Speed gives you an edge.
Not in the sense of cutting corners, rushing through things, hustling or muscling through. But in the sense of getting things through the finish line, often and consistently. Understanding when something is good, pressing the button, and moving to the next item.
Speed eats quality for breakfast.
Your urgency is not your customer’s urgency.
You might have a plan, investors that demand that you grow, the idea that 30% year-over-year is the only measure of success, a team that is competitive and wants nothing more than their bonus at the end of the quarter.
But that is you. And honestly, nobody cares.
Think about your customer’s plan instead, what their investors want from them, how they define success, what their team wants to achieve in the next 90 days.
And if your first thought is “it depends”, you might be right. Most likely, though, you are just trying to sell to anybody who comes within a stone’s throw.
Focus. And learn.
We know we should add the salary ranges to our job ads, but we are reviewing the salary level for internal employees and we do not want to send the wrong message. As soon as we are done with that …
I know I should take on new challenges and find something new, but I have this very important project to take care of. As soon as I am done with that …
I know I should spend more quality time with my family, but I am having a very busy period at work. As soon as that is over …
We know we should get to posting more often on our blog, but we have no good writer in our team. As soon as we can hire one …
The fact is, there’s never a perfect time to do the things we are supposed to do.
There’s a good enough time though.
It is now.
The best way to be in charge of something is to embrace the mess.
Of course, you should be committed and you should deeply care. You should bring your A-game and make sure that everybody involved can bring their own too. You should plan and execute and iterate and educate and plan some more.
And then, when chaos strikes, as it certainly will, you should be ready to throw everything in the air and play with the mess of the new setting.
It might not only be the best way, but also the only one.
Other people’s success is nothing more than what it says it is: the success of someone who is not you.
It’s not your success, neither it is your failure. It’s not a missed opportunity and it is not less opportunities. It’s not your merit, it’s not your fault, it’s not your reward, it’s not your punishment.
It’s nothing personal.
Cherish other people’s success as vividly as you cherish your own.
The two go hand in hand.
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