Why Wearing The Same Clothes Daily Improves Decision-Making

December 22, 2012 5 Comments

Here’s an observation: it seems that each day, we get a certain amount of capacity to make decisions — a “tank of fuel” if you will.

Each decision we make, no matter how small, subtracts from our available fuel.  At some point, we deplete our tank and decision-making becomes impossible or severely flawed.

If this is true, it means that to the degree you can minimize the number of decisions you make in a given day, the more you have left for important matters.

And this is why I’ve found that by wearing the same clothes every day (or by intentionally limiting my options), the amount I subtract from my tank is minimal (or nothing at all).  Instead of having to worry about matching shoes, socks, pants, belt, shirt, and coat, I provide myself with a set of clothes that are easy to mix-and-match (or nearly identical).

And this leaves me more fuel for the day.

I’ve also noticed that at the end of a long day of decision-making, I have little left in the tank for my wife. A simple question about a mundane household task can feel simply overwhelming.

Thus, if this crazy theory is true, then we should minimize BS for ourselves (like the hassle of having to put together a new outfit everyday), and therefore improve our ability to make important decisions (as well as have meaningful interactions with our loved ones).

What do you think?  Could wearing the same thing each day yield more capacity for decision-making?  Or is this a weak excuse on my part to explain poor fashion sense?

Filed under Productivity, Work/Life Balance Tagged with ,

Why Writing Product Specs Is A Waste Of Time

December 21, 2012 3 Comments

I’ve developed software in two distinct ways: (1) writing very detailed and elaborate specs, or (2) writing very little and instead using lots of pictures and conversations.

There are certainly situations where writing specs seems to make sense, but what I’ve found is that by and large, writing specs in an agile environment can be a complete waste of time.

(Note: There are situations where I’ve found it worth spending time writing things out; specifically, when the process of writing itself helps you clarify in your own mind what you’re trying to do.  I happen to be someone who gains clarity through the writing process — but expecting your engineers to read pages and pages of your precious thoughts is usually a waste of time.)

Here’s the process we’ve found to work; most of the time, we’re using some variation of these steps: Read more of this post

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SaaS Roadmap Planning in an Agile Environment

December 20, 2012 2 Comments

I’m often asked if there’s anything different about managing a roadmap in an agile environment. I don’t think so; since agile is (just) a methodology for delivering software, I don’t think having a roadmap and being agile are mutually exclusive. Let me know if you disagree.

Over the past few quarters, we’ve refined how we manage our marketing automation platform’s product roadmap (which we develop using agile methodologies).  As of today the platform has 525 Users, so the volume of feedback and demands is rapidly increasing.

Here are a few things we’ve found about managing a roadmap in this type of environment:

1. Creating a detailed roadmap for more than 1 quarter at a time seems to be a waste of effort. Read more of this post

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Gaining Alignment Through Team Training

December 19, 2012 1 Comment

A topic I’ve discussed a few times is how to get your company aligned behind a common set of objectives.  I’ve described the V2MOM method (used by SalesForce.com to become a multi-billion dollar SaaS company), and our practice of daily stand-ups.  Both these tactic have been very helpful.

Today, we did a team training session to orient various teams to our marketing automation platform.  Here are a few things learned from this process: Read more of this post

Filed under Communication, Culture Tagged with ,

Colin Powell’s 4 Rules For Getting To The Point

December 18, 2012 1 Comment

Colin Powell's 4 Rules For Getting To The Point

Colin Powell: Lots of leadership lessons and tactics

In line with yesterday’s post about handling problems as a leader, I thought it appropriate to share how Colin Powell instructed his staff to bring him problems.  Being a retired four-star general in the United States Army, and having served as the 65th U.S. Secretary of State (under President George W. Bush) from 2001 to 2005, Mr. Powell definitely knows a thing or two about running organizations at scale and getting the best from those around you.

In his new book “It Worked For Me: In Life and Leadership“, Colin shares some simple rules for getting to the point when raising a problem:

  • First, tell me what you know.  He advises asking your team to give you the facts of the situation, as objectively as possible.  He doesn’t want personal interpretation.  He’ll often probe to see how the facts were obtained to ensure that the data are as accurate as possible.
  • Second, tell me what you don’t know.  As important as communicating the known facts, Colin advises asking for clarity around what is unknown.  If you have the right people in the right positions, they’ll most likely realize what they don’t know.  Colin feels that getting people to articulate these things is as important as getting the facts.  The unknowns give way to follow-up actions to obtain that information (if possible).
  • Then, tell me what you think.  This is where the person is asked to add their interpretation of the data, provide insight based on experience, and/or anything else they think is relevant given the situation.  This is where he allows people to use the facts to build an argument, or offer an opinion.
  • And remember: Always distinguish one from the other.  Colin suggests that it is imperative to ensure that you are clear in asking that people provide you information and clearly distinguish which type of information they’re giving.  If they’re telling you what they think, don’t allow them to misconstrue that as a representation of the facts.

I think #4, while subtle, is brilliant and essential.  Especially when situations are stressful, I notice that people tend to add color to a situation by incorporating their personal perspectives, which in some cases is wrong or biased.  I know I do the same and wrestle with trying to keep these things separate in my own head; perhaps it is human nature to immediately draw conclusions (did I just jump to a conclusion there?).

What do you think of Colin Powell’s 4 Rules?  Do you think they are helpful in communicating information and getting to the point?

