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 ?

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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)

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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:

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LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTER

 Glenn McGrath (Australian Cricket Legend) was once asked why he was such a great bowler. He said because my action was repeatable. If my action was repeatable, my delivery is repeatable and i have to be able to so the same thing day in and day out.

There was a time in Shane Warne's career when he could no longer bowl a googly because he had problems with his shoulders. He had flipper but that wasn't working too well. All he had was a leg break and he just bowled and bowled and bowled. He practiced hard when no one was watching.

It is often said that "Genius obscures hard work". The greatest in the world have a set of routines that they practise, that allows them to deliver peak performance. It is those little, simple things that one needs to perfect and rigorously keep doing even when nobody's watching.

In our keenness to do greater, difficult things, the idea that 'doing simple things matters' often takes a backseat.

In the quest to give importance to seemingly smaller (but actually important) skills, here's my sketch representation of things that require zero talent but are important in defining one's trajectory.

Do you agree with this list ? What else would you add ?

My Sketchnote:

My Top 5 Posts of 2020

 My top five posts of 2020 ranked based on no. of views. Just thought to reshare (along with the sketches) simply because meaningful messages ought to be repeated and reinforced.

While writing this year, I’ve tried to focus on topics that are relevant, interesting to share & practical enough to apply. Since we are in a constant content deluge these days, its often hard to remember,retain relevant concepts and apply them in the real life. The motivation to bridge this gap led me to sketching ideas that can be an easy reference for the future.
Thanks for constantly reading and sharing your feedback on posts & via DMs, have always appreciated it.

Wish you all a happy new year, be happy and have a great time.
As my expression of gratitude towards my network, i am offering to use my sketches for free (if you like & want) in your work, to share internally and as you wish. My only request is to retain the creator attribution while sharing.

All my sketches can be found here: https://lnkd.in/g4chfSU

#1. LEADERSHIP LESSONS https://bit.ly/3rFVwR6

#2. IS PRODUCT HARD? https://bit.ly/3805GEg

#3. API FOR BEGINNERS https://bit.ly/2KDd1RG

#4. THE TOP 10 DELIVERABLES OF A PM
https://bit.ly/3pxwvFZ

#5. PRINCIPLES OF PRODUCT WORK https://bit.ly/37Y0yk2

DOING THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS ALWAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

 

Back in 2005, Noah Kagan (employee #30 at Facebook) was concerned that FB wasn't making enough money & wanted to share his ideas with Mark Zuckerberg. Mark heard him but pushed back. On a whiteboard he wrote the word, “GROWTH.” He proclaimed he would not entertain ANY idea unless it helped Facebook grow by total number of “users.”
(https://bit.ly/3pr5PGK)

Mark's response helped Noah channelize his thinking around one metric that mattered the most- 'User growth'

It reinforces that focus is singular, a philosophy that is popularly endorsed by Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal). Thiel's 'One Thing' philosophy built a culture that led employees to think about not 3 or 4 but just '1 most important priority'.

It was based on the premise that if you allow yourself to have more than one focus, you’ve already blinked. You’ve determined that mediocrity is an acceptable outcome.(https://bit.ly/2JquDzw)

'One-thing' thinking becomes even more important in today's times when we are spoilt for choices, where we have become content consumption machines (blame social media or our habits) which gives us fair share of ideas but also comes at a cost of distraction.

What strategies do you use to focus on your highest priorities ?

My Sketchnote:

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HOW TO FIND A MENTOR

 One of the most endearing images for me in IPL 2020 was that of the veteran spinner Imran Tahir giving lesson on spin bowling to young Riyan Parag after CSK vs RR match (here- https://bit.ly/3pkvCQO). Riyan is probably half the age of Imran and both belong to opposite teams. This not only tells us about the magic that boundarylessness creates but also about the power of pure mentorship.

Another story that i am fascinated by is that of Julius Yego. Julius Yego is a Kenyan track and field athlete who competes in the Javelin throw. He won World Championships gold medal in 2015. He also won silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics. But Yego’s claim to uniqueness isn’t just that. He is also nick-named as “Mr. YouTube” because he learned how to throw by watching YouTube videos. He reached the highest level by being insanely driven and learning on his own but at the later stages in his evolution he took to formal mentor and coaches.

Even if you are a rookie in your field or a successful pro, having the right mentor at right time adds immense value. The moot question becomes "How to find a mentor". I quite liked simple ideas shared in this tweet on finding a mentor https://bit.ly/2WB6LMB which i loved to sketch.

How have you leveraged mentorship in your career ?

My Sketchnote:

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