The Strategic Advantages of Relinquishing Uniformity

I’ve been reflecting lately on what continues to renew my interest in Mighty and how my team is strategically positioned to be nimble and adaptable to changes and I keep coming back to this common thread - there is a deep-rooted comfort level with straying from the norm brought on by our non-traditional backgrounds.

Hearing those words aloud can be particularly jarring - especially because at an early age, we are taught en masse uniformity. We are educated in the same way, we stick to a schedule - we even sometimes have a literal uniform. But some individuals don’t want to wear a uniform, don’t like a set schedule and don’t learn in exactly the same way.

For me, entering into the startup world coming from such a traditional landscape as the Oil and Gas industry, I felt I finally found my home. The startup industry is full of U-turns, quick starts and stops, constantly meeting new people, new challenges and some serious creative problem-solving. Nevertheless, I never tire of this - and neither does my team.

There is a certain unspoken formula in the hiring process that a candidate must have the perfect resume, gone to the perfect school and have a specific personality in order to be a good fit. It reeks of that same uniformity that we’re taught growing up and I haven’t found that this formula is perfect for determining who would make an excellent addition to my team.

What I’ve discovered is that diversity of backgrounds and interest perpetuates diversity of thought. These qualities lead to someone becoming an invaluable member of my team. We have backgrounds on the team from academia and labor, different cultures and upbringings and all this variation informs their work. Their unique perspectives provide different lenses in what we’re creating and challenges us to make our services better.

Moreover, this diverse viewpoint makes it easy for them to walk off the beaten path and feel comfortable with those trademark U-turns of the startup industry. They’re perhaps the very people who didn’t learn in a uniform way, who didn’t want to stick to their schedule - they’re adaptable and always up to a challenge and we all chose the startup industry.