Don't You Think That If I Were Wrong...I'd Know It?

Next Step #05 -In this issue, I'd like to feature a character that I love so much and can relate to in many (not all) of his actions;also how he helps me to thrive and stay relevant in corporate world

Hey friends,

I can’t help to admit that I have been re-binging Big Bang Theory in the last couple of weeks. I find this sitcom as part of having to learn something about the useful while still relaxing after crazy day at work (Just my way of “trying” to stay productive. No? ….Well…Maybe, it’s just me!)

🧩 My wins…

I don’t believe that you don’t have a tiny bit of love for Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper in Big Bang Theory? Like tiny bit… err at least a bit..or for his best friends, Leonard Hofstadter, Rajesh Koothrappali; well maybe not for the horny engineer Howard Wolowitz! If you are grinning after reading the previous sentence, you are probably a hardcore fan JUST LIKE ME but you just don’t want to admit it 😆 .

If you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out! And if you are dating someone who love it and you haven’t seen it, you’re really missing out! 😂

Most people I know who watches this series each time will not fail to-not shake their heads, openly judging Sheldon and disapproving of Sheldon’s thoughts and actions. One can get annoyed with his rigid and drop-dead confidence of opinion; to a point that of disregarding other people’s feelings.

As much as I laugh at all the jokes, silently I would bit my lips and so annoyed to see his friends making fun of his social skills issue. There’s truth in Sheldon’s words. Also, look at the bigger picture here, guys. Hello! This guy has a higher IQ than Albert Einstein so social convention lifestyle isn’t his strength here.

No social skill. I know exactly what that means because I am pretty much an introvert and suck at it myself. But how did Sheldon stay relevant in a life full of social convention approval seekers?

In fact, his character taught me important lessons (and you too, if you can stop being judgemental for a sec and stay on reading this first) on how to stay sane and making sure my words carry weightage to survive the corporate world.

Well, let me share with you my learnings.

Lesson #1: Don’t Ever Make Assumptions

Raj: Do you have an opinion about everything?

Sheldon: Yes.

Howard: And you just assume you’re right?

Sheldon: It’s not an assumption.

One good stuff about interpreting data that you collect from data points of your work is that it allows you to make 'safe’ guesses about what you can anticipate in the future. By looking at historical data of projects that I have run before, I am able to make fairly accurate predictions of how well my project planning will do and the potential risks that may occur.

However, I’m a lot less accurate to assume how my casual conversation with a new person at work will turn out, because I’ve never had any conversation with the person before and have zero data points (in this case, have zero rapport).

I don’t remember how Sheldon usually breakdown his thoughts before come up with an opinion, but you can bet that he’d performed some data analysis first before making any projections.

In my last article, Mistakes That Stops You From Understanding Others I did mention how making assumptions can stop you from building a relationship with others.

Lesson #2: Know Your Data

A lot of smart people from articles I read hate nothing more than made-up and bad data. If I am going to staple a 95% achievement in my project report; that ninety-five percent number, I better be sure I know my data sources and what calculation I used to get to that numeric result.

In any given work role, if my work produces data, I have a responsibility to publish a piece of actual information that will tell a story. The true story is derived from true data. True data is a good data. Good data comes from good data sources. Good data isn’t means I have to make up a good number even if it’s nil. Not getting good numbers doesn’t mean I am irrelevant in my role, it’s just means I found a new problem to solve and it shows I know my stuff. Also first things first, how did I define a good number for the stakeholders?

There is no point appearing as an “I’ve-got-it-all-person” to the stakeholders and project sponsors. Remember, smart people will know if your result made up of bad data ~~ if this habit persist, soon or later my incompetency will periodically occur anyways.

Instead thrive for quality over quantity.

Lesson #3: Be Ready For Surprising Results, And Monitor Your Bias

Can you imagine Sheldon not doing laundry on Saturday nights? Em, I can’t.
Here’s the thing with data, it can still surprise me even if I have statistical proof of my advanced prediction.

I recently co-editing an in-house e-course content on Unconscious Bias for my team at work. I learned from creating the content, that it is very important that I need to be aware of nasty surprises that comes from my biases.

Pragya Agarwal (author of SWAY) writes that we tend to notice only the evidence that confirms what we already believe. While this example may be silly, if you have a scientist roommate and do laundry on Saturdays, you might have a constituent (general thoughts) bias that all characters in Big Bang Theory do laundry on Saturdays, or that all scientist does laundry on Saturdays.

Be aware of being prejudice against lifestyle not like ours, for example perceiving interpretation of real tea is only British tea and it’s utterly English rather than considering variety of culture that may have their custom tea culture.

Well the next time you doubt yourself and you capability at work, re-read my notes above eh? Hope that gives you valuable insight (even if it’s a tiny bit) for your productive next step at work! 🤓

❤️ My favourite things

1. The 3As of awesome by Neil Pasricha - Where I learned about life from the lens of a toddler. Also the advise of asking one to go after the life that you want by accepting that the opportunity is endless whilst time is limited.

🧠 This week’s quote

“There will never be a perfect time. Just start where you are.” - Anonymous

🎬 Look What I Made

In this week’s video, I'll be going over my experience after using Notion Pack by Muchelle B from Life Map Collective.

Thanks for reading my rambling. If you find this type of writing resonates with you leave a comment below and consider subscribing to Next Step!

❤️ Love & x,

Wawa Hals