May is the time to figure something out | Curtain Up
Image source: WeChat official account "U Sense"
May 4th is a date that is defaulted to be "exclusive to the youth".
But in my opinion, the term "youth" has never been only associated with age. Every person who is still exploring the rhythm and right path of life has a young person longing for strength living inside them.
[1]
The moment of finalizing the name of the new brand was actually quite uneventful. At the brainstorming meeting to discuss the plan, I complimented an intern by saying "You have a good sense", and his eyes lit up and he said, "This word is great!"
Many years ago, I was a newbie in the workplace, learning how to read resumes, judge people, and understand organizations in the headhunting industry. At that time, my boss always complimented the classmates in the team by saying "You have a good sense" from time to time.
"Having a good sense" is a popular workplace jargon in the consulting industry and also a highly condensed compliment. Hard work is a labor of toil, intelligence is a gift, and sense is something that allows you to think on the same frequency as your seniors without them having to teach you step by step.
Many years have passed. When I switched to the field of technology journalism and started to understand people and organizations in another way, I found that I was still looking for that state of "having a good sense" - not as an expectation of a boss for subordinates, but as a self - requirement.
It has at least three meanings.
Information Sense: Catch important signals and outliers in the noise of information overload. The departure time of someone happens to correspond to a certain organizational restructuring of their previous company, and there is an abnormal fluctuation in the salary data of an industry. When encountering a problem, don't just look at the surface, but ask about the ultimate goal and the "why".
Social Sense: Master the appropriate degree in advancing and retreating. Know when to move forward and when to back off, and be able to judge the emotional state and real motivation of the other party, rather than rushing to achieve your own goals.
Direction Sense: Beyond the instructions of others, be observant and have a clear direction in mind. If the boss assigns task A, you can think of tasks B and C; once there is a new trend in the market, take the initiative to do mapping instead of waiting for the KPIs to be imposed.
These three dimensions together form the complete "having a good sense". And the number "three" itself has a wonderful narrative integrity.
In Harry Potter, there are three main characters. Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang, the mastermind. The liberal arts student who made it onto the global GitHub list in 72 hours had three AI agents working in collaboration behind him. In drama theory, the three - act play is the most classic structure - Aristotle proposed the principle of the unity of action of "beginning, middle, and end" in Chapter 7 of "Poetics", and later generations refined it into the three - stage narrative logic of "beginning, conflict, and resolution".
Our career is also like a three - act play -
Thoughts on Entering the Arena: It is the original intention, the moment of finding interest, passion, and a sense of strength. You don't know if you are qualified, but you feel a certain kind of call.
Thoughts on Disputes: It is the moment of facing the competitive environment and industry trends, starting from your strengths, and cultivating advantages in the collision. You no longer just act on intuition. You start to understand the rules and even question them.
Thoughts on Reconciliation: It is the moment of finding a unique position, creating scarce value, and seizing the dividends. Rather than compromise, this is more like a kind of sobriety after the struggle - you know who you are and what the world needs.
Three is the smallest complete unit of narrative. For a person to go from "finding a feeling" to "having a good sense", they often have to go through these three acts. It is not linear. Some people repeatedly enter the arena, some are in long - term disputes, and some re - enter the conflict after reconciliation.
And what plays a decisive role between each "act" is choice.
[2]
In the famous opening monologue of the movie "Trainspotting", Mark Renton used a joking and rough monologue to disassemble the "standard life track" planned by mainstream society for young people: Choose a job, choose a family, choose a mortgage and installment payments, choose a washing machine, a car, and an electric can opener, choose low - cholesterol and dental insurance.
Then Mark said, "But who am I? Would I want to do those things? I choose not to choose life: I choose something else. Reason? No reason. With heroin, who needs a reason?"
This line that came out in 1996 accurately hit the dilemma of every generation of young people: When mainstream society has drawn a "correct" life route for you, there will always be a rebellious thought of "not wanting to choose" in people's subconscious. But if rebellion itself is just a form of escape, it will be like Mark, falling into a more nihilistic quagmire.
Twenty years later, Boyle let middle - aged Mark face this line again in "T2 Trainspotting". This time, he left heroin and chose to return to the mainstream, completing a closed - loop answer to "choice" - no matter which path you choose, facing the choice and taking the consequences is the meaning of life.
Readers who are familiar with us know that since the establishment of "Workplace Bonus", we have written about industries, companies, and the ups and downs of the business environment. But there has always been a type of content that fascinates me personally: those specific people who have gone through the "three - act play", the choices they made at key nodes, their connection with the trends, and how they seek breakthroughs within their individual limitations.
