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This past summer I completed an internship with GE in Louisville. It was an outstanding experience, and I felt like I accomplished a significant amount of work in the 3 months that I was there. However, there was one thing that held me back from being even more successful. I didn't ask enough questions. The project that I was assigned dealt with the IT Help Desk, and it was fairly complex. When I started I had no idea what the Help Desk did or how a request was routed there. I was given some documentation to read, and my manager spent some time doing his best to explain everything to me.
It took me a few days to feel comfortable with everything, and I was anxious to get to work since I knew that's what they brought me there to do. I knew I didn't understand everything perfectly, but I felt like I had to jump into my analysis because it might look bad if I spent too long reading documentation and asking questions. After I had asked my manager a few questions I didn't want him to think that I hadn't read through things or that I just wasn't smart so I stopped. I got to work even though I still didn't have as good of a grasp on the whole situation as I would have liked. I realize now that was a big mistake. I struggled through my analysis because the situation still wasn't all that clear to me. If I could do it again, I would be in my manager's office asking questions until he told me to leave. Then I would have gone to the next person that knew something about my project and started grilling them with more questions.
Recently, I was reading Don't Fire Them, Fire Them Up! by Frank Pacetta. One excerpt that I really liked was this:
"Historians report that Napoleon would arrive at a meeting or to inspect one of his units as the dumbest man there. he would proceed to ask questions by the dozens. He was never afraid to show lack of knowledge. When the meeting was over and Napoleon departed, he departed the smartest man on the scene, having absorbed everyone else's expertise."
Follow Napoleon's lead and ask as many questions as you can when you're put in a new situation (such as when you start a new job). Trust me, you won't look dumb and you'll be better off than if you did nothing. The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask.
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Comments
03.02.09
If you're going to ask questions, make sure that the questions you're asking are REAL, not just a manifestation of laziness, where the answers are revealed by some research or thought processes.
In your case, reading the documentation and observing the workflow probably would have answered some of your questions and set you up to ask the real questions that your analysis required.
Asking inane questions that have answers revealed by a little work will draw the wrath of those who are asked.
I'm reminded of Microsoft's imfamous"Bill Review" of a project, in which after the first few minutes of the review, he announces, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!". The 'correct' answer is, "You don't know what the heck you're talking about and here's why it's important!"
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