Aim to Be a Zero

If you enter a new environment intent on exploding out of the gate, you risk wreaking havoc instead. — Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space

Right after joining Crunchyroll, I remember being so fixated on driving changes. There was so much low-hanging fruit! The mobile sign-up flow read more like a cumbersome contract. There were display ads, which were a small part of revenue, peppering the site & diminishing the user experience. We were creating complexity by selling several products when one was the vast majority of revenue. Our value proposition wasn’t clear.

Having come from Hulu & learned “best practices”, I attempted to steamroll through conversations. “Trust me, I learned this at Hulu, I know what’ I’m talking about” was a common refrain. Alas, this was a poor approach.

I lacked situational awareness. I hadn’t searched for the reasoning behind past decisions. Moreover, I didn’t understand the interconnectedness of those decisions with other considerations. I failed to appreciate the difficulty of prioritizing with extremely limited resources. Most important, I had developed zero trust with other team members. The team that had built Crunchyroll from scratch. The ones that had been scrappy & resourceful, pouring their heart & soul into every aspect of the product.

One of the benefits of sticking around a company for a while is seeing other team members come & go. Everyone has a different approach to joining a team. Most of the time, it seems people skew towards wanting to have an impact as soon as possible. I think there’s something very human about that. Perhaps it’s some insecurity, where we need to prove our own worth to others, or to ourselves.

Whatever the reason, in hindsight, it’s clear that it’s hard to add value right away in a new environment. It’s a great time to be patient and listen, and start to build trust with those around you. Most people are rational and there’s usually decent reasons behind past decisions (though they may not age well). Develop an understanding of your surroundings and the interconnectedness of everything. Slowly work your way into a position where you can actually add value.

I recently read An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield. It’s full of incredible life lessons (and obviously it’s cool to read about rockets & living in space). One of the chapters is “Aim to Be a Zero”, surprising coming from an overachiever like Col. Hadfield. But that’s kind of the point: being patient & waiting to have a positive impact is one of the hardest things to do for ambitious people, like astronauts. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite excerpts from the book:

When you have some skills but don’t fully understand your environment, there is no way you can be a plus one. At best, you can be a zero. But a zero isn’t a bad thing to be. You’re competent enough not to create problems or make more work for everyone else. And you have to be competent, and prove to others that you are, before you can be extraordinary. There are no shortcuts, unfortunately. Even later, when you do understand the environment and can make an outstanding contribution, there’s considerable wisdom in practicing humility.

P.S. While in command of the ISS, Hadfield recorded a cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity. It’s truly amazing.

Aim to Be a Zero

If you enter a new environment intent on exploding out of the gate, you risk wreaking havoc instead. — Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space

Right after joining Crunchyroll, I remember being so fixated on driving changes. There was so much low-hanging fruit! The mobile sign-up flow read more like a cumbersome contract. There were display ads, which were a small part of revenue, peppering the site & diminishing the user experience. We were creating complexity by selling several products when one was the vast majority of revenue. Our value proposition wasn’t clear.

Having come from Hulu & learned “best practices”, I attempted to steamroll through conversations. “Trust me, I learned this at Hulu, I know what’ I’m talking about” was a common refrain. Alas, this was a poor approach.

I lacked situational awareness. I hadn’t searched for the reasoning behind past decisions. Moreover, I didn’t understand the interconnectedness of those decisions with other considerations. I failed to appreciate the difficulty of prioritizing with extremely limited resources. Most important, I had developed zero trust with other team members. The team that had built Crunchyroll from scratch. The ones that had been scrappy & resourceful, pouring their heart & soul into every aspect of the product.

One of the benefits of sticking around a company for a while is seeing other team members come & go. Everyone has a different approach to joining a team. Most of the time, it seems people skew towards wanting to have an impact as soon as possible. I think there’s something very human about that. Perhaps it’s some insecurity, where we need to prove our own worth to others, or to ourselves.

Whatever the reason, in hindsight, it’s clear that it’s hard to add value right away in a new environment. It’s a great time to be patient and listen, and start to build trust with those around you. Most people are rational and there’s usually decent reasons behind past decisions (though they may not age well). Develop an understanding of your surroundings and the interconnectedness of everything. Slowly work your way into a position where you can actually add value.

I recently read An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield. It’s full of incredible life lessons (and obviously it’s cool to read about rockets & living in space). One of the chapters is “Aim to Be a Zero”, surprising coming from an overachiever like Col. Hadfield. But that’s kind of the point: being patient & waiting to have a positive impact is one of the hardest things to do for ambitious people, like astronauts. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite excerpts from the book:

When you have some skills but don’t fully understand your environment, there is no way you can be a plus one. At best, you can be a zero. But a zero isn’t a bad thing to be. You’re competent enough not to create problems or make more work for everyone else. And you have to be competent, and prove to others that you are, before you can be extraordinary. There are no shortcuts, unfortunately. Even later, when you do understand the environment and can make an outstanding contribution, there’s considerable wisdom in practicing humility.

P.S. While in command of the ISS, Hadfield recorded a cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity. It’s truly amazing.