The Next Little Thing

Wherever you are, wherever you want to be, it's tempting to look forward to, to plan, to rely on the Next Big Thing.

Small changes are more reliable, easier to explain, share, understand and implement.

The best bit? Most big changes can be made up of little changes.

When dependencies aren't

What would you say if I asked you if you could drive a car without wheels? What about without a stereo or air-conditioning?

Have you ever caught yourself thinking something along these lines:

• I’d love to contact that person but I don’t have a website
• I could publish that book but I don’t have an established following
• I could try to make some sales but I don’t have a product

Driving a car without wheels isn't plausible. Driving a car long-distance without a stereo or some kind of climate control might be unpleasant but it’s definitely possible and opens up the potential for other rewards.

The trick is telling the difference.

A Hierarchy of Doing, Chapter 1: The Hierarchy of Purpose

Hi folks,

I've got to admit, I'm excited. This has been a LONG time coming. This post is a draft of the first chapter of a book I've been working on for many months (where working mostly equals thinking strongly about doing).

If you can sit through and read this (it's not as long as you might think) I would love to have some feedback.

I don't have illustrations yet and you'll have to use your imagination with the case studies that need to be written. When it comes to the latter I will be looking for people with relevant stories who would like to contribute some of their wisdom to this book. If you've got a story to share please let me know.

Thanks for your time,
Adam.

Why Purpose?

Why purpose? Why ‘why’? Why should we care about why we are doing things?

Hidden Truths

Let me start with a thought experiment. If you visit a member of your organisation and ask why they are working on a particular task, what do you think they might say? ‘Because I was told to’? ‘Because I’ve always done this’? ‘Because month end is coming up’?

How many times do you think you need to ask before someone says ‘to achieve X because of the team’s/department’s/organisation’s current goals/vision’.

That’s a mouthful, likely no-one will ever say that. But how many will think about how their tasks relate to the greater goals around them, yet alone choose to vocalise it.

It’s much easier to focus on what needs doing or how it should be done. The problem is that we achieve what we set out to achieve. So if we choose to focus on how something gets done, that is what will be optimised, potentially at the expense of the actual objective.

On the other hand, how often have you heard someone say something like ‘I want this moved from here to here’ when what they really want is improved production or maybe just a better view. By skipping the why and jumping straight to the what it’s possible to deliver exactly what was asked for and miss an opportunity to solve the real problem.

The Big Missing Picture

If people don’t know why there are undertaking their tasks it can result in a tug of war. Each person is pulling in their own direction, looking to fulfil their own objectives plus what they see as the greater organisation’s directives, to whatever degree they are motivated to uncover and follow them. This can lead to the analogy of a tug of war, or a rowing boat spinning in circles.

Making the objectives clear won’t guarantee that people will pull in the same direction (we are all individuals after all) but, vitally, it opens up the opportunity to go in a common direction.

Getting Aligned

Even better than ‘simply’ making sure that everyone understands the organisation’s goals is to hire people whose personal values and objectives are compatible. The more personal interests mesh with those of the organisation the lower the friction. It’s too late to start this with the current staff but it can help retain the right people.

The Bottom Line

In these days of Return on Investment and focus on the bottom line, getting aligned can be a hard-sell. Some might not see the benefit of super aligned teams. But how about sales?

‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it’ – Simon Sinek.

Share the reasons for your organisation’s existence. What does it stand for? What does it hope to achieve? Get your message out there and you can find customers.

Why is Purpose First?

Out of the triumvirate of purpose, practices and projects why is purpose the first chapter?

A Compass

I believe that Purpose should be the rudder, the North Star and the Oracle. In case of doubt of approach or selection of tasks or projects, the organisation’s vision and goals should provide direction. It should guide all other decisions be it in the domain of marketing, recruitment, product development, investment or human resources.

It’s not so much that by considering Purpose first every other decision will automatically fall into place; it’s not that easy. It’s more to say that this will minimise later decisions falling out of place.

The Head of the Family

This is almost the same statement as the one above but I think it’s worth repeating. The hierarchy of doing will be introduced later but suffice to say for now that Purpose belongs at the top. As in any good hierarchy, all other things (Practices and Projects) below the top derive and depend on it and feed information back up to the top.

