So why not just do it even if it is subpar?
Most people are too focused on themselves to notice you.
Do it for yourself and for those who are actively looking for it.
Be so good they can’t ignore you - Steve Martin
But before that, remember no one cares about your first attempts. Your work is to keep showing up until they do.
Taylor Swift’s lyrics often feature cars and bars. Fans probably spotted the pattern early but the rest of us found it after she became mega-successful and toured the world.
There is something special with patterns that emerge and things that feel and sound good. Think about classic I, IV, and V chords that make up a lot of songs. The feelings is that you recognize it and feel comforted about it, and combined together with a familiar rhythm in the song, you feel complete.
When you create something that feels out of your comfort zone, you don’t follow patterns you are used to. You go with your own tune with your own beat. And this is a power when it comes to being the new kid on the block.
You don’t need to follow the ways of big successful organizations. They’ve found one way and often stick with it. Patterns and behaviours that become chains that make change much harder.
New companies bring a fresh view. A clear vision that isn’t watered down by inner politics and competing priorities within big companies.
They can pivot quickly. Try new things. Change their vision voice and tone in an instant.
That’s the superpower of new businesses.
Our grandparents probably couldn’t have imagined someone making a living as:
AI might remove a lot of jobs, but we will most possibly invent new ones, just like we always have.
Influence is a recipe: Mix steady voice control with relaxed body language. Add engaging stories and genuine listening.
Your result: shaping thoughts, emotions, actions and beliefs.
One somewhat paradoxical signal is that imposter syndrome signals growth.
It’s not exclusive to juniors. Even longtime leaders show this. Second-guess themselves and feel like fakes.
Without a clear mental model of how a system works and what to ask, AI tools become more obstacle than help.
It’s like trying to have a conversation when you’re not sure what language the other person speaks.
At the start of “Roxanne”, Sting accidentally sat on a piano creating an odd chord followed by laughter. Instead of removing it The Police kept it in the final recording. It became one of those perfect imperfect moments.
Embracing the flaws is the best way to hide the flaws. Because then the flaws become the signature. - Venus Theory
This reminds me of my first Fallout 4 playthrough. I tried to make my character equally good at everything. Just like when I became an engineering manager and saw that skill matrix spider web. I automatically assumed I needed to max out every area.
But here’s the thing: being average at everything isn’t as valuable as being exceptional at specific things. Some of our “flaws” are just areas we’ve chosen not to prioritize. And that’s okay.
Like that piano chord in Roxanne sometimes our mistakes and imperfections become our signature. Our strength isn’t in being flawless. It’s in owning the mistakes and the imperfections.
At Spotify I worked a bit on the Alexa speakers and had meetings with Amazon. This is where I first learned about the “silent meetings” structure that Amazon had. They usually began with someone having written a document on the topic, different viewpoints, and a possible way forward. The first 10-15 minutes of the meeting went into reading this document. And once everyone was literally on the same page, the meetings started. The discussions were engaging, and everyone was focusing on solving the same problems.
There are key parallels between Amazon’s silent meetings and the flipped classroom model: both rely on everyone starting with the same information before discussion begins. When done right teachers become coaches guiding students through shared material rather than lecturers delivering new content.
When I’ve experienced a working flipped classroom, it has been all about the “silent reading” part. The students all started from the same baseline when it came to the information. They worked together in small groups summarizing it, then shared with a bigger group about what they learned.
This is often when I’ve seen the flipped classroom break. Instead of having the same baseline, each group has had a different set of topics and areas they should summarize and teach to the rest of the group. Effectively they’ve switched from an experienced teacher to an amateur teacher, and they’ve only learned the topics they themselves have discussed. The method works best when it builds on shared understanding rather than dividing the learning experience.
Sometimes I get the question about build vs buy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a developer by heart and I’d always pick build.
But as a manager or leader I most often pick buy.
The equation rarely adds up when you build something that’s not part of your core business. Unless your core business is faced with a tight budget.
And by equation I mean time. Hours spent building, making it better, bug-fixing, upgrading, new feature, planning, sorting, prioritizing it, knowledge sharing.
Think of customer feedback as two distinct signals. One is complaint-driven insights about why people leave. The other is a silent signal that explains why people stay and remain loyal.
When looking at complaints and help requests you’ll only capture the minority of vocal customers. But your satisfied users might have the key insights to what makes your product worthwhile. Your loyal users often value something completely different from what complaining customers expect.
Value alignment over problem resolution.
You might have a bug in the product but you might also have the wrong customer.