PhotoCredit: OneMoreCoat
This week has been a constant reminder of the statement "perfect is the enemy of good." Which is, evidently, not a statement - it's an aphorism* . It's also not even the original statement which was "the best is the enemy of the good" - Voltaire, 1770.
That is a lot of learning for one morning.
In my start-up days, the 'Just Ship It' rule was the living embodiment of Voltaire's caution. Perfecting code is somewhat elusive. Frankly, software spends most of its life in need of repair - just look to the endless app updates on your phone. Bugs are best revealed through live user testing, so best just get your product out the door.
In my legal days, the battle for good versus great lived through Parkinson's Law which states that a job will expand to fit the available time. If you give yourself all day to complete a project, it will always consume that full day. From a productivity perspective this is problematic on a couple of levels. Full days are as rare as unicorns and most projects will be better served by getting a quick start than laying dormant while you await that perfect day. Parkinson's law had a very early impact on me and has guided my approach to work across my career.
All these aphorism's, rules and laws sum to the same result. Time spent perfecting your work is your enemy. As a former colleague of mine used to elegantly say - you are just polishing turds.
Obviously, you still want to produce excellent work and my solve for this is using an iterative approach. Find a partner to collaborate with and feed them a draft of your work. Even better, create a team to get pieces of the project done. Teamwork tends to put get-it-done pressure on a project and has the added benefit of input from multiple brains.
I am also a huge fan of the Pomodoro Method to get good work out the door. Set a timer, give yourself 30-90 minutes on a project, and force yourself to stop with the buzzer. The results of creating scarcity of time will frequently exceed your expectations.
For maximum good-ness, pick some completion tasks and get cracking on them today. Carve out some 30 minute sessions and see how much you can output. Make it a game. Put some music on. Pour yourself a glass of wine at the end of the day to celebrate. Just make it a great glass of wine. In this context good IS the enemy of great.
*Aphorism - a pithy observation which contains a general truth. Oxford Dictionary.
DONEDONE
PhotoCredit: Eleganza
Somewhere along the way I think we slightly messed up the commands we give our dog. "Sit" or "LayDown" can be used interchangeably - I am quite sure Winston knows which is which he just doesn't much care. "LayDown" is in itself interpretative and must be clarified with the command "DownDown" if we want him to stay in that position for more than a nano-second.
So I often find myself saying "Down" and quickly followed by "DownDown" as he goes through a his circus-like goodboy routine.
For some reason this all flowed through my head as I thought about Sturgeon's Law: there is Done and there is DoneDone. Sturgeon's Law provokes that 90% of everything is crap. Sturgeon was a Sci-Fi writer (!) and his offering is extremely useful in a world of overload. I find it very calming to know that don't need 90% of any given sample set. My immediate issue is how to set my discovery phasers for optimal crap-filtration in my life? The real issue is how to ensure the work I produce is not relegated to the CrapPile.
How do we optimize the work we do for the last 10%. DoneDone is a lot harder than Done. For insights on how to solve this, I immediately looked to Tom Cargill's thinking on software development. Cargill came out of Bell Labs (arguably the birthplace of our modern technological world) and observed that 90% of work takes 10% of the time and the last 10% of work takes 90% of the time. Some would even suggest the last 1% of development takes 99% of the time. As long as I have been involved in technology, I have always observed this to be true AND also can be applied to where the value lies in every project.
The immediate implications of this are that we need to leave more time (much more time) for finishing projects. I worry about the NeverEndingStoryVibes of this as a solution. It also has some very real money-pit implications.
HusbandMark has always said you should never give a painting back to an artist because they will mess with it. They will not be able to help themselves. A work of art is never done. In many respects software projects are never done either. Code needs inevitable updates and security fixes let alone evolving the product informed by customer use.
So yes, your project will take a lot longer to complete than you think it will be. Yes, it's also much more likely to be crap than you would care to think. And yes, it may never feel like a masterpiece. Finishing is hard. Bake this into your process from the start. Give yourself more time at the end than you think you need. Consider also convening an editorial/finishing committee to help you establish what non-crap might look like. Finally, know that we live in a world where post-release updates are the rule and not the exception. Yesterday's crap might be one clinical trial/peer review/focus group/update/brushstroke away from triumph today.
IN PLAIN SIGHT
PhotoCredit: FashionWeekJapan
Flipping things on their head is fun. Last week I asked you to apply positivity to something that is not going well in your world. I also asked you to critique something that was going well. I know, I can be mean like that.
This week I have a real doozy for you...turning your worst attribute into your best.
Actually. it's kind of cool as you think about it.
The first bit is a little confronting. So, we will slap a warning label on that part. Step one is to sit down for a few minutes and write out all the negative things you say about yourself. "I'm lazy." "I procrastinate." "I'm not a good speaker." "I don't feel like I belong." "I'm not smart enough."
You know. The usual suspects.
You can do this exercise for the whole list (and I will award bonus gold stars) but I want you to pick out the most glaring one. What's the one that brings up the most fear. What is the standout?
