Shipulski On Design

Posts Tagged ‘Lessons Learned’

I find my way.

I sometimes get caught in other people’s expectations.  Aren’t their wants important too?

I can judge myself negatively even when good things happen.  Wasn’t greatness possible?

I get angry when my expectations don’t control what the Universe does.  Am I alone in this?

But I find my way.

I sometimes prioritize my feelings over others’.  Is that good, bad, neither, or both?

I judge myself positively when good things happen. Maybe I had nothing to do with it?

I am happy when I have no expectations. But shouldn’t I expect that?

And I find my way.

I want what I don’t have.  Who decides when enough is truly enough?

I get what I want, and then I worry about losing it.  But doesn’t everything go away?

I sometimes don’t know what I want.  Maybe I don’t want anything but don’t know it?

And I still find my way.

I love helping people. It’s like helping myself twice.

I love my family.  I get meaning from them.

I love myself even when some parts of me don’t.

I find my way.

Image credit — Jan Mosimann

X: We need a strategic plan.

Me:  Why do you need one of those?

X: Everybody needs a strategic plan.

Me: Okay.  That didn’t work. Let me try it another way.  What makes a plan strategic?

X: You start with a strategy and you create a plan to make it happen over the next three years.

Me: So, you plan out the next three years?

X: Yes. Or four.

Me: Doesn’t the plan assume you know how the Universe will behave over the next three years?

X: We know our market, we know our customers, we know our technology, and we make a three-year plan.

Me: And what if something changes, like COVID, tariffs, or a new competitor brings to market something that obsoletes your best product?

X: You can’t plan for that.

Me: Exactly.

X: You’re talking in circles! What do you mean?

Me: If your three-year plan can’t plan for unplanned things, what kind of plan is that?

X: I told you.  It’s a strategic plan.

Me: Hmm.  Let me try that again.  What happens when something unexpected arises and your plan needs to change?

X: It’s a strategic plan.  Those don’t change.

Me: Arrg.  Do you mean the plan should change, but you don’t make the change? Or strategic plans never change?

X: Strategic plans don’t change because they’re strategic.  We put a lot of time into creating them.

Me: They don’t change because they take a lot of time and effort to create?

X: Well, yes.  We have long planning meetings, and our best people spend a lot of time creating it.

Me: Do you think the Universe cares how long it took you to create your plan?

X:  There you go again with the Universe thing.

Me: What I mean by that is there are many factors outside your control.  It’s a big world out there. And you can’t plan for everything.

X: What do you mean? We put everything in the strategic plan.

Me: That’s not the type of everything I’m talking about.  I’m talking about things outside your control that you cannot possibly know.

X: Are you saying we don’t know what we’re doing?

Me: No, I’m saying you know everything you’re going to do over the next three years.  And that’s the problem.

X: You are frustrating.  First you tell me it’s impossible to plan for everything, then you tell me we have a problem because we plan for everything.  What’s wrong with you?

Me: That’s the right question.  There’s a lot wrong with me. I have a good idea that turns out to be wrong, so I change my plan. I think I understand what’s going on, but I learn that I’m wrong, so I change my plan. I have a plan, but something unexpected happens and turns my plan from good to wrong, so I change it, even if the plan is strategic, whatever that means.

Image credit — Geoff Henson

With new product development projects, there is no partial credit.  If you’re less than 100% done, there are zero sales.  90% done, zero sales.  95% done, zero sales. We all understand the concept, but our behavior often contradicts our understanding.  You have too many projects, and our focus on efficiency is to blame.

Under the banner of efficiency, we run too many projects in parallel, and our limited resources become spread too thinly over too many projects.  Project timelines grow, launch dates are pushed out, and revenue generation is delayed.  And because there’s a shortfall in revenue, we start more projects to close the gap.  That’s funny.

In short, we’ve morphed Start, Stop, Continue into Start, Start, Start.

Here’s a process to help you stop starting and start finishing.

Open a spreadsheet and list all your projects for the year.  At the top of the column, list the projects you’ve completed.  Below the completed projects, list your active projects, and below them, list your future (not yet started) projects.  Highlight the completed projects and the active projects, and set the print area.  Then, select “print on both sides of the page.”  When you print the file, the future projects will be printed on the back of the page.  This will help you focus on the completed and active projects and block you from trying to start a project before finishing one.

