Advantages and disadvantages

I think many people start their careers in small companies, where one person has to wear many hats just to keep the business alive and growing. I was one of them. I began my career as a creative in an advertising agency, then gradually learned product design in a small startup where I had to do everything—from branding to product design—often starting and finishing projects entirely on my own.

Doing everything alone has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it gave me a wide perspective, and it taught me how to create and deliver with limited resources. The disadvantage is that it left me unprepared for working in larger teams, where multiple designers might work on the same product and stakeholders become more complex.

Have you ever wondered why managers don’t often promote people simply for being the best makers? Hard skills are relatively easy to train—especially for people who’ve already learned to deliver end-to-end on their own. But hard skills eventually plateau; your craft can be excellent, but the difference it makes will diminish over time.

Empathy, humility, and the ability to work well with others, however, can grow endlessly. What I’ve learned is that the force that fuels both hard skills and happiness is simply being a good person. Goodness attracts the right work and the right people. And when that happens, you can use your hard skills at the right moment to create impact—while growing together with everyone around you.