What it takes to move from Labor-based work to Cognitively-based Work
And other thoughts on Forward Tilt
The first official meeting I had at GoodUnited I thought I discovered a new language.
“My hypothesis for the value proposition design of our current systems in place for ALS is insufficient for our benchmarks.” was what I thought I heard.
I immediately knew what was going to make or break my success at this job. QUESTIONS.
They’re the master key to anything I wanted in this position. The antidote to my cluelessness was to: ask more questions, ask better questions, and ask different types of questions.
And also to work my ass off.
How to Think about you
My last few jobs required little cognitive effort. I knew exactly what to expect.
I would show up and perform the monotonous task I learned months ago.
But succeeding in the business world has been infinitely more complex.
No longer am I getting paid to change the state of physical objects (ie: picking golf balls from on a driving range, driving golf carts around). I’m getting paid to manipulate ideas, create systems, influence others, and USE MY MIND.
My most important asset is mental alertness. The more cognitive capacity I have on any given day the:
- better questions I can ask
- quicker I can solve problems
- faster I can write
How I made the shift from labor-based to cognitive-based work
All it took was one mindset shift.
Lean into the problem, instead of away from it. What we like to call at Praxis — Forward Tilt.
Forward Tilt is uncomfortable. Which is why it’s so valuable in the workplace. Whenever you run into a problem:
- come up with new ideas
- question the hell out of your coworkers
- and do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of it
Will you bring Forward Tilt to the table?
