Shift to Symphony Mindset

When I was a young engineer working on the products that our company made and sold, I was quite naive. 

Actually, I was worse than naive. I was insular and egocentric. Basically, I thought that engineering was the most important function of the company. Engineering was the purpose of the company. 

Sales? Can’t sell something that doesn’t exist.
Marketing? Can’t market something that doesn’t exist.
Accounting? Can’t create P&L statements if there’s nothing that brings in P.

Yeah, I’m not proud of my thought process at the time.

I missed the fact that we were all pieces in the system. All important. None functions without the other. It’s a symphony, not a solo performer.  

You can’t sell or market something that doesn’t (or won’t) exist, but also, you don’t have a business (or a job or a purpose) without marketing and selling what you make. You also won’t be in business if you can’t understand your finances, keep them in order, and make decisions based on them.  

So here’s a better approach: 

When you walk into the room, assume everybody is important, and ask yourself, “What does the system need from me?”

That’s the shift from solo performer to symphony.