People look for what to expect before they try something new. They want us to signal a level of excitement, clues to what is good, something they can believe in. When was the last time you met a car salesman as exciting as a car commercial? “But I was taught to listen to the customer…”Read… Read more »
Dark. Parking lot. I’m with a really smart research scientist, and we’ve been talking long enough we’re getting into new areas. “Have you ever finished a prototype on time?” He laughs, “If it’s controlled by time it’s a project, not a prototype.” Aha! Many watchers try to judge the value of prototype work as ifRead… Read more »
I no longer think different ways of working are inherently better or worse. I find the most productive workers in any task group have found an optimal process. Often that structure can be improved by adding processes from outside the environment. That’s harder than it looks, as Nothing is impossible for the person who doesn’tRead… Read more »
I’m fascinated by people who can tell when others aren’t doing their part. Defining fault is to them a higher value alternative to contributing. I go into a project figuring I’ll do it all, if it comes down to that. Now that’s a key decision criteria! Get more than half of the project team feelingRead… Read more »
Users work differently from makers, for good reason. If you make a mistake buying a book on Amazon, you can usually go back an action, or a screen, call it a redo. Makes sense to just keep hammering keys until you get what you want. Makers often don’t have redo, so there’s an emphasis onRead… Read more »
I use the idea of model a lot. 32 search mentions on Sales Lab Posts and a like number on Through The Browser, plus they are all over my presentations and projects. I use models because they are a fast, efficient way to stay current on many subjects, to dynamically address changing situations. A modelRead… Read more »
I was trying to get through M Street at New Hampshire and a bicyclist ran through a red light, running over several pedestrians. He was a young yup going home from his policy job, and he started yelling at the pedestrians, the drivers, the air. He was also stopping two roads with nothing but aRead… Read more »
The term for someone fascinated with rules, not changing outcomes, obsessing over imagined possible violations. A spectator at life. Their work product is a shifting, unprioritized list of what could go wrong, real and imagined. It’s a task that doesn’t ever need to end, a full time occupation without effort. I was playing in aRead… Read more »
A baby girl, just taking her first steps, fell backwards, hitting her head on the sidewalk. She looked up at me trying to figure out what had just happened. I looked back at her and started a big laugh. She thought for a few seconds and started laughing with me. Crisis averted. Her mother startedRead… Read more »
I walk into an airport, feed a credit card into the kiosk, which spits out a boarding pass. At the same time, my seat is blocked, my meal, beer, and pillow are released, TSA knows I am coming, the gate knows I am coming, the flight crew knows I am coming, the incoming gate atRead… Read more »