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Clear thinking

There is nothing stronger than biological instincts hardwired within us. They control us often without us even knowing.

For instance, like all animals, we are naturally prone to defend our territory.

Territory can also be psychological. When someone criticizes our work, status, or how we see ourselves, we stop listening and go on the attack. We instinctively defend ourselves.

We react without thinking.

We have a set of defaults that our brains will automatically execute when triggered unless we stop and take the time to think.

The emotion default.

We tend to respond to feelings rather than reasons and facts. Emotions can drive us away from clear thinking. Emotions can multiply all of your progress by zero.

Sleep deprivation, hunger, fatigue, emotion, distraction, stress from feeling rushed, and being in an unfamiliar environment. If you find yourself in any of these conditions, be on your guard.

The ego default.

Our ego can turn confidence into overconfidence or even arrogance. We get a bit of knowledge on the internet and suddenly everything seems easy.

When someone steps on how we see ourselves, or how we want to be seen, the ego leaps into action, and we often react without reasoning. The ego default urges us to feel right at the expense of being right.

The social default.

We fall in line with an idea or behavior simply because other people do. The social default encourages us to outsource our thoughts, beliefs, and outcomes to others.

We want to belong to the crowd. We fear being an outsider. It comes from our history. Survival inside the tribe was hard but survival outside the tribe was impossible. Our individual interests became secondary to the group interests.

The inertia default.

We resist change even when it is for the best. Keeping things the way they are requires almost no effort.

The inertia default leverages our desire to stay in our comfort zone, or the "zone of average", relying on old processes and standards even when they are no longer optimal. It's the point where things are working well enough that we don't feel the need to make any changes.

Groups create inertia of their own. Group dynamics end up favoring people who don't deviate from the defaults. People are rewarded for maintaining status quo.

Protect yourself from yourself

We can't eliminate our defaults. But we can reprogram them into forces for good. We need to learn to manage them. Which defaults do you struggle with the most? How do you think clearly? Which tools do you use to protect yourself from yourself?

"Clear thinking" by Shane Parrish

What do we mean by Excellence?

Is it a grand aspiration or a destination at which we arrive one glorious day? No. Excellence is not a finish line. It's a way of being.

I believe we are what we repeatedly do, and therefore, excellence is not an act but a habit. It isn't complicated. Just hard.

Few of us can watch a video or get something explained and then know how to do it. We have to do it several times to absorb it. If it doesn't become a part of us we lose it the second we experience difficulty.

Don't focus on getting into shape. Focus on becoming the kind of person who never misses a workout.

For example, "Prioritization is so hard.", many say. To become great at it we should do it more than once a year then.

Unfortunately, the harder a thing is, the less often we do it.

Find the painful things you want to become extremely good at, and start practicing them. Deliberate repetitions with feedback. Outside your comfort zone.

Working with a master firsthand is one of the best educations. Learn from people who've done it before at a higher level than you. Apprenticeships have existed for centuries, helping people develop skills and transfer knowledge across generations.

You unconsciously adopt the thoughts, attitudes, behaviors and standards of the people around you. The master's excellence demands your excellence. Their standards become what you measure yourself against.

Is excellence the pursuit of perfection then? No. To be excellent in some areas, you must let others go. Know when to push for the very best and when to settle for good enough.

Over time, the habits you build become your culture, and your culture becomes your excellence.

What is excellence for you?

The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.

Man-made smoothing of randomness produces the equivalent of John's income: smooth, steady, but fragile. Such income is more vulnerable to large shocks. Natural randomness presents itself more like George's income: smaller role for very large shocks, but daily variability. Such variability helps improve the system (hence the antifragility).

The barbell strategy

Optionality

• Look for optionality; in fact, rank things according to optionality.
• Preferably options with open-ended payoffs.
• Do not invest in business plans but in people, so look for someone capable of changing six or seven times over their career.
• Make sure you are barbelled.

I've had a few deliveries that didn't end well. Everything was in place. A good team. Solid working conditions. A solution to a problem worth solving. But the timing was not right. People were not ready for it.