[[An illustration would be awesome here]]

The Hierarchy of Purpose

What do I mean by ‘Purpose’ anyway?

Vision

I see Purpose, with a capital P as a hierarchy. At the very top of the hierarchy sits the vision. This represents what the organisation stands for, why it exists. This might be a noble goal like saving the world or curing cancer. The goal might be selfish: the organisation might only exist to make money (in this day and age that seems sadly likely). Most likely it will be something in between.

To an extent it doesn’t matter what the vision is (legal and moral issues notwithstanding) as long as it is honest. It can be tempting to fake a vision but ultimately that will only lead to issues. Better off not having a vision at all than being false about it.

The vision could be a simple statement or a composite. I would suggest though that if people can’t easily hold the whole vision in memory or repeat it without relying on rote then it should be simplified. It behoves the organisation to facilitate the deep understanding and integration of the vision into its members minds (and hearts if you can manage it).

While open to change the vision will be largely static. The vision doesn’t have to be achievable. In some ways I think it’s better if it isn’t. On the other hand, it has to be something that can be worked towards. It should be possible to show progress towards the vision, and that’s where goals fit in.

Goals

Where the vision holds the top of the hierarchy of purpose, goals fill up the middle. Unlike the vision, goals should be achievable. They might also be temporary, replaced as they are achieved, or due to the influence of external conditions, or following direction changes. Sometimes there will be a blurry line between the vision and the goals. That’s fine, as long as a definite decision is made: there is no right answer, only what fits.

Just as the vision is broken up into goals, goals may themselves be divided into sub-goals.

Objectives

Objectives can be found at the lowest points of the hierarchy. There is a very fine continuum between goals and objectives. Objectives are simply concrete and temporary goals.

[[Time for another illustration]]

Footer for illustration –

Each objective forms part of one or more goals and each goal applies to one or more constituents of a higher-ranked goal or the vision itself. Looking at it from the other direction, the vision is broken down into multiple goals and each goal is then potentially broken down into multiple goals and objectives.

Drawing the Lines

If you prefer definite lines and definitions here’s one possible way to look at the hierarchy, through the lens of SMART (if you’re not familiar with that term a quick internet search for ‘SMART objectives’ should do the trick). The vision is Specific (and potentially Measurable). Goals should be Specific, Measurable and Achievable. Objectives should be SMART.

Practising Purpose

A guide to using and applying purpose.

Clear

This one is so important that it is an acronym for the five traits taken together. Flowery language has its place in the world but it’s vitally important that everyone can not only understand the purpose of the organisation but can intuit how to apply it in practice in their daily work. The vision should be short and snappy. Goals and objectives should be written in as plain language as possible (obviously at some point, especially with objectives, things will get technical but the suggestion remains).

It doesn’t matter how much thought has been put into the purpose. If people can’t understand it, it won’t work.

Linked

In today’s technological environment it’s unlikely that the whole hierarchy of purpose will be stored in one place. The vision might be on the internet and/or intranet. Goals might be held in a project roadmap document and objectives in some form of project management software. That is a pain but not insurmountable. The important thing is that it must be possible to traverse the hierarchy. There must be a way to go from the vision down to its constituents and also to follow objectives and goals up to their ancestors.

Embraced

To get the full power of purpose, everyone in the organisation must get behind it. There’s no point going through the exercise to determine the full vision and goals and objectives if the management or executives don’t get behind it. It will just be a waste of time and likely demoralising for the staff. The CEO, managing director, or whatever figure is in charge, should get behind the vision and the goals. They should be visibly and vocally supportive, otherwise the whole process of determining and sharing the purpose is not worth pursuing (although see the section later on sub-organisations).

Everyone in the organisation should have the power and the right to question a task or project if it seems to go against the Purpose, or even if it does not visibly benefit the Purpose.

Accessible

This one should be obvious by now but every member of the organisation needs at least some degree of access to the hierarchy of purpose. It could be just the vision they see and goals and objectives relevant to their work. In some cases, for security reasons, parts of the hierarchy might be concealed from some people. And similarly, in a large organisation, the whole hierarchy might be over-whelming. In addition, as discussed earlier, there are potentially some benefits from making some of the hierarchy available to the general public.