Take that and flip it. Find the strength in your perceived weakness. Figure out how to amplify it and get it working in your favor.
Let's look at not belonging for a second. You feel like an outsider. I totally get how that can feel very isolating and non-grounding. It's like you keep looking for 'home' and nothing every feels quite right. You don't identify with the people around you or the choices they are making. It's like you are doing the opposite to your peer group. You clearly don't want what they want?
Obviously, I think this is an asset. What a tremendous gift that you don't belong. It's possible you are creating the future where you will belong. Or you are thinking about creating the future. Maybe you are building your business or career in stark contrast to the rest of the herd? Bravo. You are making independent decisions that are bound to take you to much more interesting places than the herd.
This is one example of many. If you get stuck, email me yours and I will do the flip for you.
Turning on the channel of negative self-talk comes naturally to all of us but it's nothing short of self-sabotage. Tune into a new station. Dial up your strengths and lean into what sets you apart from the crowd.
WAKE UP
PhotoCredit: DoNotDisturb
One of the questions I always ask executives is "what keeps you awake at night?" It is a question I have modified slightly in language; from a wellbeing standpoint it's not ideal to allude to sleep loss. Regardless of phrasing, I want to understand what they see as the greatest and most pressing challenge. Do you know this for your business?
The corollary is the question "what gets you leaping out of bed in the morning?" AKA what are you most excited about right now? If you struggle to answer that question, see my first question.
Having an answer to both of these questions gives you a lot of information. Digging deeper into each of the questions will give you a lot of answers. If not answers, certainly a lot of areas of inquiry. Who can you talk to about the issue that is troubling you? What is one thing you can do today that might move you forward on that challenge? How many people in the business share your concern? Are you missing something bigger and obsessing over something obvious - is there a problem behind that problem?
Delving into what is getting you amped for life is it's own bounty. Are you excited about your work or is it a hobby that is electrifying you? Is there a specific task you are doing that you are loving? Do you have a new morning ritual that is making everything in your day easy? Even just the knowledge that you still love your work is an incredible realization. If that's where you get to (and if not, time to squiggle?!)
Now, turn those questions around. Ask the morning questions in reference to your sleepless night challenge. Could you create a ritual, could you learn to love the challenge, do you still love your work, is there a hobby that might round out your life?
Then add some challenge to your mornings: who could you speak with that might challenge and stretch you, what task are you avoiding that you could focus on, how are the people in your business feeling about their work, is there a threat to your business that you should broaden your focus to see?
Obviously, I am talking about perspective. When we bring positivity and optimism to a problem, we give ourselves more space and energy to solve it. When we bring challenge to the energy of enthusiasm, we create expansive thinking that will propel us forward.
Ultimately, of course, I want you sleeping well and waking up enthused for the day, for your work, and for your life. Perspective will help you with that. Turning off your screens before you go to bed and reading will also help. As will listening to a meditation podcast or some yoga-nidra as you drift off. Bundle all of that up and you have a winning formula for greatness. Or at least a head-start.
LITTLE PLANS
PhotoCredit: TheLittlePrince
I have mentioned Farnam Street before. The author is a proponent of problem solving through the concept of mental model's. I am more than a little obsessed.
A very recent post, which you should absolutely read, talks about the power of asymmetry noting "finding hidden or overlooked asymmetry is the key to an unstoppable advantage. And there is a lot of it hiding in plain sight."
That's basically saying there is magic hiding in plain sight. Unlocking asymmetry is very likely the thing that will take you beyond your wildest expectations. Seriously, that's kinda the whole point of asymmetry.
To unlock asymmetry, you need to hunt for it. You need to take action. So, stop dreaming. Start exploring. Dreaming is ethereal (and beautiful). Exploring is tangible and active. Dreaming helps you think about what might be possible. Exploring makes the possible happen.
Take a pen and write your wildest dream on a piece of paper. Then write three things you will do this week to explore that dream. Who can you call, what can you read, what question do you need to answer, what change do you need to make, who do you need to hire, who do you need to fire, what do you need to stop, what do you need to start?
Dream big, explore bigger.
LIKE A FOX
PhotoCredit: WhatDoesTheFoxSay
I spent my early school days somewhat distracted. Focus was not my thing. Unless it was to determine which sandwich ingredient best stuck a slice of bread to the ceiling. Marmite, it turns out, works best. I thought it would be hilarious if my lunch rained from the sky in the middle of class. Sadly it happened in a split second and about two people noticed it.
Decent execution. Poor outcome. Like many things, it made more sense in my head.
My mind drifted back to school as I was reading this article over the weekend. Paul Graham, rather a favorite thinker/writer/entrepreneur of mine, opines on the importance of being smart. He notes that this can be useful for winning arguments but doesn't necessarily support innovation. He notes that this is the beginning of a thought for him but adds that Einstein should be thought of more as an innovator than an intellect. Clearly both, but it is arguably his innovation brain that lead to him being a household name.
