Etiqueta: work

MVP

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Minimum Viable Product can be defined as ”that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort”.

How many times we seek for perfection? How long did it take the last time you delivered something 100% “well-made”?

Sometimes it’s better to deliver a minimum viable product, even more in the uncertain environment we are immersed in. Invest the right amount of energy in creating it, learn from the received feedback and apply it to deliver an enhanced version.

Long run, small steps, saving energy.

Concentration & performance

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Some of us have spent the last months working from home. Suddenly, there was a change of scenario, far from the office, colleagues, coffee breaks and interruptions that led us to increase our performance. Quiet times at home allowed us to concentrate much more on what we were doing. But after a while, performance, or at least the same level of concentration could not be kept at the same level.

Some of the experiences shared by those who have been working from home are to have seen reduced their ability to remember what they read on a document, worse notes taken, less focus capacity, the solitude of mind overload (no colleague with whom to have a coffee with to just distract our minds), …

Concentration and making the best of our time comes easily when we are able to establish different spheres in our lives. When everything has to be in the same place, there is no where else to go or no options when it comes to communication, it is pretty difficult to focus, to isolate ourselves from the outside noise.

A change of setting is always a good thing, it forces and, at the same time, allows us to give again our best.

Normality?

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You have imagined infinite times what you are gonna do once (for those who are confined or with limited movements) you can go outside, once everything is “back to normal”. Traveling?

In the end what we are willing to have, to do, are those things we always gave for granted. Family, friends, conversations, hugs, kisses. Social life in the end, around a beer, even with 2 meters between us.

What we have figure out is that we can live without is traffic jams, technology over everything, queuing at lunch time, leaving the office at night, never ending meetings… Remembered that tiny/day-to-day that just were always there are the ones that matter.

We have learned that the normality we want back so badly is social life, with those close to us, with who we love spending time with but with who we always think: if it is not today it can be any other day. We have plenty of time.

This is an opportunity. Once again, we have been given a second chance. Do not waste it, keep it. First goes first, do not let being late for a meeting get ahead of anything.

Promised, my posts are going back to normal.

Discipline: sometimes we need a break

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When I started this blog I promised myself I would write one post per week. And I have kept this promise for longer than a year, only stopping during holidays time. It’s part of my discipline, as many others (running every weekend, doing the tasks I dislike the first in the morning…)

But, there are times when you need to halt! skip what you expect from yourself to fulfill.  That happened last week, I just didn’t feel in the mood, wanted to enjoy the party, breathe some fresh air and enjoy my town, «waste my time».

I deserved it, I have earned every single minute of that non working time.

So, don’t be so harsh on yourself. There are times you just want and need to not do what is expected, not say what is polite, …

And then, do more, do better, progressively, until you reach your cruising speed. It is part of the process of being healthy (body, mind and soul).

Giver or taker, which one are you?

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In the previous post Explanations, motives and timing. Actions talk about us, we took a look at the «Why, When and How»  that defines our truly personality. In today’s post I would like to elaborate a bit more on the Why, on its impact on us and what surrounds us (colleagues, organizations, society). As an essential ingredient of that «The Why» we see two different kinds of people:

Takers: Who are self-servers in there interactions: What can you do for me?

Givers: Most of their actions are based on a What can I do for you?

So, givers, they take the worst part in the P2P business of interaction between givers and takers. They put a lot of effort. They spend a lot of time trying to improve the team at a high cost for them. Bad for them, good for their organization. They are the key stone for team building, for collaboration and great motivators. But, be careful and remember that they need to be handled with care mainly when they are surrounded by Takers, because we can lose them. They can get frustrated.

We dedicate a lot of time and energy to our organization, there is a lot of us on their success or failure, on the speed of change, … And because we never leave a 100% our personal life out of the workplace neither who we are (behavior=our moral compass + our mood + background + a response to others actions + many other things) we can not afford loosing givers on the way.

Adam talks about 3 possible ways that will create a «net» of successful givers:

  1. Protect them from burnout
  2. Encourage help-seeking
  3. Keep the wrong people off the bus

I highly recommend you watching this TED Talk by Adam Grant, enjoy it.