So, I was thinking about Wesley Bryan the other day. You know, the golfer? The guy with the trick shots and that unique swing. He kinda came outta nowhere for a bit, won that tournament, the RBC Heritage, felt like a fresh thing.
It got me remembering stuff, not about golf really, but about doing things differently. Back when I was starting out in my old gig, everyone followed the same playbook. Step one, step two, step three. Don’t rock the boat.
My Own Little Detour
I remember this one project. The established way, the ‘right’ way according to the seniors, just felt clunky. It involved so much paperwork upfront and meetings about meetings. I saw a different path, maybe a bit riskier, definitely not standard procedure.
Here’s what I did:
- I started sketching out my idea after hours. Didn’t tell anyone at first.
- Built a small, rough prototype on my own time. Used some tools nobody else was really using then.
- Made it work, just barely, but enough to show the concept.
- Then, I grabbed my immediate supervisor, showed him privately. Didn’t do a big presentation. Just a quick demo.
He was skeptical, obviously. It wasn’t the ‘company way’. He asked a ton of questions. Why this? Why not that? How did you even build this part?
I just walked him through my thinking. Explained the shortcuts I took, why I thought they’d work for this specific problem. Pointed out how much faster it could be, even if it looked a bit weird compared to the usual process.
Took some convincing. Lots of back and forth. He had to stick his neck out a bit to even let me explore it further during work hours. But eventually, he saw the potential. We refined it, made it more robust, and it actually ended up saving us a ton of time on that particular project.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing after that, mind you. Sometimes trying the ‘weird’ way blew up in my face. But seeing guys like Bryan, doing their own thing, even if it looks unconventional, reminds me that sometimes the established path isn’t the only one. You gotta trust your gut sometimes and just try stuff out. See what happens. That’s how I learned most of what I know, just tinkering and trying things my own way.