It should also be easy for the relevant people to update and change the hierarchy. Trivially easy. The harder it is to keep the hierarchy up-to-date the more likely it is that it will get out of date.

Reflected on

It is unlikely that the hierarchy of purpose will remain fixed. Time must be put aside for measuring or at least intuiting the effectiveness of the values, goals and objectives. Anything old, irrelevant or sub-standard should be updated or culled. New items arising from experience, progress or external factors should be added.

Sub-Hierarchies

In a suitably large organisation it might make sense to have separate hierarchies for different sub-organisations. That’s fine. There should be at least some common vision at the top, then each sub-organisation can have its own hierarchy beneath that, possibly starting with its own vision.

[[illustration here]]

Starting with Sub-Organisations

It might the case that you belong to an organisation that doesn’t choose to follow any of the practices described in this text. Or it could be that you are more able to bring about a localised change. In any case, it’s legitimate – potentially even sensible – to start by treating your sub-organisation as an organisation in its own right and determining and following a hierarchy of purpose for the sub-organisation itself.

The Purpose of the Hierarchy of Doing

Sleeping in the bed I made.

[[best shown with another illustration]]

Case Studies

[[Some case studies will go here.]]

Freedom

How much freedom do you have?

There are two extremes of freedom. At one extreme, you are required to spend almost all of your time and attention simply surviving. There’s no room for anything else. At the other end, you are independently rich with staff to see to your every need. Since you’re reading this I’m going to assume that, like most people, you lie somewhere in the middle.

How much freedom do you really have?

Sometimes we might feel constrained by the particulars of our lives. Work, debt, obligations, families, all might conspire to make us feel trapped. But do you have the power to change those situations? Can you work with your family to overcome issues? Can you leave your job? Can you sell your house? Can you alter your mind-set? The answer to these questions is often yes, it just doesn’t feel like it.

How much freedom do you want?

Sometimes we feel burdened by the sheer range of possibilities open to us. Having more freedom isn’t always good; constraints have been shown to increase creativity. Perhaps deliberately – even arbitrarily – reducing your choices can make the way forward easier. Other times we might truly be suffocated by the boundaries of our lives. Perhaps it will take a difficult and challenging break to get us to where we want to be.

Path to Awesome

Understand your personal freedom, appreciate the freedoms that you do enjoy, recognise the choices that you’ve made and can make to change your situation. Then, once you feel free enough, help others to feel the same.

Your greatest assets

As a person or as a business, what are your greatest assets?

Take a moment if you will. Think about your answer.

Did your answers include money in the bank, a great product, a house, a car, impressive sales?

Do you feel compelled to protect and develop these assets?

Another question: what could you lose that would shake you to your foundations? What, if taken away, could bring you to your knees?

Your family, health, values, team?

My final question: if the two lists are different, how much time and energy do you currently invest in the former vs the latter?

Respect Exceptions

I believe we disrespect exceptional circumstances in two significant ways.

Failing to respect the cumulative effect of related exceptions

A few years ago I was watching what I ate and I thought I was watching very carefully. However, I wasn’t getting the results I was hoping for. It took me longer than it should have to realise the source of the problem. I allowed myself - what I thought at the time was - a limited set of exceptions, during which I would allow myself to eat as I liked. Friday nights, when visiting family or friends, or the occasional pub lunch with work colleagues. When I finally caught up I realised that my exceptions were occurring cumulatively 4-5 times a week. I had more exceptional days than non-exceptional days! This example is pretty trivial but since becoming aware of this phenomena I’ve spotted it elsewhere, in less obvious circumstances.

Abusing exceptions to shuck the rules

I don’t know about you but I’ve spotted a worrying trend. Often there are rules or at least guidelines or heuristics that we follow to govern our behaviour: be it abstaining from alcohol or chocolate, or raising a change request, or sticking to a speed limit or whatever. It’s become quite easy to say in certain contexts ‘sure, I/we would usually do that but…’. Often this is done to avoid following the rules due to personal aspects (too tired, not motivated, too distracted) or properties of the rules themselves (too vague, too challenging), rather than to actually benefit the situation.

