If You Are In a Team Where No One Follows the Rules, You Will Also Stop Following Them

“Be honest and responsible to colleagues, partners, and customers, and say things as they are.”

Ludmil Kushinov, the CEO of the company, in an interview for the Bulgarian work platform WorkTalent.com.

Who is he?

My name is Lyudmil Kushinov, and I am the CEO of the software developer of solutions for the TV and media industry X-Pert Multimedia Solutions. Over the years, I have held various management positions in IT companies – in sales departments, QA and support, and overall management, before embarking on entrepreneurship and, together with the other three partners, founding X-Pert Multimedia Solutions.

When did you start working and receive your first salary?

I received my first salary when I was 18 years old. My father had a car service in the Pleven region. One day, a Mercedes 124 was brought to the service station with a broken crankcase. My father had a lot of work and there was no one to take over the client, and we couldn’t help but take him over (you know in the 90s who drove such cars). I rolled up my sleeves, opened the car, put it on the canal, and fixed it myself – I changed its crankcase and gasket. For the work, we took 50 leva, which was quite a large amount for its time.

Do we need to have a career development strategy to follow?

Having a career strategy from the beginning is too early. It takes a little time to understand what you want to do. This is especially true in the IT industry, where everything changes extremely quickly.

My first permanent job was as an operator in a computer club. That’s what I liked doing then, I wanted to be among gamers. This business no longer exists. Imagine if I had chosen this profession for career development then… That’s why I say that having a strategy in the IT sector is quite difficult – things change very quickly. In my opinion, the important thing is to feel what you are attracted to, what you like, what you are enthusiastic about, what you do with real interest and to embark in this direction.

What do you think is the impact of our first job on shaping our career habits?

It depends on the workplace. Just as it can help you build serious work habits, it can also disappoint you and affect you negatively. If the team is good and everyone follows the rules – it’s OK. But when you work in a team where no one follows the rules, at some point, you will stop following them, and you can’t build a work routine or work habits. When there is no good atmosphere in the team, when the relationships are not good, this affects both your desire to work and your work habits.

Which events and specific people leave their biggest imprint on our career development?

In most cases, these are senior managers with whom you have had valuable conversations, and who have given you valuable advice for your career development. Years ago, one of my managers told me:

“If you want people to listen to you, say the real things with their real names.”

I remember this advice to this day.

It is clear that a person learns from his mistakes, but what is our most correct reaction after making one?

When you have made a mistake, the most correct reaction is to learn your lesson on how not to make it again. You need to make an assessment, an analysis, of what provoked this mistake, and to learn how to react proactively in other such situations.

What are the main qualities that have people with rapid career development?

To be focused and dedicated, and to work in a company where they can have rapid career development. If, for example, they work in a company of two people, there is no way they can have such a quick career development.

But, the truth is that in Bulgaria we have many examples of people who, without many personal qualities, undergo rapid career development.

What is the role of the family in our career development? Should we follow our parents’ advice?

The role of parents is to make you a valuable person, a person with knowledge and skills. It’s up to you to decide what you will work, based on how you feel it.

And what is the role of our friends in the stages of our career development?

I don’t remember a case when friends helped me with my career development. But there were cases when we were colleagues and became friends and helped each other a lot in our careers over time.

Is there a recipe for finding balance and setting clear boundaries between personal and professional life?

I have not yet found the recipe for how to find a balance between personal and professional life. I try to devote as much time as possible to family and children, although in my opinion, it is always insufficient, especially for children.

Horizontal or vertical career development is preferable at the age of 20-35 years?

Horizontally. A manager weighs in when he has a stable background, whether technical, commercial, or otherwise. The rest are, as we like to say, “paratroopers” – they land from somewhere without knowledge and rely mainly on the team. But, the team can mislead them at some point. If the manager has a stable background, a solid foundation, and experience, he will not allow this. Of course, there are some examples of good managers who learn quickly, empower the team, etc., but these are only a few.

What is the most valuable career advice you have received and which one would you give?

The most valuable advice I can give is, to be honest and responsible to colleagues, partners, and customers, and to say things as they are.