I'd like to classify my lunch-escapades as innovation, largely because I wasn't winning by any intellect measures at that stage of my schooling. Later on I buckled down, worked hard and got some decent academic achievements. Scholar was not one of them.
Pondering this I thought 'intelligence seems mighty linear and squiggling is more aligned to innovative thinking.' Squigglers, by necessity, must excel at solutions rather than theory. We need to be ideas people. Often operating on the fly. Squigglers are like the fox: cunning, artful, wily. All great squiggling qualities. The tech industry might call it being "agile" but that has become far too process-compulsive to be interesting through an innovation lens.
But I wouldn't even use innovative as the first word to describe myself. The most important quality any squiggler (and any pandemic-thriver) must cultivate is resilience. The ability to rebound. From failure, illness, sadness, bad days, and even frustration. Resilient like a fox...just like my most most favorite fox.
Squigglers take defeat and turn it into victory. Just give us a minute. Or a few years. The greatest stories of achievement all seemingly begin with being knocked out. Literally, if you take Muhammad Ali's career as an exemplar of resilience.
I still have moments of not feeling quick enough, not smart enough, or not studious enough. It sometimes feels like it's the intellects' world and we mere innovative and resilient mortals just live in it. Well, I have a question for you. Do you want to be right or do you want to win? I'm fine with them thinking they are right. I'll be at the finish line.
INSPO
PhotoCredit: SoSerious
I was once asked, on a panel at an event, how I go about solving business problems or ideating new ideas. It was a very serious question from a very serious audience. I thought about it for a second and started riffing on what I believe to be one of the more expansive ideation processes I know. Doodling. With colored pencils no less. You would have thought I mentioned psychedelics. Serious audience seemed very unconvinced.
Of course I explained how this has a logical origin. A) it's basically the same as using a whiteboard; B) diagram's have been used since forever to explain complex ideas and; C) doodling, drawing and color are all phenomenal tools to open up the right hemisphere of your brain to creative (innovative) thinking. I do all my meeting notes with multiple colored pens as I find it helps me absorb information and my notes become more visually appealing and engaging. AKA I actually go back and read them.
Those are a couple of ways I get a little fresh air into my day-to-day. I always have my set of colored pencils and a big blank sketchbook at the ready. And I carry a notebook with me everywhere (blank or dot grid) and a small pencil case with colored pens. My new fav are Frixion Pilot Erasable pens. Yes, an erasable ballpoint! I also love that I can buy refills for them so I don't kill the environment with my Luddite note-taking needs.
I thought I would share other ways I get a little problem solving inspo in my week. I would LOVE to hear your tips and tricks too as I am always on the lookout for new hacks.
ART. If you can get to a museum, do that for sure. Perusing art (and fashion) books can also be a great way to help you see differently. Meandering digital art on Pinterest works wonders and I also love watching fashion shows (it's amazing where a good show will take my brain).
INTERVIEWS. I love a good interview. Rolling Stone can always be counted on for a different take. I also recently listened to Tim Ferris interview Sir James Dyson and that felt like a good, classic, engineering inspo story.
DOCO'S. My two fav's for deep business inspiration are Abstract and Chef's Table. Something about these shows take you beyond the usual documentary format and into a true exploration of how their subjects overcame to deliver greatness.
OTHER INDUSTRIES. Whenever I encounter a curly question I always think about what other businesses in different industries have done to solve my problem. It's a nice break from thinking about your own business and the process of exploring other companies never fails to energize my brain.
SIMPLIFICATION. There are so many questions that we make too complex to solve. Strip down your issue to the first few steps or some smaller problems to solve. How would you explain it to a 3-YO? See if that doesn't open up a whole new way to think about what's challenging you.
And of course, when in doubt, take a walk. You may not solve your business challenge but you sure will feel better for it. Though, I would put money on you coming up with a solid insight to help take you forward.
OODA LOOPS
PhotoCredit: Around and Around
The OODA Loop is possibly my most favorite framework. It's inherently squiggly and it helps decode what I think might be the hardest thing about squiggling. Or doing anything new. Which is...where to start.
Starting is hard. Let's face it, getting out of bed is hard. So the notion of both getting out of bed AND doing something radical and new - well that can seem like complex calculus. And I don't know about you but I find basic calculus impossible.
I discovered the OODA Loop quite by accident in this blog. It's worth a read but, you know I love you, so here goes the summary. OODA Loops suggest that the best strategy evolves through a cycle of steps: Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. It allows for iteration in the process of strategy, so we don't necessarily need to have a full battle plan. All we need is to cultivate agility in our pursuit of our vision or goal.
There is a little bit more to it than just this, but frankly I would be happy if your takeaway was "maybe I don't need to know how I am going to get there, I just need to figure out what to do today." I mean, after you have decided what's for breakfast of course.
This becomes very permissive. Big visions can be terrifying and overwhelming. And planning can be distractive busywork. The OODA Loop encourages us to stop thinking about what might happen and instead get really clear about what is happening.