Now, go back to the top of the spreadsheet and select the completed projects and change the font to “strike through.”  This will allow you to read the project names and remind yourself of the projects you completed.  You can use this list to justify a strong performance rating at your upcoming performance review.

Skip down to the active projects and categorize them as fully staffed or partially staffed.  Change the font color to red for the partially staffed projects and move them to the second page with the future projects.  Print out the spreadsheet.

The completed projects will be at the top of the page in strike-through font, and the short list of fully staffed projects is listed below them in normal font.  On the back of the page, the partially staffed projects are listed in red, and the future projects are listed below them. And now you’re ready to realize the power of the two-sided printout.

Step 1. Ignore the projects on the back of the page (under-staffed and yet to be started projects).  They’re still on the do-do list, but they’ll wait patiently on the back of the page until resources are freed up and allocated.

Step 2. Finish the fully staffed projects on the front page.

Step 3. When you finish a project, change the font to “strike-through” and create a list of the freed-up resources.

Step 4. Flip to the back of the page, allocate the freed-up resources to one of the projects, and move the fully staffed project to the front of the page.

Step 5. Proceed to Step 2.

This is a straightforward process, but it requires great discipline.

Here’s a mantra to repeat daily –  I will finish a project before I start the next one.

Image credit — iggyshoot

We all want to increase top-line revenue by selling more.  But we’ve been selling our existing products into the same old applications for a long time now, and we’ve reached a hard limit – when we add more effort, we get little in return.  Developing an entirely new product will take a long time, so we will try to sell our existing products into new applications.  We will have to change our product slightly to make it work in the new applications, but we can do that quickly.  We have a good plan.

We search the globe for these new applications and find a winner.  It’s a new application in which our product has a technological advantage over the existing products.  The new value is clear to the customer, and they want to get rid of their existing products and replace them with our flagship product. Our product requires minimal changes, which we’ve already implemented.  Our product is ready to sell!  Let’s go!  Let’s get after it.  Not so fast.

As it turns out, the customers don’t know how to use our product, they don’t know how to install it, and they don’t have a way to buy the consumables and maintenance parts.  Before we can sell, we must figure out a way to get the products installed, to train the operators, to find a way to sell the wear parts and consumables, and to service the product.  As it turns out, with this new application, there are a lot of missing elements to the go-to-market system.

When selling into new applications, it’s not all about the product.  It’s all about the partners. It’s about finding and developing partners familiar with the industry, the application, and the customers.  But it’s tricky.  You are unfamiliar with the application and don’t know how to find these partners.  Once you identify them, they are unfamiliar with your product, how it’s installed, how it’s operated, and how it’s serviced.

It takes time and effort to educate, train, and develop a new partner.  They may know the customer, but they don’t know the ins and outs of your product.  And they need to educate, train, and develop you.  You may know your product, but you don’t know the customers and the ins and outs of the application.

These new applications can create incremental revenue for you and your new partners, and that’s exciting.  But at the early stages of development, these new applications require more time and investment than we’re used to.  The profitability equation will take some time to realize its full potential.  And to realize that full potential, be sure to create a go-to-market model that is profitable for your partner.  An unprofitable partner can’t afford to be a good partner.  And you need good partners.

Image credit — TMAB2003

Building trust takes time.  Tearing it apart does not.

Seeing what is there is easy.  Seeing what is missing is not.

Concentrating is easy for some.  For others, daydreaming is not.

Bringing your whole self to work takes courage.  Pretending does not.

Hearing is easy.  Listening is not.

Trying is subjective.  Doing is not.

Telling the truth is appreciated.  Done unskillfully, it is not.

Singing is easy for some.  For others, not singing is not.

Going fast can be good.  Going too fast cannot.

Hearing what is said is easy.  Hearing what is withheld is not.

Finishing takes a long time.  Quitting should not.

Image credit — Mike Keeling

Before you can make improvements, you must identify improvement opportunities.

Before you can identify improvement opportunities, you must look for them.

Before you can look for improvement opportunities, you must believe improvement is possible.

Before believing improvement is possible, you must admit there’s a need for improvement.

Before you can admit the need for improvement, you must recognize the need for improvement.

Before you can recognize the need for improvement, you must feel dissatisfied with how things are.

