# Learning the Wrong Lesson By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-09-21 Organizations have very different expectations for people in identical job descriptions. Sometimes, this occurs within an organization large enough to have two people with the same job description. But it regularly happens between organizations. The same data scientist job description at one organization versus another will often have wildly different expectations. In one, the person in the role is expected to lead and operate independently. In the other organization, the person is expected to collaborate with a team and work on a very small problem domain. In all likelihood, this does not strike many as odd, but simply how it is in business these days. Yet, we cling to these job descriptions as the standard by which to judge performance, culture, work activities, and fit. They are hardly this. If anything, they are only the start of a conversation. Of course, the problem is that one rarely knows the full story of the position and expectations once one has lived it for some time. Here, a new problem emerges: regret and reinterpreting the past. We say things like if I would have only known or it was written there if I had only thought about it correctly. This is part of the learning process, but it's like attempting to learn how to build a house but only given the option to build on lots full of quicksand. Thinking this through logically, one finds a familiar problem: categorization and classification mixed with industrial production work paradigms. There are only so many problems and mistakes humans have made and will continue to make. Understanding them will make one seem like a mastermind and genius while limiting how much one learns the wrong lesson. #### Related Items [[Organization]] [[Work]] [[Learning]] [[The Human Condition]] [[Categorization]] [[Paradigms]] [[Err]]