In the fast moving world of SaaS (Software as a Service) development, Product Managers, Sales people, and CEOs talk about MVP--Most/Minimally Viable/Valuable Product.
What do we need to launch to make money as quickly as possible?
This is a reasonable venture. Companies are in business to serve customers and sell products.
The concept makes a lot of sense--Get the simplest functionality out in the market and see how customers respond. That's the goal. And, everyone agrees (at least in principle) that once a product is out the company can quickly react and iterate towards a winning feature.
The one wrench in the mix is that building software takes time and a company's perception of a customer's needs is often transient. So, either MVPs are never defined enough for Engineering to adequately develop or Sales and Product constantly tinker with the requirements forcing innumerable tiny, yet often technically complicated architectural changes.
The process of building an MVP is often very painful to the actual developers who have to sit through meeting after meeting of requirement alterations only to return to their desks to hack up the elegant code they designed for the original spec.
No one would argue that a business should launch the best products to fit their customer's needs. But, it should not be done at the cost of developer sanity. There is real Value in actually delivering software.
Product Managers ask "What can de deliver in the shortest amount of time that represents value?" It would be nice if they ask this question to both sales and engineering at the same time, equally respecting their responses. A Valuable product is one that doesn't irreparably harm the development team for the long term while trying to wow an incessantly fickle consumer in the short term.
In the last 25 years of my career as a software developer, I have seen more MVPs fail to get out of development than actually reach beta. This because of the need to "launch the right thing", rather than "launch and iterate on something."
No one wants to constantly deliver products that customers don't want. But, trust your people to come up with something that is truly minimal and deliverable. Give it the space and energy to launch.
Get it out there, and let them iterate in a sane way.
Mission Statement is a Verb (or should be)
Originally publish on my linkedin page:
What is your Mission Statement?
Is it a couple sentences that you struggled over to put at the top of your business plan? Is it some trendy words you use to try to sell to prospective investors and clients?
If so, you're missing out on one of the most important tools you have as a business owner.
Your Mission represents the glow of the far-off port you are sailing your business to - your true North. It is your singular sanity check and guidance on your daily activities. And, it stands as the foundation against which you need to measure all business actions.
Ask yourself - "Have my activities in the last hour been an expression of my Mission Statement?" Or, have you spent the last hour mired in tasks that move you away from your vision.
If you've lost your Mission Statement or left it behind after you've landed your funding or that big client - dig it out. Re-read it. You should read it before - and after - that "big meeting".
Does it still represent your vision for your company? If not, work on it until it does.
Does it represent your primary differentiator in your industry? If not, work on it until it does.
Does your Mission Statement get you out of bed in the morning? Does it perfectly articulate all the energy that you have for your business? If not, work on it until it does.
Then use it, every day, to define every action you put on your calendar.
If you don't have a clear mission and you aren't expressing it in every action, what are you doing? A whole lot of meaningless tasks, perhaps.
Re-read your Mission Statement. Does it still represent your highest business aspirations?
Now, use it to give your daily activities energy and purpose.
What is your Mission Statement?
Is it a couple sentences that you struggled over to put at the top of your business plan? Is it some trendy words you use to try to sell to prospective investors and clients?
If so, you're missing out on one of the most important tools you have as a business owner.
Your Mission represents the glow of the far-off port you are sailing your business to - your true North. It is your singular sanity check and guidance on your daily activities. And, it stands as the foundation against which you need to measure all business actions.
Ask yourself - "Have my activities in the last hour been an expression of my Mission Statement?" Or, have you spent the last hour mired in tasks that move you away from your vision.
If you've lost your Mission Statement or left it behind after you've landed your funding or that big client - dig it out. Re-read it. You should read it before - and after - that "big meeting".
Does it still represent your vision for your company? If not, work on it until it does.
Does it represent your primary differentiator in your industry? If not, work on it until it does.
Does your Mission Statement get you out of bed in the morning? Does it perfectly articulate all the energy that you have for your business? If not, work on it until it does.
Then use it, every day, to define every action you put on your calendar.
If you don't have a clear mission and you aren't expressing it in every action, what are you doing? A whole lot of meaningless tasks, perhaps.
Re-read your Mission Statement. Does it still represent your highest business aspirations?
Now, use it to give your daily activities energy and purpose.
Have a Better Day
I just created a new Alexa skill - "Better Day". Enable it.
You can say "Alexa, ask Better Day for a contemplation" or, simply "Alexa, ask Better Day".
Thanks!
In the morning when we wake, we begin creating momentum that moves us though the day. It's easy for every new day to feel like the previous ones, unless we actively looking for something to inspire us to change, grow, evolve.
The "Better Day" Alexa skill will give you a little something to contemplate and do to make today a bit different. It's a push, really, to get you thinking about how to make yourself and your world a little better. Simple reminders of how we could all be a little more human.
These are things I think about. Truthfully, these are things I hope other people think about.
Just imagine if the whole world woke every day with the purpose of being more human than the day before.
You can say "Alexa, ask Better Day for a contemplation" or, simply "Alexa, ask Better Day".
Thanks!
In the morning when we wake, we begin creating momentum that moves us though the day. It's easy for every new day to feel like the previous ones, unless we actively looking for something to inspire us to change, grow, evolve.