Path to Awesome

Be alert - track and monitor exceptions

Be honest - regularly review rules/guidelines for suitability – if they’re broken change them, if they’re not broken stick to them!

What do you think? Have I missed anything? Let me know in the comments below.

Remember to Steer

Imagine for a moment that ideas have mass. This means they would be governed by the laws of motion.

It takes effort to put something into motion. Once it's moving it will tend to keep going at the same speed in the same direction until another force is applied to it.

Ideas can gain momentum, seemingly take on a life of their own. Just remember, if it's your idea and you're not steering it, it may not end up where you expect or want it.

Midway through a project, what to do next?

"And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune, then the piper will lead us to reason." - Led Zeppelin, Stairway to Heaven


It's nice to have a muse, or a piper, to show us the way forward but that doesn't always happen. Sometimes, it's up to us to decide the best path, specifically what do next. When there are a number of options which should we choose?

I was working on my own pet project the other day and had this exact problem. Of the 50 or so things I'd identified, which should I do next?

I came up with this simple method and it helped me decide what to do next.

1. Break down the project/product/service into chunks
What these chunks will look like will depend on what you're doing. Are you building a steam-train or writing a presentation?

2. Prioritise the chunks
Do you need a steam engine first or a chassis? Images for your presentation or the words?

3. Evaluate where you are now
For each chunk where are you on the No FRILs scale (below)?

4. Decide where you want to be, overall
Where are you aiming for on the No FRILs scale? Are you looking to simply provide a reliable service or do you want to blow the socks off your customers? (p.s. be honest here, it'll save you pain in the long term)

5. Evaluate overall status
Which chunk is farthest from your desired level? If there's just one there, that's what you work on. In case of a tie-breaker, go back to your priorities from part 2. Compare all the chunks at this lowest level. Whichever is highest-priority is what you work on next.


I hope this helps you as much as it helped me. Let me know if you find this useful in the comments below. And drop me a line if you can help me get another 'L' into the end of the scale!

No FRILs Scale

Nowhere - does nothing
Functional - solves a problem (your train runs sometimes)
Reliable - no bugs (it runs all the time but there's only one door for all passengers)
Ideal - no frustrations (now the train has a suitable number of doors)
Lovable - does everything expected and more besides (free chocolates for all passengers)

Head in the clouds, bum away from desk

"Making honey takes a lot of bees doing a lot of small jobs. But let me tell you about a small job. If you do it well, it makes a big difference." - Barry B. Benson, Bee Movie


It's been two months since my last blog post here. In that time I've learned a lot, and done very little. My standards became too high, the dream too big. Aiming high is a perfectly legitimate approach but it's not for me. This blog is about gentle steps to improvement and now I realise that includes having reasonable goals in the first place. (Or maybe no goals at all, but that's a question for another day).

I allowed myself to become enchanted by grand plans. Suddenly, I wasn't writing blog posts because I was planning the blog launch, then I wasn't planning the blog launch because I was trying to find the perfect domain name.

I was getting nowhere. And it was because I was following the wrong dream.

I started this blog to share my thoughts and maybe help some people along the way. When I began thinking about making this a successful blog, that's when things started to go wrong. True, if this blog were to reach more people I could potentially help more. But that's not why I was trying to be successful. I was chasing success itself.

I had succeeded in factoring out the part of the blog that I enjoyed.

It feels good to admit that. (It's taken me a while.) Now to start thinking in practical, realistic steps again. Like Barry B., I'm going to set my sights on doing a small thing, and aiming to do it well.

Here's what I have learned from looking back at my own actions from the last couple of months. Hopefully, it can save you from similar pain.

• Learning is great but has to be balanced with doing, consuming balanced by producing
• Have attainable goals. If the goal isn't attainable break it down into sub-goals (and repeat) or drop it
• Focus on the day-to-day, humble, gentle steps - don't be distracted by the glam and the glitter of 'big success'

Leave the heroics to the actual heroes

"No need to thank me, it's what I do." - Captain Adorable, Gigglebiz

There are jobs out there that require genuine heroics on a daily basis. Most of us don't have them.

