Hello Reader,

In the hive system, worker bees leave the hive to explore the surrounding environment, searching for nectar and pollen from flowers. Once they locate a good source, they return to the hive and communicate the distance and location to other bees through what’s known as the waggle dance. But not all bees take notice.

Scientists discovered that about 20 per cent of bees ignore the waggle dance; they dismiss the directions and go off at random, which doesn’t make any sense, because if you want to maximise the efficiency of pollen collection, you’d want 100 percent obedience to the waggle dance. Apparently, there are an indulgent class of bees who are allowed to make mistakes.

And then scientists discovered that there is an explore/exploit trade-off going on. These systems need a trade-off between exploiting what they already know and investing in what they don’t yet know. So the bees that ignored the waggle dance were the explorers, setting out to forage for new sources of pollen to keep the hive alive.

I think about this almost every day.

Because we all know that technology evolves relentlessly. New frameworks emerge, paradigms shift, companies pivot, entire stacks become legacy. All of this is a natural part of being in tech. It's not good or bad. It is just the reality.

And most of the time, you don't get to choose when disruption arrives. You don't get to pick which technologies survive. You can't negotiate the timing of industry shifts. There's no timeout if you're not ready.

The simple truth is that you meet technological disruption at precisely the level of your exploration. That exploration is built upon the learning you chose when you didn't have to choose it:

The 20% time you protected.

The new languages you experimented with.

The side projects you built.

The conferences outside your domain you attended.

The documentation you read for tools you didn't use yet.

Every single time you embrace voluntary exploration, you prepare yourself for the involuntary adaptation that will inevitably come.

You don't become invincible. You become adaptable.

Adaptable enough to stay calm when your framework falls out of favor. Adaptable enough to pivot when the company changes direction. Adaptable enough to learn, contribute, and lead when the technology landscape shifts beneath you.

Because one day, it will.

A rewrite. A pivot. A platform migration. An unexpected obsolescence.

And when that day comes, you will not meet the moment at the level of your wishes. You will meet it at the level of your exploration.

So choose the exploratory work today. Choose the side projects, the new languages, the adjacent domains, the cross-functional conversations. Choose voluntary learning.

This is how you face disruption with internal adaptability.

This is how you become capable of thriving when the landscape shifts around you.

This is how you stand ready when change arrives at your door.

Because one day maybe in six months or in a year, your current expertise will become less valuable. Your stack will shift. Your role will evolve. The industry will move.

And when that moment comes, you won't rise to the level of your hopes.

You'll fall to the level of your exploration.

So build that exploration muscle now, when you have the choice. Not when disruption forces your hand.

Choose the 20%.

What does your exploration look like this quarter? Hit reply and let me know what you're learning that you don't need yet.

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Stay adaptable,

Kayode