9,5 years and 9 lessons from working at Booking.com

After 9,5 years at Booking.com I decided last June it was time for me to move on. This wasn’t an easy decision, and it has taken some time to get my bearings since, on which I’ll share more later if anyone is interested.

I did learn a lot about life, working and people in my time at Booking.com. I shared nine of those lessons in my goodbye post internally. And I am sharing them here now too.

## X lessons

Lesson one, it's about People. All things I did I achieved by working together and learning from other people. The quality of the relationships I build here has been what gave me energy and joy to show up every day. I learned that work is not all about what you do, but about who you do it with. 

Lesson two, it's about People. At Booking I learned that every one is different, every one brings their own view of the world to the table. All I needed to do was learn how to listen. 

Lesson three, it's about People. But this time about myself. It's okay to be myself, that's all I have and it's good enough. In the past I would be worried what others thought about me and let it affect my actions - without asking if that's what they actually thought. With these assumptions I kept myself caged. I learned the cage was always open, I just needed to have the courage to walk out. 

Lesson four, feedback works, if it's not misunderstood. When someone gives me feedback I try to identify the impact my behavior had on them. Feedback is not about telling others what they should do instead, that is up to the receiver to decide. I learned that when I look for the impact, feedback is a great conversation starter and helps me discover who I am. 

Lesson five, it's easy to pretend I know something. Once you work somewhere a while, or have a reputation for a certain expertise, staying in the beginner's mindset is incredibly hard. To keep learning I need to consciously go to that mindset every time. I learned to do that by listening to the inner voice that says "I don't understand this" and then asking that question out loud, even when I'm afraid someone else might think I'm stupid. 

Lesson six, the difference between responsibility and obligation. What I love about working at Booking is that the culture we have encourages so many people to do things not because they have to, but because it's the right thing to do. I learned that if I really need to do something I need to feel responsible for it, not obligated. 

Lesson seven, everything I do now, at this moment, also has a long-term impact. Last October I planted flower bulbs in my garden. And only in March and April did they actually flower. I learned that I both needed to be patient to see the effect of my actions, and do things in the right way at this moment because the outcome will be better tomorrow. 

Lesson eight, be an ally. I would not have been able to have the career I've had at Booking without some amazing allies who helped me along in numerous ways. We're all in this together. I learned that if we are all rooting for each other to succeed, life will be richer for it. 

Lesson nine, life is a dance. Instead of looking at life as a series of goals to achieve, of peaks to reach (and subsequently being disappointed if I don't reach it), I learned to look at life as a dance on the dance floor. Life on the dance floor is about connection, sharing your awesome new dance moves, and finally finding joy through that. 

Lesson ten, counting is hard. Did I say nine lessons? At Booking I spent almost eight years in the experimentation track. In the end one of the elements of experimentation is counting, and yes, I learned that counting can be hard! 

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