Building Successful Careers

When you stop learning, you start dying. Pat Zimmerman

It has been at least seven years since I last met Wayne in person. Seven years of time washed away many sandy grinds between us and left only sparkling gold. I could not help to thank Wayne for one of my most important career paradigm shifts. Without his advice, I could not grow from a first line manager to a director. Wayne looked at me with his signature smile, “Let me tell you my version of the story .” My heart was racing; did I remember our meeting total differently? Wayne was an architect at a large software company 20 years ago. He once talked to a Sr. VP and his mentor at this large company. His mentor said: “Wayne, there are three bodies of knowledge for each person: 1. The knowledge you are aware of, and you know it very well and apply it in your life daily 2. The knowledge that you are aware of, but you don’t know it well because you have no interest, desire or capability to acquire it 3. The knowledge that you are not aware of, you never knew such knowledge existed. You wi