Beginner’s Mind
March 23, 2011 Leave a Comment
After having been in the Web Search game for a while now, I start to notice more and more signs of professional deformation.
Major world events happen and my first reaction is to check the search results page for fresh content or the presence (or not) of certain features. You think about likely trending queries, or how it will affect referrals.
Glancing over the ethical questions the above raises, as a program/product manager, you also always tend to get to a point of expertise (or familiarity with the domain) when you notice that you don’t look at the product any more as a normal user would, let alone a beginning user.
It may be unavoidable but it is not inescapable and I have found that simple awareness of the problem matters a lot.
In that context, I have always loved the Zen or martial arts concept of Shoshin or the Beginner’s Mind which conceptualizes the problem and solution so much more elegantly.
It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would.
Or you may know this famous line:
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.
That said, maybe it is not so bad to not be a true beginner any more as the following quote from the Dalai Lama probably resonates as strongly with me as the concept of Shoshin:
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly
In any case, I think I will take some time off from my normal routine for a day or two of just pure creative indulgence and see if after all these years, I can still clear my pre-conceptions about Web Search and come up with some interesting ideas without regurgitating the old.
Wish me luck.