Therefore, we have moved the character - oriented column "Bonus Figures" in "Workplace Bonus", the reports on the professional survival situation, and various contents that contribute to the self - growth of young people - whether it is the exploration of AI, technology, and going global, or the disassembly of cognitive methodology - to here, "U Sense". One boundary is: we don't intend to advocate any new "correct life route".
Two accounts, two ways of observing trends and dividends. "Workplace Bonus" will continue to focus on the industry environment, companies, and the flow of talents.
Reporting and writing have always been an opportunity for me to calm down, learn, think, resist entropy increase, and focus on researching something important. For the editorial department, we hope to grow with readers in the way of doing topics - deconstructing all the details in life and work that may be helpful for self - growth into valuable topics. This is the implicit goal of the content of "U Sense".
[3]
Finally, about this name.
"U Sense" is a homophone of "having a good sense" and also a new interpretation of the ancient maxim "Think thrice before you act". We believe that every young person already has a certain primitive sense, which just needs to be awakened, calibrated, and verified.
On May 4th, 1919, a group of young people took to the streets and chose to use their shouts to fight against a world they didn't agree with. One hundred and seven years later, today, we choose to use recording and thinking to fight against another form of numbness - the numbness of giving up screening in the flood of information, giving up questioning on the standard track, and giving up direction in repetitive work.
Youth Day is never just a commemoration. It is a reminder: every generation has the right to choose their own way of living again.
May is a good time to figure something out and then take action. The three - act play has begun. Here is our promise to grow together. Welcome!
◎ Their memories, choices, and messages
(Sorted by the first letter of the surname)
Deng Jiang
● Founder of Yuanqi Zhihui
Leaving the bank in 2015 was the most practical decision in my life. That stability was good, but it couldn't give me the experience of "creating something from scratch".
After starting a business, every decision is directly related to the survival of the company and the livelihood of the team. The path is my own choice, so I have to take every step steadily. Looking back, this choice didn't give me an "escape route", but it gave me "the whole path" - the current business, the team, and all the experiences of these ten years have grown from here.
Image source: WeChat official account "U Sense"
Davin YC Dong
● Founder & CEO of Cookiy AI
One of the most important choices in my life was to leave the seemingly certain path of being a senior executive in a large company and start a business.
In the past, when I managed business, I paid more attention to scale and efficiency; later, I increasingly believed that in the AI era, what is truly scarce is not just more powerful models, but a deep understanding of real humans.
So I founded Cookiy AI, hoping to be the bridge between AI and real humans: to make machines understand human voices, judgments, feelings, and choices better, and to make the opinions of every ordinary person be heard.
I wish every young person who is still making choices can hear the real voice in their heart.
(Top: Group photo with the team; Bottom: Photo with the CEO of Y Combinator.)
Image source: WeChat official account "U Sense"
Image source: WeChat official account "U Sense"
Du Yu
● Founder of Weikuzhi AI
When I just graduated, I had several job offers in hand. I struggled for a long time and didn't follow the trend to choose the one with the highest salary.
I remember standing in the dormitory corridor and calling my mom to discuss. She told me a practical thing: Only by following your interest can you go a long way.
Industries always have their ups and downs. The difference in starting salaries for fresh graduates is mostly caused by industry trends and has little to do with a person's real ability. Only when you really like something are you willing to settle down and deeply cultivate it, gradually grinding out your core value, so that you can walk steadily and for a long time.
Image source: WeChat official account "U Sense"
Gao Xueheng
● Founder and CEO of FUNDel
"Lifelong learning" was the advice left by my mentor in the last class, and since then it has become my motto.
For many years, I have insisted on "working during the day and studying at night", from pursuing an EMBA to a Doctor of Law. I met a group of partners from different industries on campus who grow and have fun together.
Even though I am very busy with work now, I still insist on going to campus. Although my identity has changed from a student to a professor, my original intention remains the same. Through teaching and learning from students, being both a teacher and a friend, and inspiring each other, I continue my learning journey in another capacity.
Image source: WeChat official account "U Sense"
Guo Renjie
● Founder and CEO of Lexiang Technology
A few years ago, I found that China already has the best technology and products in the world, but many people haven't realized it or are not willing to believe it.
So we thought that not only should we create the best technology and products in the world ourselves, but also let everyone know this fact. Not only do it, but also say it. China has the smartest and fastest - iterating technical personnel, and this will continue.
Image source: WeChat official account "U Sense"
Guo Xiaoli
● CEO of Yuanze Technology
In September 2021, I left ByteDance and started a business again. It's not because I saw a definite opportunity, but because I can only be my true self when doing something I really believe in. I want to make my own products, such as Lusu Screen Recorder and Lusu Teleprompter. Every day is happier than going to work. I hope every young person can find something that makes their heart flutter earlier - it doesn't have to be starting a business, it can be in any form - and then approach it without hesitation.
