Shane Parrish on specific advice vs general advice

vutran | March 28, 2022, 1:25 p.m.

“When starting a new job, find the person that just got promoted from the role you got hired into and ask them for specific advice. The word specific is important. These are the tools, the techniques, the skills that worked in the same situation you’re coming into. If you talk to someone who climbed the mountain a long time ago, odds are the specific advice isn’t as relevant as things have changed.

You control your starting position more than you think. For specific advice, find someone a step or two ahead of you. For general advice, find someone older who can put things in perspective.”

— Shane Parrish