Something that keeps hitting me after a few decades in tech – we’re really good at fooling ourselves. The industry moves so fast, acronyms arise out of nowhere, AI became a real thing finally, blockchain is still something no one really understands, and whatever new thing dropped this morning, that is also moving quickly. All of this movement often allows us to get caught up in our own hype. And that’s where things get dangerous.
Here’s what I keep seeing: smart people (yes, myself included) get trapped in this echo chamber of our own expertise. We start thinking we’ve got it all figured out because, hey, we’ve been doing this for years, right? That mindset is a career killer or, paradoxically, really, really ignorant.
Remember the dot-com bubble? Everyone was convinced that slapping “.com” on anything would print money. More recently, watch how many people jumped into crypto without understanding the first thing about blockchain. This week, how many companies have “AI” emblazoned across their homepage? Same story, different technology.
The real kicker is that we don’t even realize we’re doing it. We surround ourselves with people who think like us, read the same news, get excited about the same trends. It’s comfortable. It’s validating. And it’s incredibly limiting.
I learned this one the hard way for sure. Early in my career, I was that guy who thought he had all the answers. Spoiler alert: I didn’t. What actually saved me was building a network of people who think nothing like me. People who challenge my assumptions and call me out when I’m drinking my own Kool-Aid.
Want to avoid this trap? Here’s what works: Force yourself to learn something completely outside your comfort zone. When everyone’s talking about the latest tech trend, go read about psychology or physics instead. Or if someone is barking about Bitcoin, read up on the history of currency. Surround yourself with people who think you’re wrong or don’t understand your world view at all. And most importantly, get comfortable with not being the smartest person in the room.
The tech industry isn’t slowing down. AI, quantum computing, whatever comes next – it’s all going to keep moving at breakneck speed. But here’s the thing: your success doesn’t depend on catching every wave. It depends on staying humble enough to keep learning and smart enough to know what you don’t know.
Feynman said it best: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.” In tech, that’s not just good advice – it’s survival.
