Twenty years ago I was living in Taunton in the South-West of the UK and travelling by car to work in Bournemouth to work for a big, famous American investment bank as a technical consultant. I'd been hired to be part of a helpdesk which was on-call to supply first line support to portfolio managers who were booking trades for their clients. But me being a techie, I was there to bring technical expertise and solutions to a team that was struggling.

I aced the assignment. Providing a technical solution that gave the organisation insights into the in-flight trades in a way they previously hadn't. Essentially, under pressure and with the system live, I gave a view of how to tune their system in a way they didn't previously have. How much was that worth to then on a system that traded trillions? Was it hundreds of thousands? Millions? More? Who knows?

So I just asked them, how much is this great work was worth to me. A small pay rise? Anything? My bosses had invited me on a call with a load of important people to publicly thank me and show off their wisdom in hiring me, but there would be no pay rise. So instead of sticking around, I called up a friend and asked him if there were any jobs going where he worked at a Dutch bank. Within a month I'd got my pay rise and then some. I was also working in the Netherlands rather than the UK.

Where did I find myself this week? Talking to that same Dutch bank and going through the same dance of "how much do you know, how much are you worth?" So what's the story here? Is it that nothing really moves on? We think things are moving fast but sometimes it's just cycles. Chances come and chances go and you have to know when to take that leap.

If I'd not moved from London to Taunton then perhaps I wouldn't have been lowballed by a US bank. If I'd not been lowballed I wouldn't have sent that email. Then then perhaps I'd never have moved to the Netherlands.

Two weeks ago I finally became Dutch. Taking the oath to become a Nederlander. It feels right. I've worked here longer than I ever worked in the UK, I've contributed more to this economy than I have the UK one and while I'll always be British, a large part of me is now forever Dutch.

When to Commit, Where to Focus

We're in a period of flux in the world where chaos is attempting to reign. It's upsetting to see death and destruction being waged in the name of oil prices or borders, but how should we cope as individuals with this unsettling period? It's tempting to let external events distract us from our purpose, but now, more than ever, it's important to realise what value we bring into the world and how we can use our skills to help those that deserve us the most.

Finding a new employer, finding another reader, finding a new nationality. All of these things are related to how we see ourselves and where we fit in in the world. They cause us to consider our place but sometimes we can overthink this process. Four years ago I was feeling my way with this newsletter and with my writing, finally, now I feel that I am understanding my way of contributing as a writer, as a software expert and as a person.

If we only think about things, we'll never do the things. Sometimes you need to do the thing.

Until next time!

p.s.

I've just started posting snippets of Human Software read by me up on Soundcloud. The first excerpt is from Chapter 14 The Conference Part 1. If you listen and subscribe you'll be notified when the next ones are posted. New ones will appear every week for the next few weeks.

Also from my blog this week:

​The Myth of The Ideal Reader​

There is a theory that says you should have your ideal reader (or watcher) in mind when you write. All the experts say you need to find an ideal reader. So do you? And how do you go about finding who that person is or what they like?