My first 2 Weeks at Ubiqua have definitely been a challenge. Below are the 5 biggest challenges I’ve faced so far.

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1. Autonomy

There’s been a whole lot of independent and self-directed thinking. Mostly in figuring out what I need to learn and what I should be doing to add value. Of course, my colleagues are there to provide direction, but this is driven by consultative needfinding rather than direct instruction; leaving me to decipher the needs of the business.

2. Uncertainty

The sheer magnitude of uncertainty is incredibly challenging. For example, I’m constantly dealing with uncertainty of scope, not knowing how big of a scope to tackle; uncertainty of relevance, unsure of the direct or indirect value of a task; and uncertainty of impact, often driven to explore new things without a concrete estimate on the return of a given task. In addition, there’s the constant hindsight questioning of the decisions and priorities made earlier during the week.

3. Accelerated Integrative Learning

Exposed to the inner workings of all the departments, there’s been a great deal of learning a lot of things fast. Under such circumstances one might feel that these learnings are all over the place; as if trying to put many different puzzle pieces together at once. But the challenge lies in constantly relating one piece of information on how one thing works to its implications and connectedness with other aspects of the company.

4. Challenging Assumptions

Being onboarded to the multiple frameworks and processes in place, it’s been crucial to think critically and to question the current state of affairs. The challenge lies in striking the right balance between being overly aversive to the current state vs. embracing the present in its fullest state and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.

5. Stepping Up to the Plate

What Ubiqua offered that was different to many other job options, was the opportunity to step up to the plate. This means having an opinion on matters concerning the company’s competitive strategy, not just related to my day to day tasks. This means being assertive and vocal amongst my peers. The challenge has been in being able to digest enough information that I am capable of developing my own informed opinion on a matter.

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Overall it’s been a great experience these past few weeks. I look forward to see how the next few months unfold!