Look Up and Around, Not Just Down

"Your executive team and managers are supposed to be looking out for roadblocks. They’re supposed to warn you so you can adjust course, or at least grab a helmet. But sometimes they don’t. So 20 percent of the time, individual contributors need to look up. And they need to look around. The sooner they start, the faster and higher they’ll advance in their career."

"Your job isn’t just doing your job. It’s also to think like your manager or CEO. You need to understand the ultimate goal, even if it’s so far away that you’re not really sure what it’ll look like when you get there. That’s helpful in your day-to-day—knowing your destination lets you self-prioritize and make decisions about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. But it’s also bigger than that. You want to make sure the direction you’re headed in still feels right—that you still believe in it. And you can’t ignore the other teams who are working by your side."

"Fig. 1.4.2 When you look up and around, you can see if your medium- and long-term goals still make sense, and understand the needs and concerns of the teams around you. Talk to your internal customers, whoever you’re a customer of, and the people who are closest to the actual customer—marketing and support. That’s how you’ll know if you’re on track or if things are going seriously sideways. Matteo Vianello"

"Junior individual contributors spend 80 percent of their time looking straight down—maybe a week or two out—to see the fine points of their day-to-day work. In the early stages of your career, that’s the way it should be. You should be focused on getting your specific piece of each project done, done well, and out the door."