Working weekends, burning the midnight oil, churning out stuff to appease a deadline: these things are not heroics.

Firefighting has been taken on as a term to mean flailing around, holding excitable meetings or conference calls, and scrawling hieroglyphics on whiteboards. A little of this is okay, maybe even useful. As a way of living or working day to day it is disruptive and potentially addictive.

Firefighting and heroics have their place. If they are what you want to do, then that's fine, you'll probably get better at them. Just don't expect to produce anything useful at the same time.

Separate blame from reparation

"It's time to be a knight and do it right" - every episode of Mike the Knight

Today's tip comes from children's television. In the TV series Mike the Knight, in practically every episode, Mike will do something stupid, usually having been warned off his current course of action repeatedly by friends and family. Towards the end of the episode he'll realise his mistake, utter the phrase above, and see about sorting out whatever mess he has caused.

Honestly, it's a bit annoying but I guess I'm not target audience or something. There are a couple of lessons to be learned from it though. Firstly, Mike is never paralysed by self-blame or guilt; he just gets on with sorting out the situation. Secondly, his 'colleagues' always back him up, helping without blaming.

It's a lot easier to get to the heart of a problem if you're not looking to find someone to blame at the same time.

What are you really selling?

"Albatross! Gannet on a stick!" - John Cleese, Monty Python.

What are you selling?

What do you sell on a day to day basis? If you say nothing, you're probably wrong. If you say anything else you're probably still wrong, unless you already know what I'm about to say. (In which case, feel free to hop in on the comments and leave some tips.)

It doesn't matter if you have your own business, you're self-employed, a contractor or an employee. You're selling something to someone, and it's not what you think.

Think about what it is that you provide, what it is you're paid for then follow it through to the benefits, and from the benefits to the positive change in the recipient. That's really what is being sold.

If you're in finance, you're selling security and protection (I hope!). Training courses aren't about what they teach, they're about the life-changes they bring about in the students.

Yeah, maybe I believe you. So what?

Once you know what you're really selling you can sell it better.

If you're looking for a job: figure out what the person hiring needs and sell it to them. It's probably not a cashier, or an illustrator, or a health and safety manager. They want to be sold reliability, inspiration or a good night's sleep.

If you have a product you're selling you might already focus on the benefits rather than the features, but what comes next after the benefits? That's the bit you're selling, even if neither you nor the buyer knows it.

In our everyday lives we're always selling and buying; time is a precious resource we spend on every conversation, movie, webinar, or blog post we indulge in. Know what you're selling ahead of time and make it easier on everyone.

The best person to talk to might not exist, and that's okay

"I never knew anyone who went crazy before, except for my imaginary friend Captain Sprock!" - Chris Griffin, Family Guy

Here's a quick tip: when you're struggling to reach a decision, imagine that a friend is asking you the question you want answered. You can use a real friend for this but I prefer to use an imaginary friend as they generally come with less luggage. Sometimes this helps change your mindset, and distance yourself just enough from the problem, that you can come up with a solution.

Keep It Simpler Stupid

"That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run." - Forrest Gump

Keep It Simple Stupid
A safety warning. Step away from the precipice, don't over-complicate the matter. Meant to prevent wasted time and effort on over-engineered solutions.

Keep It Simpler Stupid
A call to look for the smallest possible increment in value. How tiny can we make this change and still ensure someone will benefit from it? Instead of just avoiding the costs of over-complication we're now exploring the rewards of flirting with over-simplifying.

The thing you're doing right now, could it be simpler or smaller? If so, you've potentially got a shorter route to generating value. And once you're done you can just do it again: another tiny step in the right direction.

Pull from the right

"If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly." - Macbeth, Shakespeare

Most tasks provide the bulk of their value when they're complete - that's when you hit the awesome sauce. It can often be tempting to start something new. Sometimes that's the right thing to do, other times it's just a distraction.

When you start something new are you doing it because it's the right choice or to avoid finishing something difficult or risky?

Systems, rituals and warm-ups.