The framework evolved from air combat. At it's core is the observation (that's basically an OODA joke, I'm laughing) that most strategy emphasizes planning over uncertainty. There is some quantum mechanic/mind-bending stuff going on but fundamentally the point is that we don't know today what "the enemy" will do tomorrow. Taken further, we can't plan today for a market that might be completely different tomorrow.
If the past 18+ months of the pandemic have taught us anything, they have taught us this. Tomorrow could radically change the landscape. Tomorrow anything could happen. So do you want to spend today thinking about maybe's or get down to business with what's really going on?
REMIX
PhotoCredit: Animal!
Husband and I have a tradition of communicating via YouTube when I am traveling. Attempting to fit in calls between meetings often leaves us rather zombie-like on calls, so we let music video's do the talking. The modern love note perhaps?
Yesterday he sent me this epic classic of the incomparable Shirley Bassey with the Propellerheads: watch it here. Or I guess it's technically the Propellerheads with Shirley Bassey?
Other than attempting to delight you with a great song, the best way to start your day IMHO, I love the creative permission it coaxes. It's the ultimate mash-up of old meets new. Neither artist compromising on what makes them magical, allowing the combination of talent to take them to a new level.
Which gets me thinking, where can I do this in my life? Where can I partner with other greatness to deliver something with outsized results in a fresh, new way? This is the essence of true collaboration.
So where are you doing this in your life? Be honest. So often we treat collaboration as a positional or transactional endeavor. To make magic happen, we need to see the essence of the talent of our partners first. Dare I say, at work and at home!
COMPLETELY CLUELESS
PhotoCredit: PinUp
If any one of the myriad camera’s in my house could talk (or more if google could analyze the data fast enough) the world would have seen me in full curiosity mode last week. I was hunched over my laptop, squinting at the shared zoom-screen, focussing so hard I literally induced a migraine. A girlfriend and I were attempting to figure out astrological charts. Both of us as clueless as each other but both equally motivated to learn.
Forgive the example, it could have just as easily been quantum mechanics (for reals - and who's to say they are not just all just the same thing?) Think on that!
Once the migraine passed, screen fatigue is a real thing people, I reflected on how much more I knew I didn’t know about astrology. What we know we don't know - as odd as it sounds - is a forward step on the learning path. Astrology is a bit of a passing fancy to me but I find it fascinating and had always felt rather a passive observer. So I wanted to learn.
There are so many things in our life like this. Things we lump into the “other people are experts” bucket or the “I’m interested but the path to knowledge seems too steep" bucket. Topics may include finance, marketing, getting good at social media, data analytics, blockchain, mastering excel, mastering anything!
We often blame time as the enemy of learning but the real barrier is our protective ego. It’s really f-ing frustrating to have no clue what you are doing. Once you get to a certain point in your career-slash-life you get kinda used to knowing the answers. It’s hard and frustrating (and mostly non-satisfying) being in the clueless realm. Unless you are Cher in my favorite movie of all time, but even she got frustrated in the end.
A really smart friend once explained to me that the cycle we go through when we learn something new is unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence to unconscious competence, conscious competence and then PLAY. Play is when you get to just start inventing recipes once you have learned the basics. NOT what I did last night making a not-so-delicious fish-pie. I attempted play before I trialled a couple of recipes which is my usual process.
Our ego likes to think we are in conscious competence all the time. So it either suggests that we avoid things entirely OR that we should riff creatively well before we are ready. The result is sadly a resistance to learning. Which means a resistance to growing. Not good for fish pie making and truly not good for organizations (or people).
Doing something new is always a good idea. It's an even better idea if you grab a friend. Just maybe not the best idea when you are throwing a dinner party (don't worry I wasn't!). When we understand that the goal is to be clueless, we can succeed at being beginners. That might just be enough to satisfy our ego. Successfully clueless, who knew that was a worthy ambition?
READ LIKE YOU'RE RETIRED
PhotoCredit: FeetUp
Lately one of my favorite questions to ask people is where they get their news. Or - more specifically - what they subscribe to. If it's in my inbox I will read it so I subscribe to a collection of newsletters and roundups from an intentionally broad range of writers, collators, thinkers and editors. In this instance, I don't mind a little inbox clutter.
I thought I would share my favorites, some of which I have been reading for years. See what resonates and maybe try something new. Brain expansion is a wonderful thing.
Brain Pickings by Maria Popova: philosophy meets poetry in a creativity mash up of life changing proportion. If you read anything, please read this.
FS: I discovered Farnham Street listening to a podcast about mental models. I instantly connected to this newsletter which describes itself aptly as "wisdom you can use."
James Clear's 3, 2, 1: I love James Clear and this weekly email is one of the fastest and most inspiring reads I get each week.
Morning Brew: easy bite sized news. The fastest way to keep up with the big happenings.
Stratechery: deeply thoughtful assessment of key shifts in the tech industry. Not a casual read by any stretch but well worth your attention.
Benedict Evans: a great roundup of the key tech news each week.
FutureCrunch: their words say it best "We help organizations understand what’s coming next. We seek out and tell stories of progress. We give people hope for the future.”