Filed under Communication, Culture, Leadership, Productivity Tagged with , ,

How To Tell If You’re a Natural Leader

December 17, 2012 3 Comments

While problems come with being human, I have a theory that the number of problems you face is directly correlated with how you’re viewed as a leader.

Even if your title or rank don’t “officially” make you a leader, but you find that people come to you with problems, there’s a good chance you’re viewed as a natural leader.

I think solving problems is what leaders do.  It’s why they get paid the big bucks.  (I bet some of you are thinking, “I’ve got a buttload of problems, but no money!”)

So what?  If this theory is even remotely true, then the day you’re not solving problems (or up to your a** in fires) is probably the day you are no longer leading.

That’s the day you should be worried.  It means your people don’t think you can solve the problems they’re bringing your way, or you’re putting off signals that you don’t want to hear about them.

Or worse, they may think you don’t care.  Either way it means they’ve lost confidence in you and your status as a leader is in jeopardy.

It’s not easy hearing problem after problem, but it may come with the leadership territory.

What do you think of this theory?  Are the number of problems people bring you an indication of how you’re viewed as a leader?

Filed under Entrepreneurship, Leadership Tagged with

What If You Gave Yourself Permission To Rest?

December 16, 2012 2 Comments

Like many of you, I’ve worked hard all my life. I expect those I work with to do the same.

As I’ve gotten older and the demands on my time have continued to increase, I actively ask myself whether (or not) I’m working on the right stuff.  Is what I’m doing right now going to make any difference?

Similarly, when asking others to do something, I try to ensure they are like-wise focused on things that matter.  I’d hate to contribute to someone else wasting portions of their life.

Another way to look at this is that I don’t like to generate make-work. Make-work is the crap we do that consumes our time, but doesn’t really move us forward. It may make us feel good, since we’re working and moving around, but it’s really unnecessary and doesn’t make a darn difference.

As the past 48 hours have once again reminded me, a complete life includes much (much) more than just work.  And certainly a lot more than make-work.

We need our families. We need time to rest. We need to cultivate outside interests and hobbies. We need time to learn something new. And we need the time and space to pursue these things. 

That’s why I believe it is important to cultivate a spirit and discipline of sabbath, both literally and figuratively.

Colin Powell puts it like this:

Don’t run if you can walk; don’t stand up if you can sit down; don’t sit down if you can lie down, and don’t stay awake if you can go to sleep.

Amen.

Where can you cultivate this spirit in your life?  What would happen if you gave yourself permission to rest?

Filed under Culture, Fatherhood, Leadership, Productivity, Work/Life Balance Tagged with

Tips For Running A Sprint Planning Meeting

December 15, 2012 2 Comments

Tips for running a Sprint Planning Meeting

Build better software, more quickly, with less risk

For the past 2 years or so, we’ve been using an Agile-ish methodology for the development of our marketing automation platform.

I’ve described how we use daily stand-ups (here’s a real-life video example) during development of our MVP (minimally viable product), and today I’ll share how we run our Sprint Planning Meetings.

Here are a few things about Sprint Planning that we’ve found to be uber-helpful: Read more of this post

Filed under Communication, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Product Mgmt, SAAS Tagged with , , ,

Lessons Learned Developing a SAAS App

December 14, 2012 Leave a comment

In 2003 and 2004, as we were developing our cross-media LookWho’sClicking SaaS application, I had the privilege of developing our software in a way that has now become a part of my work-process: getting embedded at a Client’s location.

Early on during development, we succeeded at licensing our software for $4,500 to a local marketing services company (once we found our product/market fit, we eventually raised the price to $9,500).  The company was located about 20 miles from our office, and I started making frequent trips in order to do training and on-boarding. Since they were one of the first on our platform, there was a lot to learn (on both sides).

At noon each day, I’d drive to their office and help users with learning how to use our software.  In addition, I became very interested in how their business worked, and how our software made an impact on their clients, revenue, and margins.

Over the course of a few weeks, the practice of visiting their office became a daily occurrence, and eventually, I was able to grab an unused desk and set up shop.

Here’s what I found extremely helpful about getting embedded with a Client: Read more of this post

Filed under Entrepreneurship, Product Mgmt, SAAS Tagged with

Gmail Productivity Hack: How To Get Unlimited Email Aliases

December 13, 2012 1 Comment

Gmail Productivity Hack

Gmail Productivity Hack

Here’s a productivity tip I just picked up from Amir, one of our marketing automation engineers: say you’re in a situation where you need a bunch of email addresses (for QA-ing your apps, or testing various marketing automation personas, etc.).

You could certainly create a bunch of free email addresses, but it can be a pain in the butt to monitor a bazillion email accounts — not to mention the time it takes to create each account.

Here’s how you can create an unlimited number of aliases, using only one Gmail account:

  • Grab yourself a Gmail account (say, billgates@gmail.com)
  • Anything like billgates+whatever_you_make_up@gmail.com will route to your billgates@gmail.com email address

Google is smart enough (go figure!) to resolve anything formatted in this way to your address.  Using this method, you can create virtually an unlimited number of aliases.

This is especially helpful if you’re testing a series of marketing automation workflows, where you’re creating a series of test Contacts that each manifest a different behavior.  Using this method, it is pretty easy to test these scenarios with different email address while minimizing the amount of work you have to do.

Pretty cool, huh?

What other Gmail hacks do you use to increase productivity?

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