Goodbye, SAP — I love you
The 5 things I learned at my dream job
After 42 months of working to build an organization that I love, I have decided to leave my dream job at SAP today.
I am profoundly grateful for every moment of the journey along the way. Thank you, SAP, for allowing me to become a part of something bigger than myself and the opportunity to contribute toward making the world a better place. I especially want to thank everyone who stood by my side on this journey. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to work hard, have fun, and create memories together.
Here is what I have learned working with some of the smartest people on this planet in the last 1288 days:
- Simplicity is hard. The more we discover, invent, and grow as humans, the more complicated our lives become. We can’t help but make things complex. A lot of complexity (and efficiency) in our businesses comes from data. Why? Because our paleolithic minds learn better through stories than data. Many of us pay hundreds of dollars for movie tickets every year. Every movie takes years of hard work, tons of research, and millions of dollars in production to create about two hours of sophisticated cinematic experience. All this to tell a simple story. The stories told in a business setting might not be quite as dramatic (or hair-raising), but nevertheless can be more impactful than data alone. If you are obsessed with simplicity like me, I’ll suggest investing some time to learn about the magical science of storytelling.
- Leadership is not a rank. Leaders lead by example. They look out for people to the left of them and the right of them. I have learned this by working with some exceptionally passionate and courageous leaders at SAP. I am lucky to have had some of these people as my supervisors and mentors. But a vast majority of them were never in my reporting line; they were my colleagues from another function, peers from another market unit, and friends I met at a workshop. I chose to follow them because of their kindness and authenticity, which reflected in little things, such as staying back late to help a colleague, actively listening to another perspective, or simply prioritizing relationships over everything else.
- Innovation is not always disruptive. It only needs to solve a problem efficiently through new methods. And efficiency comes through iterations. It means that before we arrive at ‘the most efficient’ solution, we must fail a few times. But how many times can we afford to fail? There are always constraints such as timelines, market competition, and budgets. Learning how to fail fast and moving-on is essential to the success of an innovation process. If you want to innovate, begin with creating a safe space where your employees can experiment without hesitation. Sometimes they will fail, and that is okay! It is a part of the process.
- Progress is more important than perfection. We are taught to be fiercely ambitious, so we don’t settle for anything less than perfection. Our ambitions make us restless, and sometimes in our excitement, we may overlook the value of steady progress. It is crucial to remember that a 1% improvement per week means that we can deliver a 52% growth over the whole year. Consistency is the king, my friends.
- Start at the end. Whenever you start something new, pause, and consider what behaviors do you want to influence? You can do this by taking a stroll down the “so what?” street. Let’s try this together. I want this project to be successful. So what? So that I can meet my target. So what? So, I am appreciated. So what? So that I can win my peers’ trust. That is a worthwhile target.
I’m running my hands down the seams of rocketships and thinking about the stars. While I do that, you will find me waiting to hear about your personal and professional successes on one of these channels:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/msaadashfaq/
- Medium: https://medium.com/@msaadashfaq
