BEER MODE vs COFFEE MODE OF WORKING

In the year 1973, Zev Siegel, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker decided to get into the coffee business. They opened their first shop known as Starbucks- a coffee bean shop. For the first decade, they opened in more locations and then hired a gentleman named Howard Schultz to lead marketing and sales. He goes to Milan, and in a conference ,he comes across an espresso bar where people are drinking espressos, café lattes. He spends some time in that environment, and had an epiphany that Starbucks got it all wrong–it’s not about the beans themselves, it’s about this experience of drinking coffee.

Many of the world’s greatest breakthroughs are down to serendipity — finding success unexpectedly. And how do you increase your odds of reaching this serendipitous zone often ?

David Perell (https://bit.ly/2Ksad9F) reasons that Creatives have two ways of working: Beer mode and Coffee mode.

Beer mode is a state of unfocused play where you discover new ideas.
In contrast, Coffee mode is a state of focus where you work towards a specific outcome.

In Beer mode, you find inspiration. And in Coffee mode, you harvest that inspiration.

Does this resonate with you ? Or you extract your best being more in one of the modes ?

My LinkedIn Post:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6757316088352124929/

LUCK MATTERS MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK

 One of the standout stories of the ongoing India's tour of Australia is that of Indian fast bowler T. Natarajan. He had an excellent IPL season where he became known for the niche skill of bowling yorkers. As a result, he was selected for the tour as a net bowler, whose primarily role would be to help batsmen practice.

First stroke of luck- one of the rookie bowlers got injured & as a result Natarajan got included in T20s & played all the matches.
Next up,when one of the ODI bowlers complained of back spasms, Natarajan again got a look in for ODIs as a back-up bowler and made his debut.
And more recently in the ongoing 4th test match when most of the team got injured, Natarajan was selected to represent India in tests.

From being a net bowler to playing all formats for India within 44 days is nothing short of a fairy tale and something i wish many cricketers and professionals experience in their lives.

Though it can be thought of as the case of being at the right place at the right time, one must not also forget all the accolades and resultant luck only followed once he demonstrated exceptional skills & delivered results.

Can you really influence your luck?

Check a few tips in the sketchnote below (source: https://bit.ly/37q2P57)

My LinkedIn Post:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6756019929847341057/

MEASURE WHAT MATTERS

Bill Gates once said " I have been struck by how important measurement is to improving the human condition. You can achieve incredible progress if you set a clear goal and find a measure that will drive progress toward that goal...This may seem basic, but it is amazing how often it is not done and how hard it is to get right." (https://on.wsj.com/35Bmn7K)

His assertion came about learning from the evolution of steam engines. Harnessing steam power required many innovations and among the most important were a new way to measure the energy output of engines and a micrometer.

As William Rosen writes- 'Without feedback from precise measurement, invention is “doomed to be rare and erratic.” With it, invention becomes “commonplace.”

The moot point is that mastering the art and science of precise measurement is paramount in achieving the desired progress.

So what measures matter the most in product life cycle.
I quite loved the way Shreyas Doshi put together a response to this. Read summary below (+ the #sketchnote) and more in his tweet https://bit.ly/3spm2yr

Product metrics categories:
1. Health metrics
2. Usage metrics
3. Adoption metrics
4. Satisfaction metrics
5. Ecosystem metrics
6. Outcome metrics

What other product metrics you track and learn from?

Sketchnote Summary:

My LinkedIn Post:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6755303901437685760/