Rowan Simpson’s Top Three: startup analysis and brilliance with just enough sports sprinkled in.
No Mercy No Malice: prof Scott Galloway’s weekly rant on all that’s wrong with the world.
Stocked: because stocking your pantry well can both satisfy your hunger and your financial wellbeing.
Unsnackable: Including this just for fun because it is fun. "A small tantrum about obscure and limited edition snacks, beverages and fast food from around the world that I want but cannot have."
And then, the more familiar, just for completeness:
TechCrunch
The Economist
Wall St Journal
New York Times
BANANAS
PhotoCredit: Yasmeen
Last week's writing reminded a friend of the book Stuck by Oliver Jeffers. Apparently I am not the only one who has metaphorically (and literally it seems) had the "what goes up might get stuck in a tree" issue. I deeply respect the solution of young Floyd who commences throwing other things, seemingly anything, up in the tree in the hope he will free his kite. I may or may not have done the same...
The reference to the book Stuck was an excellent excuse for me to share the work of Yasmeen Ismail, an Irish-born writer/illustrator. She had me at "No, I won't eat a banana" but I fell instantly head over heels for the adorably grumpy Gorilla on the cover.
With major green eggs and ham references, Ismail's book was a sneaky reminder of our human propensity to close ourselves off to options. To shut ourselves down like three year old's earning their independence. The broken record of "I'm too busy", "too old", "too tired", "too serious" to do something that will likely be massively supportive of our growth. It's the grown up version of refusing to eat vegetables.
Sometimes we don't even have good excuses. We just don't. Fullstop.
Cool, I get it. No matter how expansive we are there is the thing on your list that you categorically do not do. "No, I won't eat a banana." "I do not like green eggs and ham." Maybe for you it's "I am not a morning person." Or "I don't like exercise." For most of us there is at least one story we continue to tell ourselves. A story about who we are and who we are not. A story that ultimately creates a limitation on how great we can be.
What if you did get up early and work out? What if you did become a numbers person? What if you did quit sugar? What if you did leave your job and start that business?
Have a think this week about your stories. What are you telling yourself you are not? I'm not suggesting you make a change, not right now. I am suggesting you think about what restrictions you are placing on yourself. What are you telling yourself you are not? What might it look like if you were?
NO DICE
PhotoCredit: RearViewMirror
I am often asked in interviews what my biggest failures have been. I struggle with that question. My narrative is 'I always figure my way through the bad stuff.' That and 'I’m perfect and I don’t make mistakes.' #self-identity. #delusional.
There has certainly been a lot of making it work off the back of questionable decision-making. Or at least decision making that was based on rather shabby logic. I'd like to think I am getting smarter or wiser as the years progress, but I know at the very least I can get more informed!
Enter mental models.
It started with this podcast. To be fair it actually started with my interest in the OODA loop and the work of military strategist John Boyd, which is also referenced in this podcast. The idea is that the more frameworks we use to assess a problem, the more creative we can be with the solution. We like creative solutions, they are hard to predict and thus a competitive advantage. So my new personal learning ambition is to strengthen my suite of mental models. Yes, you may consider that an invitation to send me smarty-pants articles on frameworks for thinking.
Essentially, mental models are just different ways that you think about making a decision or solving a problem. A simple example is the “time model." You assess requests based on whether you believe you have time to spare. The "can I fit this in my schedule" mental model. You may have time but that doesn't mean the request is a good use of your time. You conversely may not have time but the better decision is to juggle your commitments because the request will lead to more opportunities for you. Mental models can be simple like the time example or complex or even guiding philosophies. The main point is to create conscious frameworks for making decisions.
The podcast interviews Shane Parrish (speaking of smarty-pants). In this article Parrish details how to create a decision journal. Like we need another journal in our life. We don’t...but we do. Parrish notes: "our minds revise history to preserve our view of ourselves. The story that we tell ourselves conflates the cause and effect of a decision we made and the actual outcome."
Sorry to burst that hindsight bubble. So, yeah, you do need another journal as it turns out.
I would use evernote or a similar digital tool. Parrish suggests this must be hand-written but I’m going to disagree, I think the key thing is an honest record of your assessment at the time. Start small. Make a note of a decision and write down what model(s) you are using to make that decision. And obviously what the decision is. Then push yourself to think of one other framework you could assess that decision through. Just give it a try with the aim of slowly building your practice over time.
The journalling idea is cool. It's possibly a little too organized even for me, though I must admit I do like the idea of keeping track of my decision making. Over time it would build up to be quite an incredible treasure trove of personal insights. Delusion begone!
MEETING OF THE MINDS
PhotoCredit: DeadOrAlive?
PhotoCredit: DeadOrAlive?
I was trolling around the internet this weekend (the inquisitive kinda trolling - not the "I have no friends" kinda trolling) and stumbled over this photo.
So many hero's in one place. How had I never seen this before? Especially seeing Marie Curie represent with all the blokes. Epic.