The "Better Day" Alexa skill will give you a little something to contemplate and do to make today a bit different. It's a push, really, to get you thinking about how to make yourself and your world a little better. Simple reminders of how we could all be a little more human.
These are things I think about. Truthfully, these are things I hope other people think about.
Just imagine if the whole world woke every day with the purpose of being more human than the day before.
Use your Values to Create a Vacuum
Knowing how to express your values through every business act should be one of your highest priorities. Make a list of your values and look at it. Every day.
The first value on your list is gratitude. The second is generosity. This is how to build a graceful business.
Money is not a value. It's the results of
having and acting upon strong values. Money flows in as your moral strength
flows out.
The conservation of energy suggests if you are sending positive
energy out into the universe, you create a vacuum that needs to be filled by
energy flowing in.
Be so generous and gracious that you create a vacuum of greatness around you. Then feel it flow back in, and then share it.
Sometimes Things go Backwards
"... a thing isn't necessarily a lie even if it didn't necessarily happen."
- John Steinbeck, Sweet Thursday
There is an astrological event (yes, ugh, Astrology, like horoscopes) called Mercury Retrograde. For someone who believes the movmements of the planets influence our lives, Mercury Retrograde if a fairly significant and powerful occurance. It happens 3-4 times a year and each time it lasts about 25 days. Astronomically speaking, if you look up in the sky and track Mercury, during a retrograde period, the planet appears to move backwards.
In western astrology, Mercury (the winged messenger in mythology) influences communication and travel and the machines and systems responsible for conveyance. Literally, this means cars break down, mail gets lost, you miscommunicate with friends and family, checks bounce, and flights get cancelled.
Mercury is a trickster of sorts and likes to interfere when you least expect it. Mercury also likes dramatic reaction (big communication) to his pranks and disruptions. The lesson of Mercury is to roll with it, never expect things to work out just because you want them to, to be flexible, humble, and clear and honest with what you say.
This is actually a good way to view all times, not just Mercury Retrograde.
Mercury Retrogade is a great time to look inward. To contemplate the aspects of your life that you can control, to plan for when you have the energy to be active and create, and to be flexible and light towards all that you can't control.
"Mercury Retrograde" is also an Alexa skill I recently published. You can enable on your Echo or other devices. I've been interested in Voice as an User Interface Technology since I saw my first Star Trek episode as a kid in the 1970's.
The code is available on github.
- John Steinbeck, Sweet Thursday
There is an astrological event (yes, ugh, Astrology, like horoscopes) called Mercury Retrograde. For someone who believes the movmements of the planets influence our lives, Mercury Retrograde if a fairly significant and powerful occurance. It happens 3-4 times a year and each time it lasts about 25 days. Astronomically speaking, if you look up in the sky and track Mercury, during a retrograde period, the planet appears to move backwards.
In western astrology, Mercury (the winged messenger in mythology) influences communication and travel and the machines and systems responsible for conveyance. Literally, this means cars break down, mail gets lost, you miscommunicate with friends and family, checks bounce, and flights get cancelled.
Mercury is a trickster of sorts and likes to interfere when you least expect it. Mercury also likes dramatic reaction (big communication) to his pranks and disruptions. The lesson of Mercury is to roll with it, never expect things to work out just because you want them to, to be flexible, humble, and clear and honest with what you say.
This is actually a good way to view all times, not just Mercury Retrograde.
Mercury Retrogade is a great time to look inward. To contemplate the aspects of your life that you can control, to plan for when you have the energy to be active and create, and to be flexible and light towards all that you can't control.
"Mercury Retrograde" is also an Alexa skill I recently published. You can enable on your Echo or other devices. I've been interested in Voice as an User Interface Technology since I saw my first Star Trek episode as a kid in the 1970's.
The code is available on github.
Lead by Being Present
Either be present or be busy, but don't pretend to be both.
I don't know how many times I have been in a meeting - where real work was actually being done - and the CEO or another member of senior management walked in and said "I'm just here to listen". Then that leader went on to look down at their phone and answer email the whole time.
As a manager, you can't do both - you can't be in the meeting and be busy on your phone or tablet at the same time. Not only is your presence unusual that causes people to clam up, but you're a distraction and getting in the way of any work that could be happening.
So, if you're a leader - lead through example. Be present while you are leading.
Notice points in your day where you don't. Notice when you pretend to be present when you're actually busy. Notice when you're acting busy when you're actually bored.
You'll actually get more work done, if you work when you have work to do. And, remember people expect you to be present to hear them, when you say you want to listen.
I don't know how many times I have been in a meeting - where real work was actually being done - and the CEO or another member of senior management walked in and said "I'm just here to listen". Then that leader went on to look down at their phone and answer email the whole time.
As a manager, you can't do both - you can't be in the meeting and be busy on your phone or tablet at the same time. Not only is your presence unusual that causes people to clam up, but you're a distraction and getting in the way of any work that could be happening.
So, if you're a leader - lead through example. Be present while you are leading.
Notice points in your day where you don't. Notice when you pretend to be present when you're actually busy. Notice when you're acting busy when you're actually bored.
You'll actually get more work done, if you work when you have work to do. And, remember people expect you to be present to hear them, when you say you want to listen.
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