When is the right time then? Ask a fighter when is the right time to give a right hook to the opponent in the ring. Ask a couple on a date when is the right time to attempt that first kiss.

Ask a team when is the right time to launch a new solution. Too early and you risk confusion, resistance and poor adoption. Too late, and people have already developed workarounds, ingrained habits or lost trust in the process. Timing matters.

The ancient Greeks had two different words for time.

'Chronos' is the concept of linear time. The time we are used to. Measured in hours, days, weeks, months, and years. Or in sprints, roadmaps and deadlines.

'Kairos' refers to a more fluid, unpredictable, and qualitative time. Time measured in moments. The right action in the right moment can be the difference between success and failure.

We can't escape Chronos time. Dependencies and hard deadlines are unavoidable. Just get it done before the train leaves the station. Manage your time.

In Kairos you manage timing. You look for the right moment to strike.

How's the energy? Are people overloaded? What do leadership prioritize and care about? What's the unspoken frustrations? What stories are being told? Are people's pain points painful enough? Are there existing waves you can ride? Any recent major events you can leverage to your advantage? Strategic shifts?

You listen. You observe. You take the pulse of the organization.

With Chronos and Kairos time come dilemmas and decisions you must make.

Leadership announces a new change initiative you are asked to lead. They want to see early wins within two months. But people have change fatigue and are skeptical. They look at this as "extra work". It doesn't seem like the right moment.

What do you do? Do you keep pushing, or wait until they feel the pain themselves? Will everyone ever be ready? Rather than waiting for the right moment, can you create the right moment? People may feel ready when they see someone else went first.

If you were asked to manage timing instead of time, what would you do differently the next quarter?

What would happen if we in our planning and reviews asked more of "Is now the right time?" instead of "Are we on track for this?" or "When will it be delivered?"

How can we bring Kairos time into our corporate rhythms?

Bedre produktledelse er ikke at du skal ha rett hele tiden eller å ha svaret på alt, men å finne ut i tide at vi tar feil. Ta ned risikoen. Kostnaden ved å bruke månedsvis på å lage feil ting er større enn kostnaden ved å undersøke underveis.

Bedre produkter oppnår noe som gagner virksomheten, og for å komme der må det bli tatt i bruk av noen. Vi må derfor så tidlig som mulig finne ut om vi er på sporet av noe som faktisk vil bli brukt. Hvis det går for lang tid mellom hver gang vi har kontakt med brukerne, har vi sjeldnere muligheten til å justere kursen. Da risikerer vi å jobbe med feil problem eller feil løsning.

Bedre produktledelse er å jobbe med et produkt over tid hvor vedlikehold, feilretting, forbedring og nyutvikling skjer samtidig. Drift er ikke noe som skjer etterpå, det er noe som skjer hele tiden. Å kutte ned til beinet, og så løfter du det med et prosjekt, og så kutter du ned til beinet igjen, og så løfter du det opp igjen med et prosjekt, det er veldig dyrt i det lange løp.

Bedre produkter blir aldri ferdig. Brukerne får nye behov og vaner, konkurrenter dukker opp, nye lover blir vedtatt. Verden står ikke stille, så da kan ikke produktet stå stille.

Bedre produktledelse er å vite hva du vil oppnå og hvorfor. Vet vi ikke det så vet vi heller ikke om det vi gjør skaper verdi. Hva er problemet som skal løses? Hva er det som skal være annerledes hvis vi lykkes? Hvilke typer gevinster ønsker vi å skape?

Bedre produkter er laget av fagdisipliner som jobber og er satt sammen for å få en bedre forståelse av problemet vi skal løse få øye på antagelser, undersøke dem og komme med bedre løsninger. Klarer vi å lage dette? Klarer brukerne å bruke det? Får brukerne noe ut av det? Lønner det seg for virksomheten?

Bedre produktledelse er å våge å prioritere, ta veddemål, på tross av usikkerhet. En blanding av lavthengende frukter og større satsinger. En kvalitativ beslutningsprosess, ikke et regnestykke. Et samarbeid mellom nøkkelpersoner.

Hva er bedre produkter og produktledelse for deg?

"Bedre produkter" av Ida Aalen