Refreshing my talking points with respect to work. 

A short list of recommendations that I preach and follow.

Operator working in the midst of complex domains. Founder of a small startup in the past. Designer by trade. A greater fool meandering as F.A.N 

On design: 

Start with a service blueprint. Conduct  user research and collate evidence. Design for few, not for everyone.

Every design has a level of friction. How you bridge the gap for the user is what you get paid for. 

Addendum: Design keeping in mind that you will scrap everything if it doesn’t work.

On management: 

Out-train your team to be prolific. Doing something on your own may add speed but momentum comes when everyone contributes in the team. 

Addendum: If people fear you they will never respect you. Trust by default. Don’t say they are your family.

On thinking and ideating: 

Think before you talk. Better, write instead of talking. It makes you focus on the idea instead of the person who is delivering it. 

Addendum: Deliberate conversations over serendipitous often end up with better outcomes. Being rigorous in thinking can cover for shoddy execution as well.

On making decisions: 

Be more data driven. Define Inputs over measuring lagging outputs. Dashboards are unintuitive, design maps to share context of the canvas. 

Addendum: In business, supply, demand and capital are the 3 functioning levers. Everything else is cashflow management.

On product management: 

Focus on the outcomes and prioritise the inputs accordingly. Think long term but work in short stints. 

Addendum: Shaping down the scope instead of increase the time of sprint to ship products. Getting it done in time than getting it all done is better.

On personal brand:  

It is form of sharing and talking about the work you did and how you did. Defining your own narrative helps rather than being defined by the next person interviewing you. 

Addendum: Work is not everything in the end. Be serious but not obsessive about it. Take many breaks!!

On marketing: 

We all know that marketing is the cheapest form of distribution.

So, marketing is about the problem, not the solution you are selling. 

Addendum: Demand Driven sales starts with good marketing. Pulling customer to your solution while pushing the problem is the sweet spot.

On hiring: 

Hire people for their contributions not their subservience to you. 

Addendum: Hire more women/diverse people. Don’t hire people that sound like you. The sparks won’t last beyond the interview.