"Wax on, wax off" - Miyagi, The Karate Kid

Last week, I spoke about giving up. Today, I had a bit of a crappy day. Nothing serious, just a bunch of conjoined annoyances. After a rubbish day the last thing I really want to do is slave over a hot laptop to eke out a blog post. Fortunately, I've got some tools to help me get back on track.

I've discovered (read: learned from others) three ways of making life easier. If you read the blog title you may have an inkling what they might be. Each is a combination of simplification and mind-hacks. Here they are in reverse order:

Warm-ups

A warm-up in this context is an activity that takes you closer to your desired goal while being far less taxing than the full task itself. A couple of examples are getting changed into a gym kit or pasting some text into a blogging site (more on that later). It's relatively easy to change into exercise clothes. Once you're in them, you might feel more inclined to exercise. Once I've pasted some text into a blank blog post the page is no longer blank and it's a hell of a lot easier to write when the page isn't blank. It doesn't matter that the words on the page are going to be replaced.

Rituals

A ritual is a fixed task or series of tasks that mentally prepare you for the job ahead. Unlike a warm-up they aren't usually steps that are part of the process proper, they just help smooth the journey. My ritual for this blog is to wait until the nippers are in bed, grab a cup of tea and settle into my home office. I don't need the tea. I don't really need to be in my office. But following these steps each time I write a blog post helps settle me into a rhythm.

Systems

A system is a set of check-lists and flows for achieving a particular goal or change. They help take the uncertainty out of a large task by splitting it into a series of smaller, more palatable tasks. I've shared the system I'm developing for blogging below. Notice how the tasks start incredibly easy. In fact, they are so simple they don't really even need to be recorded. These first few steps of the system are my warm-up; they help me ease into the harder stuff.

Your Turn

What tools do you use to help get through tricky moments and challenging tasks? Let me know in the comments.

Blogging in 23 steps

1. Open up Blogger
2. Click New Post
3. Fill in working title
4. Paste/write this ("quote goes here" - someone) at the top of the page
5. Brain splurge - write down all the things I think I might want to say - no real effort to have stuff in the right order or in proper sentences
6. Start writing from the start of the post at the top of the page & stick a few new-lines in to separate from the earlier splurge - at this point still going for quantity of words over quality
7. Tidy up, removing last of splurge
8. Fill in quote
9. Finalise title
10. Preview the post
11. Add formatting
12. Read through
13. Edit for correctness - spelling and grammar
14. Read through
15. Edit for completeness - have I missed anything glaring out?
16. Read through
17. Edit for clarity - e.g. tweak word choices, rearrange sentences
18. Read through
19. Cut the darlings - remove anything I can without hurting the message
20. Publish
21. Share to G+
22. Share to Buffer
23. Update my Trello board with any new blog ideas or thoughts

   23a. Reward myself, but that's a topic for another day

Don't give up.

"The road is long, with many a winding turn." - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, The Hollies

Do you ever feel like you've bitten off more than you can chew? That perhaps, you've taken a step too far? That you don't have what it takes? I know I've felt like that on more than one occasion.

It's easy to give up.

There can be minor or temporary upsets. Maybe the conditions aren't quite right. You're tired or you've got a cold. The car broke down again.

Then there are bigger worries: strains on loved ones and family ties, money concerns.

Maybe you're wondering what the point is. All this extra effort, is it worth it?

Don't give up.

Starting something new, creating something valuable and amazing can be really hard. Seeing it through can be harder still.

I've barely started this blog and already there have been times of self-doubt. There nearly wasn't a post today.

I've thought about giving up but I'm not going to, because I don't want you to give up. I don't yet know who exactly you are, but if my suspicions are right you want to do big things; things that a part of your brain tells you can't be done, at least by you.

I know those feelings. I'm still having them. Let's get through it together.

Here are some things that have helped me:

• Aspire to the works and results of others, but don't be put off by their success; you cannot know what they have done to get where they are, nor do you know where you can get to if you persevere.
• Ride the wave. Recognise and harness momentum when it comes, ease into the uphill slogs.
• Draw strength from those around you. Find the people who understand what you're doing and will support you.
• Focus on the outcomes. Remember why you started this in the first place. 
• Act as if you've already succeeded, at least in the short term. Act this way and failure becomes less of a choice. (For one example, see immediately below)

Next week I'll share a tip or two for bolstering willpower (see what I did there?). Until then, please leave a comment if you've got a tip to share for pushing on, or if you just want a few words of encouragement from someone who's also in the middle of their journey.