This was the 1927 Solvay Conference. #timetravelgoals. The first major meeting of the minds on the then new theory of quantum physics. I swoon. Apparently, Einstein remarked “God does not play dice” in response to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. To which Bohr retorts: “Einstein, stop telling God what to do”. DYING.
Everything about this photo makes me happy. Most especially seeing Marie Curie front and center. Curie is the only woman honored with two Nobel Prizes in distinct scientific categories. Note that of the 29 attendees at the conference, 17 of them won Nobel Prizes. How many of them won prizes in two disciplines? Only Curie. Hence my crush.
From a squiggly perspective this historic moment is cool through more than "just" the quantum looking-glass. Solvay 1927 is the marker in time for when the scientific community moved on from the strict rules-based approach championed by the scientific realists. The instrumentalists, proponents of an outcomes and evidence based approach, won out over Einstein's linear-leanings.
You can see a little footage from the conference in this two minute youtube. Beyond awesome but, really, it's the photo that says everything to me.
SUPER FREAK
PhotoCredit: OnlyOne
Have you encountered Li Ziqi yet? Or all one word, liziqi, as she is known on the interwebs. She’s my new internet-bestie. Move over Alexa Chung (though you know I can’t quit you). Make way for this ultra-feminine, farmer meets you-tuber, alcohol maker, rose-water distiller, bamboo-hacking, gardener-extraordinaire, chef and creator of utter magic.
If there is a shining example for embracing your uniqueness, Liziqi is it. Conforming is boring. The power move is bringing all your talents and capabilities to what you are doing.
Please watch one of her videos. They are oddly inspiring, motivating and calming all in one.
We don’t always know how our bizarre combination of skills and interests might support our greatness. That doesn’t mean we hide any of them in the closet. Embrace who you are - every ounce of weirdness you’ve got.
Shine bright baby, the world needs your magnificence. Be the Biggest, Bravest, Boldest version of yourself that you can be.
A DECISION A DAY
PhotoCredit: Doctor's Orders
About three weeks ago I cancelled my trip to New Zealand. It was a business trip. I tend to go out five times a year. I haven’t been there for over a year, haven’t seen my boards or companies in a year, haven’t eaten Bluff oysters in a year. I know!
It wasn’t Bluff oyster season so I was out of luck there anyway. Missing my meetings though, and feeling like I was letting all my teams down, that was a bitter pill to swallow. I made the call because it felt like too great of a risk to travel with the new strains lurking about. I needed to be a good leader. This seemed like the intelligent decision. I have second guessed myself for every day since I cancelled. Until yesterday.
Yesterday, NZ went into lockdown. Yesterday would have been my first board meeting. We cancelled that meeting and have shortened all the other meetings this week. They will all be online. I am not missing a thing. Not Bluff oysters and not my work obligations.
Sometimes big decisions like this go in our favor. Those are the great moments; the genius moments. We get a little smug. We tell a few people in full humble-brag style. Or, if you are like me, we sit on the couch staring at our phones in utter disbelief we called it THAT well.
Then there are the other decisions we make. Most of which we forget or try to forget. The ones where we don’t call it as well. We sell a stock and the price races upwards the next day. We don’t go to a party and we find out that Leo DiCaprio turned up. We decide we need another glass of wine when we have early meetings the next day…
We make good decisions and we make bad decisions. Many outcomes are completely out of our control and we end up right by chance. And wrong by chance. What is important to me is how I make decisions and how I can improve my decision making.
These are my reflections:
The decision I made was instigated by a very clever, sometimes alarmist, friend. I don’t always reach the same conclusions as him but I always listen intently to his rationale.
On the flip side, I didn’t start canvassing a million other people’s opinion. I thought that would just start making the issue muddy. I fact checked with a couple of friends “in the know” and then did my own assessment.
I read a lot and very broadly. I had a more informed view on this matter because of this.
I made my decision through the lens of probability first. I am a VERY intuitive person, I believe deeply in the intuitive process but, I don’t make decisions on intuition if I can make the decision with logic.
I asked myself what the worst-case outcome of each scenario was. The worst case of going would have been infecting my fellow board directors. I was not prepared to take that risk.
My biggest reflection is that my decision was right regardless of what happened in New Zealand. On the available information, I made a tough call and I made it as well as I could. Don’t be afraid to make the hard calls. Make them. Then back yourself.
SHORT AND SWEET
PhotoCredit: Delicious
Last week I gave you a primer on OKR’s. That is, if you remember last week. The great blur of 2020. It’s officially a phenomenon.
This week I will offer a few tips and tricks to making OKR’s (Objectives and Key Results) work for you: whether personally or professionally. Or, for bonus points, both.
Most people that I have gone through the process with are immediately fooled by it’s apparent simplicity. It’s not as simple as it looks, though the output will look exceedingly obvious. OKR’s are the product of stripping back the busyness and complexity of your business. When you are done, there will be a few simple and radiant goals you know you MUST achieve. Rather than the fifty, minimum, things you are currently hyperventilating over achieving.
As Winston Churchill (probably) famously said "If I had more time I would have written you a shorter letter." Simplicity takes time. And thoughtfulness.
