.
Exploring and discovering the problem space is part of problem-solving. Not being able to connect the dots between actions and results is frustrating. The way we view our problems plays a critical role in what actions we take. The actions we take lead to our development. What was the last problem you had? How did you feel when you first encountered it? What actions did it take to get resolved? I’ll share my perspective on problems that I’ve faced in life.
I started a company to create maps for self-driving cars. All I knew when I started was how to solve problems with code. I had to learn the rest. Few people attempted to solve this unique problem. Most tough problems lie at the intersection of various disciplines. I lacked knowledge about the car industry, robotics and map-making. Lacking knowledge causes anxiety. Where do I start? What do I do first?
How do I maximize the impact of my actions on the company? The impact is increased revenue, reduced costs, and growth in the customer base. To maximize impact, I had to choose what problems to focus on. Problems I focussed on were the problems that got solved.
Let’s look at my problems laundry list again. The car industry, robotics, and map-making. I had to pick my first problem. I decided to build an interactive tool to visualize the 3D maps for point cloud maps in a week. Here's why I picked that problem.
Exploring and discovering the problem space is part of problem-solving. Not being able to connect the dots between actions and results is frustrating. The way we view our problems plays a critical role in what actions we take. The actions we take lead to our development. What was the last problem you had? How did you feel when you first encountered it? What actions did it take to get resolved? I’ll share my perspective on problems that I’ve faced in life.
I started a company to create maps for self-driving cars. All I knew when I started was how to solve problems with code. I had to learn the rest. Few people attempted to solve this unique problem. Most tough problems lie at the intersection of various disciplines. I lacked knowledge about the car industry, robotics and map-making. Lacking knowledge causes anxiety. Where do I start? What do I do first?
How do I maximize the impact of my actions on the company? The impact is increased revenue, reduced costs, and growth in the customer base. To maximize impact, I had to choose what problems to focus on. Problems I focussed on were the problems that got solved.
Let’s look at my problems laundry list again. The car industry, robotics, and map-making. I had to pick my first problem. I decided to build an interactive tool to visualize the 3D maps for point cloud maps in a week. Here's why I picked that problem.
- Existing skills: Using my software development skills would be simpler. I can get initial results in a few hours to a week.
- Unique advantage: Robotics professionals would not build web-based map data visualizations.
- Fast Feedback opportunity: Seeing the custom-built maps would enhance customer and internal conversations.
The goal was for me to reduce the scope of the problem to something actionable in a limited time. I lacked skills in automotive business development. One of my cofounders tackled that. I did not have a unique advantage in robotics. I reached out to my network to find someone. Feedback on map quality would be hard to get if we only shared a file or a screenshot with a customer. This insight was my hook to all other future work I did.
How did I decide that this was the right scope? I reduced the scope of the problem to a point where my ambition drove me and not my fear. This enabled me to take action. My actions translated into learning towards my bigger goal. Time boxed actions are a superpower. They gave me honest feedback about my work. Did my work meet the quality bar? Did I take on too much or too little? This sharpened my iteration process. It helped me solve problems with greater ambiguity in the future.
I needed to grow into an effective problem solver to tackle bigger problems. I am not even capable of defining all problems well. Growing up school taught me how to solve well-defined problems. The real-world problems lack a clear definition.
The best way for me to deal with this ambiguity was to take action and learn from others around me. Starting a company? Talk to the best. Read more about the processes. Find your inspiration, living or dead. Understanding the minds who came before you teach you about their thinking process. The mind is the toughest to master
"The important thing is to take that first step. Bravely overcoming one small fear gives you the courage to take on the next" - Daisaku Ikeda
Be brave and take your first step. Most people lack the bravery to take the first step. The courage I developed in starting a company translated to other areas. It helped me abandon my fear of rejection. That led me to start this blog. I overcame the fear of never getting fit and started working out. Each of us can enjoy our problems with a dose of courage and lots of action.
PS: For those who are curious what the maps that I created looked like.