just wait and see

It seems the ‘local’ opinion of getting far in your career is to have as many bits of paper (Certifications) as possible. I have heard from more than a few people that they can’t move up in their career because they don’t have the relevant qualifications.

Conversely Steve Jobs never finished college, neither did Bill Gates, in spite of this they reached the top of the food chain.

In Job’s biography it mentions many apple employees who were ‘key personnel’. These people aren’t mentioned because they have the most qualifications, they are mentioned because they are valuable. It seems key personnel quitting it is a tragedy, it also seems that head-hunters always try to recruit them.

To emphasize how the capitalistic world views key employees vs regular employees a reference to ‘dressage‘ was made in one of my classes. I would like to highlight a quote from the Wikipedia article:

“At the peak of a dressage horse’s gymnastic development, the horse will respond smoothly to a skilled rider’s minimal aids. The rider will be relaxed and appear effort-free while the horse willingly performs the requested movement.”

The metaphor can be applied with executives (And valuable employees) being the riders while everyone else is expected to act like the horses. Internal strife within the company (Requesting pay raises) is akin to a horse being unwilling to perform the requested movements.

Anyway the point is that if a rider complains about something, his needs are catered for because he is trying to ‘focus’ on more important things (The movements to be made). If a horse complains it gets replaced (or corrected).

Conclusion, BE THE RIDER NOT THE HORSE. If you are valuable it doesn’t matter if you are lacking the stupid bit of paper, but if you aren’t then the qualification simply dictates the highest position you are suitable for.