Yoghurt and shortcuts

Yoghurt is an important and loved staple in our household. As it doesn’t make sense to keep buying store bought yoghurt at our scale of consumption (only half kidding), we set yoghurt at home.

There’s a simple 3 step process that we’ve used to do this in the past few years –

1. Heat milk till it gets close to boiling over

2. Let it cool for 45 minutes and add a couple spoons of existing yoghurt (this can be store bought)

3. Leave it be for 8-12 hours (depending on the weather)

Over these years, I’ve attempted shortcuts at each of these stages – E.g. not heating the milk enough, forgetting the 45 minute timer or, as of yesterday, not waiting for the 45 mins, etc. And, in every case, the results have been sub par.

Shortcut yoghurt is crappy yoghurt.

Similarly, there’s a certain process that leads to producing good work. Begin with the end in mind, get started early, get feedback, and keep iterating. Any attempted shortcuts taken in this process shows up in the results.

Just like in the yoghurt.

Einsteinian perspective

From time to time, I am reminded of an exchange between Albert Einstein and his Assistant a few days before his passing.

Einstein had just walked into his office for what would turn out to be the last ever time. His Assistant noticed his discomfort and asked – “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is okay. I am not.” – he responded.

I am reminded of this exchange every time I seek more equanimity. Perspective is power.

Discomfort and the obstacle

On most days in my attempts to do a half decent job as a Product Manager, I see two themes show up regularly in my reflections – i) Something new either got messed up or got real close to getting messed up and ii) I did something that upset somebody.

And, a realization that has accompanied these reflections over time is that there is no solve for this. (This was disappointing.. until it was liberating.)

Here’s why  – if we’re both stretching ourselves beyond our comfort zone and attempting to drive change, it is impossible to avoid making mistakes. The only questions worth focusing on then are – are we aware of them? And, are we following up with creative, constructive, and corrective responses?

As long as we’re doing that, that uncomfortable feeling in the stomach is the price we pay for our own learning, long term growth, and, hopefully, progress.

Of course, this isn’t limited to product management – it applies just as well to many jobs, to parenting, and to life.

The discomfort is a leading indicator of the obstacle. And, the obstacle is the way.

In praise of the smiley

The obvious benefit of written professional communication is the efficiency – in person conversations are both powerful and un-scalable.

The downside is that it strips away tone and, thus, makes it really easy to misunderstand intent.

Given that, I’ve found myself increasingly appreciative of the smiley. It is amazing how a colon and a closing bracket can combine to bring warmth and humor into an otherwise staid/serious written exchange. But, in my limited experience at least, they do.. and they likely prevent many a misunderstanding in that process.

The small things are the big things. :)

A penny saved and an expectation lowered

Saving a penny has a higher return-on-investment than attempting to earn an extra penny.

It is, on average, easier to do (since you’ve already earned the money). And, thanks to taxes, you’ll have to earn more than a penny to have that penny in hand.

This logic works for happiness too.

If happiness is reality relative to expectations, an expectation lowered has a much higher return-on-investment than a corresponding improvement in reality.

Aside from being undoubtedly easier to do, it has the added benefit of freeing us from the fear that prevents us from taking the kind of action that can actually step-change our reality in the long run.

Win-win-win.

The solver and the finder

We had an urgent plumbing issue that needed solving recently and I spoke with a few plumbers before making the final decision.

One conversation stuck out – this person, within a few seconds of hearing the problem, outlined what he was going to do to solve the problem. The solution sounded a bit too aggressive for our case and I said as much. His response was – “I do this every day. I know what I’m doing.”

That was the moment he lost our business. Even if his answer was right (I’m not convinced it was), I was worried that he’d not be keeping his eyes open to problems that didn’t fit his existing assumptions.

It reminded me of the many times I’ve made the same mistake – attempting to be the problem solver without spending enough time as the problem finder. As I was on the receiving end this time, I think I’ve developed more empathy for the frustration folks on the other end feel.

Problem finding >> Problem solving.

Inconvenient good times

Kids often seem to choose the most inconvenient times to express their love. This may be right when you plan to brush your teeth, carry that box across the room, or better yet, poop.

They also often refuse to do so in more normal circumstances.

There’s a life lesson in this pattern. It is hard to plan for good things to happen.

So, all we can do is keep plugging away and be willing to keep our eyes open for the opportunity for something good – even in the most unlikeliest of places.

Fewer new ideas

A learning journey observation: As time passes, I find myself looking for fewer new ideas and, instead, seeking more ways to absorb and live a small collection of old (often time-tested or fundamental) ones.

For these sorts of ideas, the mental model isn’t so much 21 day habit streaks as much as it is about multi year construction projects.