Before you can feel dissatisfied with how things are, you must compare how things are for you relative to how things are for others (e.g., competitors, coworkers).

Before you can compare things for yourself relative to others, you must be aware of how things are for others and how they are for you.

Before you can be aware of how things are, you must be calm, curious, and mindful.

Before you can be calm, curious, and mindful, you must be well-rested and well-fed.  And you must feel safe.

What choices do you make to be well-rested? How do you feel about that?

What choices do you make to be well-fed? How do you feel about that?

What choices do you make to feel safe? How do you feel about that?

Image credit — Philip McErlean

Improvement is progress.  Improvement is always measured against a baseline, so the first thing to do is to establish the baseline, the thing you make today, the thing you want to improve.  Create an environment to test what you make today, create the test fixtures, define the inputs, create the measurement systems, and write a formal test protocol.  Now you have what it takes to quantify an improvement objectively.  Test the existing product to define the baseline.  No, you haven’t improved anything, but you’ve done the right first thing.

Improving the right thing to make progress.  If the problem invalidates the business model, stop what you’re doing and solve it right away because you don’t have a business if you don’t solve it. Any other activity isn’t progress, it’s dilution.  Say no to everything else and solve it.  This is how rapid progress is made.  If the customer won’t buy the product if the problem isn’t solved, solve it.  Don’t argue about priorities, don’t use shared resources, don’t try to be efficient.  Be effective.  Do one thing.  Solve it.  This type of discipline reduces time to market.  No surprises here.

Avoiding improvement of the wrong thing to make progress.  For lesser problems, declare them nuisances and permit yourself to solve them later.   Nuisances don’t have to be solved immediately (if at all) so you can double down on the most important problems (speed, speed, speed).  Demoting problems to nuisances is probably the most effective way to accelerate progress.  Deciding what you won’t do frees up resources and emotional bandwidth to make rapid progress on things that matter.

Work the critical path to make progress. Know what work is on the critical path and what is not.  For work on the critical path, add resources.  Pull resources from non-critical path work and add them to the critical path until adding more slows things down.

Eliminate waiting to make progress.  There can be no progress while you wait.  Wait for a tool, no progress.  Wait for a part from a supplier, no progress.  Wait for raw material, no progress.  Wait for a shared resource, no progress.  Buy the right tools and keep them at the workstations to make progress.  Pay the supplier for priority service levels to make progress.  Buy inventory of raw materials to make progress.  Ensure shared resources are wildly underutilized so they’re available to make progress whenever you need to.  Think fire stations, fire trucks, and firefighters.

Help the team make progress. As a leader, jump right in and help the team know what progress looks like.  Praise the crudeness of their prototypes to help them make them cruder (and faster) next time.  Give them permission to make assumptions and use their judgment because that’s where speed comes from.  And when you see “activity” call it by name so they can recognize it for themselves, and teach them how to turn their effort into progress.

Be relentless and respectful to make progress. Apply constant pressure, but make it sustainable and fun.

Image credit — Clint Mason

Happy – when you can bring your whole self to everything you do.

Lonely – when you’re with people all day but can’t be truthful with them.

Sad – when you see what could be but never will.

Angry – when someone is less than truthful.

Happy – when people you care about are treated well.

Lonely – when you’re misunderstood.

Sad – when you realize a person’s lack of truthfulness will make them lonely.

Angry – when you take things personally that aren’t personal.

Happy – when an old friend visits.

Lonely – when there’s no trust.

Sad – when you see someone break trust and you know that will bring them loneliness.

Angry – when you know someone should know better.

Happy – when someone asks you for help.

Lonely – when you know you can help but they don’t ask.

Sad – when someone is set up for failure and there’s no way to help them.

Angry – when that someone is a good friend.

Happy – when you have your health.

Happy – when you have fun with friends.

Happy – when you spend time outside.

Happy – when you walk your dogs.

Happy – when your kids and your partner love you.

Whether you’re happy, lonely, sad, or angry, this too shall pass.

Image credit – Tambako the Jaguar.

Here are the top four blog posts from 2024 with a little summary of each.

It’s not the work, it’s the people. By far the most popular post.  Here are some important words from the post: hard work, share, struggle, elbow-to-elbow, fear, crew, extra load, friend, through the wringer, smile, sad, care, easier.  And I finished with a challenge.

