Mistakes are inevitable in projects that are new, complex, or complicated.
We can try reducing their occurrence. But it is hard to avoid them.
Best to expect them / make an allowance for them and not waste time being surprised or disappointed when they eventually happen.
The lesser the drama, the more we can focus on a creative, constructive, and corrective response.
Organizations often look to simplifying decision making processes to speed up decision making.
In reality, the biggest lever we have to making decisions easier is to develop a strategy – that comprises of a set of hypotheses/principles – that is well understood within the organization.
While good strategy is helpful in aligning the organization on a path forward, the best outcome of good strategy is helping people avoid deliberating on decisions that shouldn’t be considered in the first place
Every once a while, we find ourselves in situations where we need to request people we don’t know well for help. As someone who has been a giver and receiver of this sort of help, I’ve come to appreciate when people do 3 things right –
(1) Get the name right. I know this sounds nuts. But roughly a third of the people who reach out to me make mistakes between my first and last name. Some threads even involve alternating names somehow.
(2) Keep it short/get to the point. Get to the ask directly. It’s okay.
(3) Don’t pretend a relationship exists if it doesn’t. No need to ask to catch up or feel compelled to pretend there was a strong relationship. Just make the ask – see (2).
Of course, it’d be great if we didn’t have to do this. It is best to plant trees well before we need the fruits.
But in situation where we have to, keep it simple and just make the ask.
Values are just words on a page/wall until we use them to make decisions that cost us money, time, or something else that we consider valuable.
That process transforms a value to a virtue – an idea that we’ve chosen to live by.
I received an email from Mailchimp saying they’re closing my account as it has been inactive for 2 years.
They had a clear reason for doing this – they want to delete the user data involved to reduce security risks.
In one stroke, this likely reduced internal tech debt, possible security vulnerabilities, and greatly simplified compliance. Genius.
It also makes for a delightful user experience. I’m clearly not using my Mailchimp account and I’d love to remove it instead of a continued zombie state existence.
Delightful user experiences can come from the most unexpected of places.
Great job, Mailchimp. I hope more services follow your lead.
Our kids encountered a couple of bigger kids at a park who were intent on giving them a hard time. They were at a water fixture and the kids made it a point to keep forcibly splashing water on them.
And, despite a couple of “please stop” from the two of them, they didn’t. So, the only remaining option was to leave the fixture – which they did.
We’ve talked a bit about the idea of bullying over the years. At 4 and 6, they’ve been sheltered enough to not experience it too many times. But we’re aware that these kinds of experiences will happen more often as they experience life in school and on the playground. It is – for good and bad – part and parcel of growing up.
I was reminded of a quote from Michelle Obama’s book when we were talking about this yesterday – “Bullies are scared people hiding inside scary people.”
It is wonderfully deep and powerful. And it is an idea that flows across many animated movies as well – so it is relatable for kids as well.
That and an idea we always talk about when they experience these sorts of things. Just remember how bad it feels to be treated this way. And make sure you don’t do it when you have the opportunity to do so when you’re the big kid.
Both ideas are just as applicable to adults as they are with kids.
Power just shows itself in different ways when we get older.
Feeling frequently overwhelmed is the clearest sign that the system of organization we use to stay productive requires a complete overhaul.
What got us here won’t get us there.
I’m making my way through Walter Isaacson’s “The Code Breaker.” It is the story of Nobel Prize winning scientist Jennifer Doudna and her pioneering work in CRISPR gene editing.
I don’t yet have much in the way of lessons learnt from the book as much as gratitude for such an in-depth take into the research process of one of the greatest breakthroughs of all time. The iterative process of discovery, the collaboration between Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier and their respective research teams is a nice combination of fascinating, inspiring, and riveting.
The story illustrates the power of bringing together people with curiosity, single-minded determination, resilience, and a willingness to collaborate on thoughtful hypothesis driven experimentation.
It is a great reminder of an enduring idea – high quality teams, led by strong and capable leaders, can accomplish amazing things.
When asked about government subsidies, billionaire Elon Musk said “Delete them all.”
Marc Andreessen made waves when he funded Adam Neumann – who previously magically converted over $20 Billion in investments to a company worth $4 Billion – $350M pre-product to fix the housing crisis.
For years, Dan Price – the CEO of Gravity payments – built a massive social media following around leaders doing the right thing.
That’s all on one hand.
On the other…
… Tesla and SpaceX would not exist today if it weren’t for government subsidies. Tesla alone is estimated to have received over 2 billion dollars in government support.
…the same Marc Andreessen said he’s “IMMENSELY AGAINST” the development of ~130 apartment units in his elite town because they’d “MASSIVELY decrease” home values.
…Dan Price is being investigated for rape and multiple counts of sexual assault.
While such inconsistencies are especially commonplace amongst those with extreme fame, wealth, and power, they are on display all around us.
Two implications for us:
(1) Remember that things aren’t what they seem.
(2) Don’t listen to what people say. Watch what they do.
One of our executives said this about feedback – “All feedback is between 1% and 99% accurate.”
It is a line that has stuck with me in the past months as I process feedback I receive and help others process feedback they receive.
All feedback is 1% and 99% accurate. It is on us to listen, decide which parts are accurate, and then respond with action where necessary.
No over-reaction necessary.
A Learning a Day 