Far away from your comfort zone
Learning new strategies, tools, and skills was a challenge. But what was more challenging was letting go of all those old beliefs and learnings I once thought were the absolute best.
Work was going well. The bank balance looked decent. Flexibility to work from home (or from a peak in Himachal) was at an all-time high. I was just starting to see the results of all the high-effort initiatives I had worked on over the last couple of months. And then…I decided to switch.
Reason? I was a little too comfortable.
Some call it crazy and impulsive; others call it that irresistible “itch” to move out of the comfort zone.
Well, I’d like to be called the latter.
I joined Uniqode in August 2023. As excited as I was to learn and challenge myself, I was curious to know how someone could make money from QR Codes — a solution already available for free in the market.
(In case, you are curious too — here’s a blog that might surprise you)
While the initial months were relatively steady, I slowly started getting the flavor of unfamiliarity, discomfort, and challenge as we moved to 2024. Believe me, I was all game for this adventure.
Learning to unlearn
Learning new strategies, tools, and skills was a challenge. But what was more challenging was letting go of all those old beliefs and learnings I once thought were the absolute best.
“But this is the tool I have been using for years. It has worked well for us and I think it’s the best”, I said.
“Well, that’s not what we use here. It’s quite outdated and has many limitations. Learn this one. I’ll help you”, Swati, my immediate senior (and an incredibly supportive friend) explained.
It almost felt like I was starting afresh and from scratch.
Fortunately, Rithika and Karan, my amazing teammates, were quick to lend a hand. They not only helped me bridge the knowledge gap but also gave solid support for my early projects.
That’s when I stumbled upon an interesting rather bold interview of futurist Alvin Toffler — “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”, he said.
I realized that the learn-unlearn-relearn model calls for unlearning the old, outdated, and obsolete and relearning for relevance.
Your questions aren’t that silly
The professional switch from a vertical SaaS company to a horizontal one meant more data, customers, use cases, thinking, and….more questions.
It’s borderline embarrassing to admit, but there was a time when I’d listed all the questions I had in mind in my notes but never shared them with anyone — simply because I thought they were silly.
But that fear vanished in no time. Thanks to the warm culture at Uniqode and top leadership like Ravi, Sharat, and Monika, who are highly approachable and constantly push the team to ask questions.
Cut short to today — I can ask questions freely and share my input and opinion during discussions, without any self-doubt.
There’s a “prefix” I use every time I ask a question — especially post midweek “I promise, this is the last question for the week.” And trust me, it’s never the last, there are always more to follow :)
Without data, you are just another person with an opinion
“But I feel we should roll out this campaign. It’ll lead to better conversions”, I suggested.
“Okay, but do you have any data to support this”, Ravi, our CTO, asked.
And THAT was my Eureka moment (a flashback trigger, too).
During my exit interview at my previous company, when I asked about areas for improvement from my CEO, he highlighted “being data-driven” as the core pointer. Turns out, he was right.
Until that day, I was pitching initiatives randomly, only because I “felt” they’d work.
After Ravi’s comment, I started backing everything up with data, and my work life has only improved.
Today, all my ideas are supported by data and I can measure the impact and performance of the campaigns via regular tracking.
Go big or go home ❌ Start small and make it big ✅
“I don’t think we should release this. We can add more graphics and modify the text to make it perfect”, I suggested.
“You start with an MVP and build on top of that, Purvi — not the other way around”, Ravi explained.
Most of us are obsessed with perfection. Personally, I always looked at tons of iterations and back-and-forths before launching something.
But Uniqode helped me realize that it’s essential to start with basics, gather feedback, improve, and move fast instead of spending a crucial amount of time and energy to make it “perfect” right from the start.
Think first, refer second
Do you remember when you had memorized city directions by heart, could multiply big numbers in your mind, and anxiously tried to recollect the spelling of that one difficult word?
Today, we depend on maps for directions, calculators for the most minor calculations, and autocorrect for all the spellings.
This applies at work too. More often than not, we rely on tools such as ChatGPT to help us save time and get a quick output.
While it’s okay and necessary to use these tools as enablers, they shouldn’t replace human thoughts and writing.
The bottom line? Think first, ChatGPT second
If I were to sum up my learnings at Uniqode in one line, it’d probably be -
Think more, ask openly, move fast, and map every move.
Until next time