For the most important people, take a minute and write down your shared experiences and what they mean to you. What would it mean to them if you shared your thoughts and feelings? Why not take a minute and find out? Wouldn’t work be more energizing and fun? If you agree, why not do it? What’s in the way? What’s stopping you?

Why not push through the discomfort and take things to the next level?

Projects, Products, People, and Problems.  The post was written within the tight context of product development systems, but I think the tight one-liners have broader applicability.  Here are a few of may favorites.

• To get more projects done, do fewer of them.
• Stop starting and start finishing.
• People grow when you create the conditions for their growth.
• When in doubt, help people.
• Trust is all-powerful.
• Whatever business you’re in, you’re in the people business.

Pro Tips for New Product Development Projects.  This one was one was narrow and deep. Here are the main themes:

• Effectiveness is more important than efficiency, but we behave otherwise.
• Everyone has too many projects and that’s why they take so long.
• Resources – too highly utilized.
• Novelty – too much of a good thing isn’t wonderful.

I’m thankful!  I wrote this for the Thanksgiving holiday.  There were four themes: family, health, time, and telling people about your thankfulness.  Family – straightforward. Health – appreciating our remaining health because we recognize it flowing away.  This one is a little backward, but the Stoics know.  And so does Buddha. Time – appreciation of our time, especially when others pull on us.  Telling people about our thankfulness – this a great way to multiply the impact of our thankfulness.

Happy New Year and thanks for reading, Mike

Image credit — Anna Sofia Guerreirinho

Be bold – the alternative is boring.

Be the first to forgive – it’s like forgiving twice.

Be yourself – you’re the best at that.

Be afraid – and do it anyway.

Be effective – and to hell with efficiency.

Be happy – if that’s what’s inside.

Be authentic – it’s invigorating.

Be energetic – it’s contagious.

Be a listener – that’s where learning comes from.

Be on time – it says you care.

Be early if you can’t be on time – but just a little.

Be courageous – but sparingly.

Be kind – people remember.

Be truthful – that’s how trust is built.

Be a learner – by learning to listen.

Be sad – if that’s what’s inside.

Be a friend – it’s good for them and better for you.

Be nobody – it’s better for everybody, even you.

Image credit — Irene Steeves

People try to diminish when they’re threatened.

People are threatened when they think you’re more capable than they are.

When they think less of themselves, they see you as more capable.

There you have it.

When someone doesn’t do what they say and you bring it up to them, there are two general responses. If they forget, they tell you and apologize.  If they don’t have a good reason, they respond defensively.

When someone responds defensively, it means they know what they did.

They respond defensively when they know what they did and don’t like what it says about them.

Defensiveness is an admission of guilt.

Defensiveness is an acknowledgment that the ego was bruised.

Defensiveness is a declaration self-worth is insufficient.

People can either stand down or turn it up when defensiveness is called by name.

When people stand down, they demonstrate they have what it takes to own their behavior.

When they turn it up, they don’t.

When people turn their defensiveness into aggressiveness, they’re unwilling to own their behavior because doing so violates their self-image. And that’s why they’re willing to blame you for their behavior.

When you tell someone they didn’t do what they said and they acknowledge their behavior, praise them.  Tell them they displayed courage. Thank them.

When you call someone on their defensiveness and they own their behavior, compliment them for their truthfulness.  Tell them their truthfulness is a compliment to you. Tell them their truthfulness means you are important to them.

When you call someone on their defensiveness and they respond aggressively, stand tall. Recognize they are threatened and stand tall.  Recognize they don’t like what they did and they don’t have what it takes (in the moment) to own their behavior. And stand tall.  When they try to blame you, tell them you did nothing wrong. Tell them it’s not okay to try to blame you for their behavior. And stand tall.

It’s not your responsibility to teach them or help them change their behavior.  But it is your responsibility to stay in control, to be professional, and to protect yourself.

When you stand tall, it means you know what they’re doing.  When you stand tall, it means it’s not okay to behave that way.  When you stand tall, it means you are comfortable describing their behavior to those who can do something about it.  When you continue to stand tall, you make it clear there is nothing they can do to prevent you from standing tall.

In the future, they may behave defensively and aggressively with others, but they won’t behave that way with you.  And maybe that will help others stand tall.

Image credit — Johan Wieland