Even trivia has value.

Last evening I met with a couple of former colleagues & friends at The Rampant & Rose for an evening of live trivia. Live trivia, by definition, means that you actually play with your opponents in the same room rather than over the network with a game control. Therefore we actually get to size up the opposition in person.

The winning team was the Killer Bees with a sizable lead. Our team, the Guinness Guzzlers, ended up in the middle of the pack. The team with the lowest score (but the highest energy level) was the youngest group there.

While the Killer Bees average age was not noticeably greater than most of us, I wondered whether winning at trivia was related to how many time one has been around the block.

In my career I have made good use of the technical “trivia” that one collects from project to project (and, yes, even during conversations in the bar after work). When looking to fill a position or role with an “experienced” resource it seems to me that what is really being asked for is someone who has amassed a great amount of trivia in the required areas.

And, just as in an evening of trivia, the ones with the broadest and most varied experience are likely to be the most valuable – especially in a difficult situation. In technical endevours the most valuable experience comes from some degree of triumph over failure. The more you get to attempt repairs of something that has gone wrong, the more you learn (and hopefully, retain).

Cheers!