AlphaSights Friends & Colleagues,
I'll stay on brand for this final message as:
- I've written more than I probably should have
- It is somewhat philosophical
I've had the privilege not only to work at this wonderful company but also to train, manage, and mentor a large number of young professionals eager to enter the working world, apply themselves, and build meaningful lives.
So, I wanted to use this final note to reflect briefly on how I've tried to operate during my time here and offer a few thoughts for anyone that's interested.
On Caring
- You have to care about how you're caring. Care, more than anything else I've found, is a uniquely human quality. It is the opposite of "slop." With potential anxiety around the age of artificial intelligence, remember -- machines cannot give a shit.
- If you care -- then what? How should you apply this care? There is a French saying -- Qui aime bien, châtie bien -- that translates somewhat roughly to "tough love." If you care about someone or something, if you love someone or something, it often requires some sort of friction or even being difficult. Encouragement, yes -- but it also means having that difficult conversation with your Manager, not saying "that makes sense" when something does not make sense, or perhaps holding an Associate's feet to the fire when their work is not up to the standard it should be.
- If you care and want to have that hard conversation with your boss or perhaps an Associate, how should you go about that? This is where the magic and personal growth are! There is no perfect answer as it's more of an art than a science. Some common ingredients are Courage, Intellectual Honesty, Strong Listening, Clear Communication, Empathy, Forgiveness, and Resilience.
I sometimes worry we are losing this ability to navigate friction gracefully with our slot machine phones and world of convenience.
The great gift of AlphaSights to young people is that the company is an incredibly resilient business that allows people to become antifragile by engaging with friction. It allows you to apply yourself, take action, fail forward, and learn how to do something better. It's a playground for your development if you choose to engage with it. So my advice is to lean into being uncomfortable in moments of friction, maintain good intentions, work on your communication, and seek out feedback.
On Culture and Belonging
- I've had a decent number of conversations with Associates and Managers over the years critiquing an existing culture -- on their team, within a segment, or more broadly. That's understandable. There are plenty of things in the world that aren't perfect or don't work as they should. But critiquing is easy. If you want respect, step into the arena and help create the thing you wish to be part of.
- I believe that in order to build an environment that truly fits you, you have to give of yourself first. As living beings, we're not only shaped by our environment -- we are constantly shaping it as well (known as niche construction). Culture is essentially this phenomenon on steroids.
- Put simply: you have to positively engage with the world [or corporate culture] around you if you want to know whether you belong in it. Belonging is an act of participation, not something that happens to you. Have courage and go build that culture.