The Best Qualification I Have

I work in a field where the standards change constantly. Equipment, file formats, even styles of direction (Ken Burns changed everything) all are in a state of flux. So while I do have on my resume the skillsets and even some programs and equipment I've worked with, the primary skill I list is:

If I don't know how to do something, I can learn.

Admittedly, with the internet, this is easy. I recall the time I was wiring my house for a router, and didn't know how to tell the types of CAT5 cable apart. I went to google, typed in "How do I tell CAT5 cables apart?" and instantaneously got a clear diagram showing how to read the colored wires. Instantly.

I'm not a genius. I just know how to look for things. The unwillingness to do so is what a friend of mine terms "intellectual laziness", and it applies to people who would rather remain ignorant than learn how. I don't mind when a customer asks me to show them how to hook up a video projector. When the same customer asks me how 4 times in one day, simply because she knows then I'll do it for her...this becomes annoying.

Kathy Sierra validates this in her post over at Creating Passionate Users today, including a great quote from Jason Fried:

"Hire curious people. Even if they don't have the exact skill set you want, curious, passionate people can learn anything."

I am trying--with some success--to instill this in my daughters. "Dad, the TV won't play my DVD!" I could just go over and fix it. But instead I showed them, once, how the whole system works--the flow of information, the "out" and "in" of the RCA cables--and then, the next time, my response is just "Well, figure it out!"

Of course, this method has its dangers as well. There was one night, after a long day, when the DVD wouldn't work for me --and as I was tired, I was getting flustered and frustrated, swearing at the equipment which wasn't working as I'd expected.

My youngest daughter looked up from the couch. "Oh, Dad, it wasn't working before, so I re-wired the system. Push that button now--it's much easier."

And you know what? She was right.

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