The founder of BlackRock, when he first started his career, used these three questions to kick off his career.

文 | 葉小鍵

#### The founder of BlackRock, when he first started his career, used these three questions to kick off his career.

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#### When starting out in the workplace, don’t use the why, but the what.

Today, I was chatting with a colleague and shared my previous job experience with them. The colleague mentioned that the previous company was using industry-specific professions and skills, and after five years of work, he left to come to this company, but some of the professional counterparts could not be used, and he felt that he had lost five years of time, and only got some work experience, and some of it could not be used.

Although in the previous company, I went into the company on the day off to learn professional information, and learn some professional knowledge, I did not think too much at that time, but just seriously do a good job in this matter.

However, after I left my job and went to a new company, I found that we were in different industries and we were parallel to each other.

This reminds me of Peter Peterson, the former founder of BlackRock, in his autobiography [The Choice of BlackRock](https://www.dedao.cn/ebook/detail?id=) pAVMknaY9VDA6M7OjdpEvLnKm85rPw9eNlwZxykgeQJaRb4oBqNzGlX12boL1Nl9), he mentioned some of his experience in the advertising world, although he later worked in the consulting industry, his experience in the advertising world can still be used in his next job.

In what way can they be carried over?

I would like to make a note for this: when you start a career, it’s not about what you do, it’s about what you are.

Everything has a starting point, and how we get to the top is a process of deep thinking.

> In the advertising industry, you can’t rest on your laurels just because you are called a genius. It’s also about thinking about what advertising is, what advertising can be, and what advertising should be. ____ Peter, Peterson

This quote can be applied to any workplace or any project, and I have gained a lot from it. When we’re in the workplace, sometimes it’s not that we don’t know what to do, it’s that we don’t know where to go or how far to go.

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#### You can be a valuable person

In the workplace, we put in the time and effort, and we expect that our efforts will make us very good people, top-notch people, and people who depend on it.

Who you can be or who you want to be, and what to do before you do so, as Professor Jordan Peterson, a well-known psychologist, says in [The Twelve Laws of Life 2](https://www.dedao.cn/ebook/detail?id=) pqvNQ1KRJa7EmgG8MPKrzykNVbDpBWZvnBWQA1xO54nlvZq296YodejLXVJE5eAd) mentioned in the book: How do you want to be is to take the initiative to face something first

> Who can you become? The answer is to become someone who constantly takes the initiative to face the unknown; someone who breaks down naiveté, who is prudent and powerful, who understands and restrains evil; someone who transforms chaos into valuable order, or who turns rigid order into chaos and pushes back to rebuild. ___Jordan Peterson

Most importantly, you can be a person of value.

Peter Peterson, who became the vice president of an advertising agency at the age of 27, is the person who turns some chaos into order, and grows by thinking deeply through problems to get action, practice and reflection.

It’s all about continuous practice, asking yourself these questions when you feel confused, and practicing to get feedback.

I think David Nixon, author of the book “How to Be Interesting to Speak” (https://www.dedao.cn/ebook/detail?id=rEQKv6PKN7rEo2Gxg96ZjApyMvQVlw5o8YWXb14PJzDkYaReqd8n5LOmB8d7egBx), has a point. I think David Nisher, author of the book “How to Be Interesting” (), has a point: all practice is worthwhile.

> All the practice is worth it. Just be emotionally calm, keep rehearsing, and know the material by heart, and you’ll be much better off on stage than if you’ve never practiced before. ____ David Nihill

Learning by doing, gaining new abilities, learning from failures, and being ready for the next load, we practice all have value, provided you practice correctly.

What constitutes proper practice is asking the right questions and taking key effective actions.

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#### Critical Effective Actions

> We hired two assistants and started thinking seriously about specific company-related questions — what does our company do? How do we do it? How do we do it differently? _______ Peter, Peterson

After we asked ourselves the three whats (what so-and-so is, what so-and-so could be, what so-and-so should be), the next step was to ask ourselves these three questions, and while concentrating on them, take out a pen and paper and write down, what can we do? How to do it? How to do it differently.

Write them down in a notebook. In the present moment, you need this guide to the future, and nothing will ever go smoothly. But now you will start from this starting point and reach the top where you belong.

Peter Peterson, in his autobiography, shares his experience of working with such questions so that our experience can be used or our knowledge and skills can be reused.

We need to act, and it is critical to act effectively. What is needed to make the experience work are questions, three questions that can focus you on how to refine.

We should not be concerned with what we were doing before, but what we are doing now.

When we first enter the workplace or feel confused after entering the workplace, we should not ask why, but what we are.

We need to take action, critical and effective action to help us get out of the rut. Face a topic, think deeply, and write down the answers to these questions: What is so-and-so? What can so-and-so be? What should so-and-so be?

This is to give you a new concept and awareness of the topic or the industry you are in, and once you have that awareness, the next step is what do you want to do? How to do it? How to do different from others?

I think it is the demand for self, and this demand comes from your understanding and focus on things, which can also be said to be good quality. It is a good quality, a demand and pursuit of things or self, from the beginning to the top.
*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***