What skill do you regret not learning sooner?

In my younger days, I enjoyed life and was not going the extra mile in my job. I liked to spend my time doing a range of things, from playing tennis to ballroom dancing. And I liked to go out a lot and party with friends. Those were all good things.

At a point in time, I realized I hadn’t focused on some key skills in my profession and also general skills that could help me in any job. I remember when I started working in Tokyo, one of my bosses once told me I had to learn everything myself, because no one is going to help me. While this message seems dire, it’s largely true. Once you get out in the corporate world, you either train yourself or risk obsolescence. Do not rely on company training alone. A lot of companies advertise their training, but in my experience this is more a box ticking exercise rather than to measure real skill acquisition by the employees.

What’s more, I couldn't understand the explanations of a lot of people when I asked questions on the job. So I decided to self-learn. This has been an incredibly important journey because I’ve had to rely less on other people for acquiring knowledge. And I’ve been able to shape my own work better, prioritizing more effectively. Learning has come from asking better questions, often even foundational questions that in my younger days I would have been too scared to ask.

I do not have major regrets as far as learning is concerned, because the bad experiences jolted me into action. But if there was one, it’s self-reliance and applying that mindset as early as you can in life.