The most powerful way to determine your business OKR’s is to have your executive team involved in crafting them. For starters, this is an excellent team activity and will result in excellent alignment of focus. It will also allow you to bring the team onboard early to craft goals that eventually they will need to own. This is the right approach, just know it will take more time: for the team to grasp the concept and for you to collectively wrangle the vision. It’s worth it - it’s just a little maddening. So go into these sessions calmly, knowing it will not be a one-and-done exercise.
I advise that all exec’s read John Doerr’s book, Measure What Matters. I like having a session just on the book alone. Bookclub style. It will allow your team to get on the same page before you dive in.
If you are doing them personally, I suggest you start by writing out the things you want from your life. Then try to think of the 3 statements that best describe your ultimate state. Likely it’s not about fitting the skinny jeans, per se, and it’s more about feeling great in your body. As someone that struggles with inflammation this has been a learning for me. I might fit the jeans but I don’t always feel good in them. So this question forces you to think a little bigger about what you really want. The same advice applies to your business. It is likely not about the financial goal. We typically feel way more excited about market share, repeat customers and being seen as innovators in our domain. All those things will lead to profitability. Be careful with what you think you need to measure!
Other great pieces of advice are:
OKR’s, once agreed, become a social contract. I love this observation. Social contract across a team and also a contract with yourself. The 30 day personal reviews of OKR’s and the 90 day group reviews add a huge power up to this. Delivering transparency and also - more important to me - calibration as you learn what is driving you to your objectives and what is not!
OKR’s are NOT performance measures. OKR’s are stretch goals, moonshots. You are striving to get further than you think possible with OKR’s. This is how you will eventually get to market leadership. They critically rely on a level of “acceptable failure” and inherent risk. If this is how you determine bonus and incentive awards at the end of the year, you will bake conservatism into your organization. I could write a whole post on this, let me know if you want to know more.
One of my favorite pieces of feedback was from a team that assess their weekly tasks against whether their planned activities are in line with their OKR’s. This is genius. Half because it codifies your OKR goals through repetition but also because this follows ALL the rules around focus. Cal Newport would give this a thumbs up.
“Process is more important than Outcomes”. Also genius. The process will lead to the outcomes. This is smart, smart, smart. Very Atomic Habits!
WHAT MATTERS
PhotoCredit: Measure
Someone once asked me what my life purpose was. It’s an important question. One of those small questions that haunt you. That stick with you. My instant reply was “supporting founders and visionaries to make their dreams a reality.” It sounded corny the minute I said it. It still sounds corny.
Maybe the truth is just corny. This is why I write this blog. It’s why I desperately try to be available to anyone who needs guidance. It’s why I love the work I do on boards of companies with big visions. It’s why I love OKR’s.
Maybe that seems like an awkward segue but OKR’s will power your dreams into reality. Objectives and Key Results. A brilliant tool that can be used for business or personal goals. They are simple, whittling something elusive into tangible actions and measurable outcomes. Best of all, they drive radical honesty about the real work that needs to be done to achieve your ambitious ruminations.
Coz, let’s face it, sometimes you have to try on the skinny jeans to know you are not quite at your goal weight yet. Sometimes you have to look the numbers straight in the eye and face that you are many zero’s away from your revenue goals. OKR’s are the reality check we all need when life gets in the way (the theme of this year). When the busy-work gets in the way (it always will). When we get in our way (you know you do).
There is a lot written on this topic. I am including some resources I love at the end of this. I don’t intend to cover ground which has already been traversed. My goal in writing today is to get you familiar with the concept and curious about giving it a go. I will also do a follow up next week on some things I and others learned as we started our OKR journey.
My best advice is twofold. First, read the book Measure What Matters by John Doerr. It will change your life, seriously.
Second, sit down and just have a go at drafting and see what comes through for you. Give it a whirl. The format is so simple. Start with an Objective. If you are greedy you can have more than one but NEVER more than five. These are things you think you can achieve in the next 18 months plus. One great example is “Win The SuperBowl” and another is JFK’s declaration to “Land A Man On The Moon”. You don’t have to be that ambitious but, heck, why not! I like to put a date on these, so I have a target. This isn’t critical.
Next comes Key Results. These are the things you expect will happen as you progress. Ask yourself, how you will know when you are on track towards that goal. These must be measurable. We defer to SMART goals here but, simply put, make sure you have a number in each Key Result. And make sure that number feels like a stretch goal, something you aspire to and are 70-80% sure you can hit it but that it’s not a sure thing. So “grow my daily active users by 30%” is a great example.
The final step, for bonus points as you get familiar with this, is to detail what initiatives you think will get you the Key Result. These are things you can test. OKR’s are regularly reviewed, so as one initiative isn’t working to “move the needle” you can try other initiatives. So this might be “go on a Keto diet” or “run 3 times a week” if your goal is a personal fitness/skinny jeans one.
It really is that simple.