What's the APR on happiness?

"Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy bacon/tea/beer/chocolate/... and that's kind of the same thing." -- the internet

We make decisions all the time, choices that affect our future. The problem is we don't always realise what we're deciding, or even that we are at all.

Sometimes the decisions are simple. Buy this or buy that. Spend vs save. With money it's relatively obvious what our choices are. But what about our other resources? What about our energy or attention?

Happiness has to be bought. It has to be purchased with love, attention, energy, and yes, cold hard cash.

You can save money or take out a loan but you can't borrow happiness or success.

Just remember that sometimes to find happiness, the real long-term fulfilment stuff, it means saving money and sometimes it means spending it.

Reduce stock and win

"This is heavy" - Marty McFly, Back to the Future

Stock drags.

Stock could mean actual stock of products or components. It could mean incomplete projects, untold stories, or ideas not yet recorded. Anything that has value only as part of a greater process or transaction can be considered stock.

Unsold goods require storage. Unfinished projects take care and attention. Ideas can be distracting until they've been noted. Some stories want and need to get out so much it can hurt to keep them in.

There are costs in each of these things. Reduce the stock and reduce the costs.

Phase 1: trying

"Sometimes you just gotta roll the dice." - Paul (the alien), Paul (the movie)

Things have going smoothly for the last week or so; I've made a couple of blog posts and a couple of awesome people have commented. Good times.

I thought it was about time for me to 'fess up. I don't know what I'm doing. Most bloggers I've come across seem to know what they are doing. I don't. I didn't want to wait until I was good - it could have been a damn long wait - so I've started now.

I'm in phase 1 right now, and that means trying. In this case I'm trying to do four things:

Write. A bit obvious this one. I like to write. Now I'm writing. Go me! 

Work towards my top-level goals. More on what they might be another time.

Tease out a process. I'm gathering some thoughts around a process I've had rattling away in the back of my head for some time. It's part-Agile, part-Lean, and part wisdom accumulated from a decade or so working as a project manager. I'm not sure what the process is yet but I know it starts with trying and has the aim of small, repeated steps of improvement, moving gently up and to the right.

Finally, and this is the one that surprised me: 

Make the world more awesome

I realised something recently. Naive and simple I might be, but I want the world to be awesome. Not just good, but awesome. Not just for some people but for everybody.

I don't see myself as being revolutionary material but that's kind of the point. We could rely on the actions of the powerful few to make the world a better place or we mere peons could band together and do it. The technology exists now to make a motivated few a force to be reckoned with. Get enough people working together, taking baby steps in the right direction, and the cumulative effect could be surprising.

I don't think I'm going to get very far. I'm unlikely to change anything. But the thing I've realised is that there is precisely no reason not to try.

Why Yoda needs a slap

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back


In case you haven't heard this oft-repeated phrase, or you just want to see it again:

I love Yoda. He's a cute ball of Jedi-awesome. But this phrase really gets my dander up.

There is no try. Translation: if you know you can succeed, great. If you're unsure, better go home buddy, coz failure ain't holding no truck here.

How do we stretch, how do we learn, grow or develop when we don't dare to do anything we're not certain we'll succeed at? Was Picasso perfect with his first brush strokes? Did Einstein produce the Theory of Relativity without so much as a typo? Did Cruise flash a flawless smile for his first photo-op? Okay, probably he did.

Failure isn't just an option. It's a privilege.

What do you think? Am I being too hard on the little emerald imp? Or should someone deliver a very respectful slap to his wrinkled green face?

Or try anyway.

Scientists prove: the best day to start something is June 23rd

"Take your time, hurry up. The choice is yours, don't be late." - Come as you are, Nirvana.


OK, I lied. To the best of my knowledge scientists have proved no such thing. But as I write this the date happens to be June 23rd. Is there a better day to start something than today?

(I look forward to being right one day a year)