Behind the Talent: Yosem Sweet
This is a multi-part series called “Behind the Talent” where I interview Unbouncers to discover how they've learned perseverance to achieve what is perceived by the rest of us, as their talent. Read the introduction here.
Foundations
When Yosem first encountered programming, it was as a young child with a father who worked as a developer before the title “Computer Programmer” existed. His father led a development team at the Western Library Network, building software for them.
As a child, having a direct role model of how a software developer thinks must have had a significant impact. However, according to Yosem, he and his dad rarely spoke about programming. There have only been a few memorable instances where his dad sat down to help with specific coding challenges that had no obvious way forward for a young student of development. Mostly though, he was both determined and persistent in working through the obstacles himself.
The path that took Yosem to where he is professionally was one of opportunity and a willingness to jump when it came. At 16 he spent a considerable amount of time in his high school’s computer lab which led him to help with setting up the school website which in turn brought the school district to ask for the same.
Around the same time, his parents started a brochure company which exposed him to different software which allowed for exploration around layout, design, and structure. Motivated by making things more efficient, he started playing around with the idea of scripting and automating some of the redundant layout processes while helping with the family business.
In 1998, Yosem graduated from The Evergreen State College majoring in Mathematics and Philosophy. It’s here, in a Philosophy class, that he got his introduction with Artificial Intelligence; for his project in that class, he wrote a Chess endgame where the AI would try to beat the user. The endgame in chess deals with fewer pieces, and therefore, it’s easier to deal with the mechanics of the program so that the complexity of the game doesn’t get in the way of the learning process.
Yosem recognizes that a significant reason for his success within his professional growth has had a lot to do with enjoying the act of practicing. One thing I did find surprising is that he rarely ever programmed for fun; with that said, he’s always found ways to jump on opportunities to practice on the job. He feels that for him, solving real-life problems and learning at the same time to be the best approach, especially for getting a deep understanding.
Learning and Big Leaps
For Yosem, success has never been about big ambitious career goals; it’s always about the learning opportunities. So, the work he’d strive for is jobs that would expose him to new ideas, new ways of operating, and would help him acquire unfamiliar knowledge and skills.
It’s his growth and learning mindset that allowed him to take big leaps in his career. To jump into the world of UX development and become a producer. To step up and lead technical teams and take on leadership, communication, and project management responsibilities. To be a founder at several tech companies and get into the weeds of running a business.
All these experiences have set him up to take on some exciting and varying challenges at Unbounce including Director of Business Optimization, Director of Research and Development and Director of Technology.
Yosem believes that had he focused on trying to advance his career as an engineer or technologist he would never have taken steps to grow to the extent that he had. Because he stepped outside of the cozy world of familiarity, he built himself a foundation that allows for problem-solving from a headspace of perspective and empathy.
“At Unbounce we have pro-d days,” Yosem says “and I have tremendous support for those, but it’s like every day in my career has been a pro-d day. So, when I structure what I do, I like to make sure that there’s the opportunity to be learning something new.”
For many, this could be as simple as when you’re looking at projects to take on, not shying from the hard ones, taking anything that’s going to stretch you and make you slightly uncomfortable.
It’s not easy, being open to moving outside of your comfort level as it opens you up to failure; however, it also exposes you to challenges that will help with expedited growth and development. In other words, if you want power and strength: lift heavy; you may find yourself developing weaker muscles you didn’t know you had, but you’ll improve as you go, and it gets easier the more you do it.
In Summary
Be diverse in what you learn, branching out challenges how you view the world. Also, it helps you recognize the big ideas that you don’t always grasp unless you try different things. Yosem did this by looking for opportunities that stretched his comfort levels even if that meant moving outside of his current experiences.
Put yourself in situations where you have to learn and practice; it doesn’t have to be a side, for-fun project. If you are solving new and challenging real-life problems, you’ll likely understand and retain more efficiently. On top of that, you’ll be increasingly demonstrating value on the job, which leads to recognition and appreciation while at the same time setting yourself up for growth and opportunity.
Have a learning mindset and be open to taking on new and distinctive projects. That allows you to see growth opportunities that you may not usually see — also, connections between seemingly unrelated subjects fuel creativity and help you see problems from many different angles and comprehensions.
And remember, Lift Heavy to become stronger.
