Stardate S03E36
Mood: š. Much like passing the solstice, thereās only more sun from here on out.
š¹ What am I grateful for this week?
Feels like Iāve been all over since my last weeknotes ā back and forth to London, and back again. But Iām glad I made it in time for the holiday sendoff at Finchās. Mulled wine bants at the Old Thameside Inn. Winding down with people handovers (we do love a bit of ājust in time deliveryā around here š), and getting one last blog out on Friday sharing our communityās dojo* mission:
Itās not quite set in yet, given that most colleagues are also winding down for the end of the year. But things will be different come January.
šµ What do I wish could have gone differently?
All in all, there isnāt much I would change from the past week. The loose ends I had once worried about are no longer dangling. Perhaps I could have turned my attention to the road ahead sooner, but Iāve had many extracurriculars on my mind: Lyon, Letters, and a lot of shuttling in 23kg increments.
If anything, itās that recurring theme of needing to be gracious with myself and recognize the limits of my energy and attention. Especially as the holidays draw upon us.**
š” What do I need to remember?
I like to think of myself as flexible, and able to change my mind easily when presented with new evidence. (Donāt we all?)
But what happens when I receive evidence about my inability to change my mind? Itās a funny thing to do to yourself through journaling like this, but I can see over the progression of the last few weeks that Iām not as amenable to (destabilizing) change as Iād like to think. Fundamental attribution error, hello once again.
And it makes sense ā stability, safety, independence, agency. All interrelated and healthy qualities to seek out. So comes our natural reaction to a potential change of the status quo: putting those qualities at risk is a bad idea. Especially when a change isnāt self-initiated.
How then to deal with the surprise? It should be possible to see any change as a gift/opportunity (or at minimum, accept it and be at peace) if we cherry pick our evidence. Is it a ābadā thing if done for your own āgoodā I wonder? Iād rather make a sport of it, as a way to train my mental flexibility.
Meet unwelcome surprises with a bit of playful energy. You might find a way of changing your mind.
š What did I discover?
Whatās an easy way to discover your expertise? Think about the advice you already give others. Those are the seeds youāve already put out there.
Courtesy Caine, this post does a great job at separating the entrepreneur skillset from the product manager one. Complementary, but different paths, and itās important for the aspiring not to confuse them with one another (same goes for CEO!).
When marketing is doing its job, sales should be easy. Or when positioning is right, the pressure comes off of closing. Itās not about volume, itās about fit ā the Bobs break down the why.
š AOB
Heading into these final days of 2022, the wisdom of Lisaās colleague rings in the back of my head: ānot my circus, not my monkeys!ā
So was it a good year for the ringleader? Am going to call this the last regular weeknote of the season and bring it home with a ā99ā recap in the next post.
*As far as experiments go, this was an outcome I couldnāt have predicted when we first trialed the format. Many of our experiments run on the order of days or weeks; itās really satisfying to see one conclude its arc successfully after nearly a year of iteration and improvement.
**I think being kind to myself means allowing myself a holiday indulgence as well! The gamer in me has lain dormant and Iāve missed many of the great hits of the last few years. Iām keen to dip my toe in the pool again.
