Category: Everything else

My grandmom felt some discomfort in her mouth. She found the source of the discomfort – a white spot.

She decided to run some Google searches and stumbled on some article that explained this was a cancer symptom.

Cue: worry.

It turned out to be a small infection.

The dentist asked her to go straight to a doctor next time.

Aside from inspiring a chuckle, it was a good reminder that having access to all the information in the world doesn’t guarantee utility.

Like any tool, we need to know how to use it productively.

The ability to think long term is a powerful marker of privilege.

As I reflect on the privilege I’ve accumulated over the years, the biggest change has been a sense of security – both mental and financial. That sense of security, in turn, enables long term thinking and investment.

That long term thinking and investment, in turn, has inspired more privilege.

The interesting question that then arises is – can we invest in the long term without accumulating privilege? Can we reverse this chain of events?

I think it is hard to do this because of the absence of said security.

But (and there’s always a but :-)), if we do manage to do it as often as possible, we’ll likely find the return on investment on that thinking to be positive.

3 truths about fixing things:

(1) It generally takes longer than you think.

(2) You develop a deep understanding of the dysfunctional nature of large organizations (if you deal with customer service) or of user manuals.

(3) You develop a lot of appreciation for how smooth things are when they do work. If this emotion is channeled well, you might just walk out of the experience a more grateful, and thus a happier, person.

I get renewal reminder notices from a few services.

The best such email is from WordPress. In the first paragraph, they highlight – “You don’t have to do anything – this is just a reminder.”

Then, they go on to tell me what I should expect.

Truth be told, that one line ensures reading the email is a stress-free experience.

With other emails, I find myself attempting to parse the rest of the email to figure out what I should be doing. In some cases, I end up making the payment in advance – just in case.

Clear copy goes a long way in improving a customer’s experience.

The IKEA effect is a cognitive bias in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created.

The Ikea effect posits that we disproportionately value furniture we assemble.

I only find that loosely true in my experience. I don’t have a strong attachment to furniture I assemble. In fact, if the assembly is complex and the equipment is expensive, I prefer having an expert do it.

But, I nevertheless find myself assembling things/furniture from time to time. And, when I do, I inevitably cut or bruise myself.

Every time that happens during the assembly process, I find myself looking at the cut or bruise with a warmth that wouldn’t have existed otherwise. That warmth is a result of the halo effect that accompanies a DIY project.

A badge of honor, if you will.

Such events are a reminder of just how much our perspective shapes our life experience.

The Ikea effect – with a twist.

A winner of the award for America’s “most innovative winemaker” explained that there was nothing innovative about his approach. He has simply emphasized natural, ecologically sustainable farming, and fermentation for decades.

In a sense, his approach is all about going back to the basics.

But, he’s done that long enough, well enough, and consistently enough to be regarded as among the most innovative folks in his profession.

That idea applies well beyond wine-making.

I first read about the space between stimulus and response in Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits” nearly 12 years ago.

I’ve attempted to study the “7 Habits” a few times over the years. And, while I think I’ve made progress over the years and learnt a few things along the way, I often stumble upon reminders that tell me how much farther I have to go.

For example, I recently had one situation where I succeeded in separating stimulus and response. Just as I was feeling good about resisting the temptation to react, I remembered 3 other situations where I failed to do so.

On the bright side, a 25% hit rate is much better than what it used to be.

I’m hoping to continue to improve it in the coming months.

“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” | Albus Dumbledore

A teammate reminded me of this idea the other day.

Both powerful and true.

David Cain shared a nice post about lasts recently. An idea that stood out – “You always know when you’re doing something for the first time, and you almost never know when you’re doing something for the last time.“

True. Beautiful. Powerful.

It resonated.

From time to time, product teams are pulled together to figure out a quick solution to a problem. This sort of urgent + forced collaboration can often be a recipe for confusion and chaos.

A simple way to avoid that is to habitually work through 3 questions in sequential order:
(1) Are we aligned on the problem?
(2) Are we aligned on its importance/priority? (this involves a conversation of the metrics/incentives at play)
(3) Are we aligned on the plan to fix it?

These 3 simple questions are extremely effective in saving conversations from useless tangents and unproductive rabbit holes flow from un-discussed assumptions.

And as with many simple + effective questions, the hard part is not in the knowing. It is in the consistently doing. :-)