Objective: Get my blog drafted Sunday night
Key Result: Write 600 words by 7pm
Initiatives:
Ask Mark to walk Winston
Pour a glass of wine and start writing
Put a power-ballad jam on Spotify
Write about something I love
NAILED IT.
Have a play. See how it goes. Maybe work on something you want to get done by the end of the year. Maybe start planning your world domination. You are doing great. You have almost survived 2020. You’ve got this!
Resources:
Start Here: https://www.perdoo.com/the-ultimate-okr-guide/
Great Team Exercise/Planning Tool: https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/okrs
The Starter Kit: https://felipecastro.com/resource/The-Beginners-Guide-to-OKR.pdf
LONG Video on how google does OKR’s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJB83EZtAjc
ALTERNATE REALITY
Alice in Wonderland sits permanently on my desk. An ode to the curious. A reminder that things are often not as they seem.
Well over 100 years later, Lewis Carroll's offering feels potent. Alice climbs through a mirror into a world that works in reverse. Remind you of anything? In one exchange the Red Queen offers to Alice that "...it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
Which side of the looking glass are we really on?
In a number of my roles I work in an advisory capacity. My job is to question the presumed reality. I am the one pointing at the dark clouds in the distance when everyone else is packing up the car to go to the beach. Smacking the Kool-Aid out of your hands and throwing water in your face! Nah, not really. I’m so much nicer than that. That would be how Gordon Ramsay would do what I do.
When I do my best work I put a mirror up for people. Not so much to see their reflection but to see another version of their reality. To see an alternate reality.
We are hard-wired to seek confirmation and validation. We really don’t want to hear that it might take longer, be harder, have more competitors, or cost more. How often is your goal infinitely more complicated; significantly harder than expected; riddled with obstacles; and exponentially slower than you expected? Whether a kitchen remodel, a strategic plan, a personal goal or some days just getting through your darn inbox!
Our brain loves shortcuts. We are oriented to the positive and the simplistic. We hear what we want to hear and see what we want to see. “I’m sure no one really notices that I come in late every day.” “My clothes must be shrinking in the wash.” “He really loves me he’s just bad at remembering the things that are important to me.” Who doesn’t love a little delusion?
We need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid and put the delusion cupcake down.
To do this for yourself, the most useful process I have found is seeking disconfirming evidence. This is an active practice of looking to prove your hypothesis wrong rather than looking to validate your theory. It’s not a heck more complicated than that. Although, it is, because it requires you to question your own judgment. Spoiler-alert, your ego likes to think it has all the answers.
This world is already way more fiction than fact. Get grounded in reality by seeking answers from inquiry. Get Alice-Level curious about what you don’t know. Challenge your world view. Look for the stuff that makes you a little uncomfortable. Seek the information that runs counter to your plans.
THE DANCE
PhotoCredit: MandyFontana
A curious thing has been happening in businesses around the world. With the rug somewhat pulled out from under them, companies are having to think about how to survive a universe of depressed revenues. A few businesses are seemingly pandemic-proof. It’s an exceptional time to be in the flour industry. Supermarkets have been obvious winners in a world where there has been low-to-no dining choice. Airlines are at the other end of the spectrum; “wintering” fleets, routes and employees in an attempt to stay alive.
Most businesses will sit somewhere in the middle. Through necessity I have become a student of economic shock. It’s been fascinating observing industry at large absorb the seismic waves of Covid-19.
Many businesses took an early lead with good market messaging. Most are now silent. As if the real issues are behind us. I personally believe that, certainly in the US and likely world over, the Northern-Hemisphere summer is propping up a depressed market. Winter is coming. It will likely hit hard.
As a mentor and advisor, I counsel agility. Usually when I speak about agility I am talking about technology development: my familiar playground of sprints, scrums and stand-ups. Agile development is still important but, right now, it’s imperative to be an agile business.
A friend referred to this as “the dance between planning and execution.” There is an implication of fluidity in her offering that is central to the delicate balance that today’s commerce hangs on. Yes we need to plan and absolutely we must rethink our strategy. We must also understand that there is so much we still don’t know.
The best way to plan for unknown variables is to incorporate feedback loops into your execution strategy. Step One is to set clearly defined objectives, outcomes or goals you are trying to achieve. Make them detailed, this is no time for wishy washy statements of intent.
Step Two is to make them measurable and time bound. Some people like to use S.M.A.R.T goals. I love the OKR system.
I don’t mind what methodology you use, Step Three is what I care about. Step Three is that you create a regular review process where you assess your expectations against reality. Are you performing as you expected? Is the market performing as you expected? What’s working and what do you need to rethink?
One of the businesses I work with decided to monitor daily transactions. This is our unknown variable, so we track the data. It has been illuminating. We have a million hypotheses about what the volumes will be. They are all hunches and guesswork. This information forces a daily assessment of our strategy by focussing us on the reality of our industry.
Thinking through the lens of what you don’t know affords a little knowledge in an unknowable world. It allows you to be fluid with the execution of your strategy as you see the hard truths of the reality you are working in. President and CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally, famously said “Data will set you free.” Free to dance perhaps?