In response to a question on Quora, I recalled 3 things that I learnt in my first ever job

While the first one was almost an instant realization, the second and third were formed over years and has taken time to transform from a hypothesis to a theorem 

It’s been over 13 years, and it still holds true

If you do what everyone else is doing, you will end up being what everyone else is. To rise above everyone, you have to do things differently

Your manager has a far bigger role to play in your learning than the leadership

Your leadership has a far bigger role to play in the culture of the company than your manager