Many projects are never finished. There are countless broken and not-quite-fixed cars in garages. There are crafts projects, massive redevelopments and everything in between. They sit unfinished because of bad planning, lack of resources, and most of all, a lack of resolve and skill in overcoming challenges that might have been surmountable.
Often, projects get done, but over budget and with missed deadlines. They hit roadblocks (some foreseeable) due to the difficulty of coordination, supply chains and the status quo, and they get done, eventually. This is the roadwork near my house–it’s been two years of construction, and without a doubt they’ll get there, but it’s slow and expensive going. Normal work, normally done, with plenty of delays and a bit of drama.
The sweet spot is a project that is run by someone who has earned the skills to anticipate and deal with all the challenges that come up along the way. This isn’t a project where the deadline was met because of hope or good luck, but because effort and planning were put to good use. We see examples of well-run projects all around us. They show up when they’re supposed to because we organized to make that happen.
The last kind of project is one that broke all the records and happened despite the obstacles. Unfortunately, these red zone projects create a lot of scar tissue and negative side effects. You might be able to do them once or twice, but you can’t rely on them.
A fundamental building block of civilization is the understanding that contracts matter.
Regardless of where someone is on the current political spectrum (from Alinksy to Mises), things can be understood to work better if the boss, the vendor, the client and the freelancer all consistently do what they said they would do. Regardless of who has more power or clout, especially then.
Hustlers and con artists can try to cloud the discussion by bringing in irrelevant and emotional arguments, but we can come back to a simple understanding: If two independent entities, without coercion, agree to legally transfer effort or assets without harming others, that agreement should be honored.
It’s a moral obligation, but it turns out that it’s also the most effective way to have things work in the long haul. Centuries ago (everywhere) and in some places (still), people and organizations with power can simply decide not to honor a contract or agreement.
Stealing time, labor or other irretrievable assets is stealing. And theft isn’t a sustainable way to grow a society.
If you’ve borrowed money or sold shares, you’ll need to build something that’s worth more than your labor. Here are some key pillars where value lives:
Customer traction Permission Distribution The network effect Smallest viable audience
Customer traction is the big one. Every day, are there more people who would miss you if you were gone? More customers who don’t want to switch to save a few dollars? More organizations that are building their future around what you do?
Permission is the privilege of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to the people who want to get them. It’s not a legal construct, it’s an emotional one. Who wants to hear from you?
Distribution is a practical way to measure brand. How much shelf space do you have? Mental shelf space and physical as well.
The network effect is built into your product or service. Does it work better if I tell my friends and use it with them? Is this actually happening or are you simply hoping for it?
And the smallest viable audience is the building block of all of this. Have you figured out precisely who it’s for? And do they agree?
A startup exists to find and build assets like these.
Particularly when it comes to the future. And perhaps about the past.
More often than not, we find ourselves in situations where we don’t know. Where we can’t know.
That’s a given.
The open question is how often we claim that stance. If it feels uncomfortable or awkward to acknowledge that we don’t know, we’re pretty certain to lose trust, waste confidence and find ourselves in a jam now and then.
Not knowing is going to happen. Acknowledging it is a sign of confidence and awareness.
Finding leaders who have this skill is worth the effort.
Perhaps you only acknowledge and focus on problems where you know and are comfortable with the appropriate response. Denying the existence of the other ones is easier than dealing with them.
Or it might be that you only choose to see the problems that are actually situations, that can’t be solved, and that amplify our sense of hopelessness.
It could be that you prefer the quick, urgent and easy problems, because solving them is thrilling.
Or it may be the long-term, difficult and distant problems that show up on your radar, because after all, how could you be responsible?
Problems don’t really care whether we acknowledge them or not. They still exist. What matters is how we choose to direct our energy, because our tomorrow is the direct result of the way we spend our resources today.
We don’t simply blurt out the first thing that pops into our head in a meeting, or insult someone upon meeting them. We’re able to give people the benefit of the doubt (which requires doubt before we can offer the benefit) and to plan for the long haul.
And yet we do this essential work without thinking about it or working to get better at it.
When we’re engaging with someone, both sides benefit. And a key part of our contribution to the interaction is a willingness to conceal emotions that would undermine the efforts of our partner in this work.
There’s a lot to be said for honesty and directness. But concealment can be a generous tool if it helps everyone get to where they need to go.
If you get a 99% quality haircut or a 99% close-to-perfect meal, it’s better than good.
On the other hand, if the scrub nurse only does a 99% job of disinfecting the tools in the operating room, you’re still going to die of an infection.
Some projects respond very well to ordinary effort and 99% perfect. In fact, the last 1% isn’t worth the time, the effort or the focus.
Others fail if they’re not fully and completely to spec.
Knowing the difference between the two saves everyone a lot of stress and avoids needless cost and avoidable disasters. We come out ahead when we put our energy into the projects that reward our effort and choose to meet spec with the others.
In two weeks, I’ll be hosting a live webinar about my new book, answering questions and connecting people to get serious in discussing the new way of work. The details are here. I hope you can make it.
It’s possible that I’ve now written more bestselling business titles than any other author. Part of that is simply longevity and showing up, but most of it is your doing. The loyal readers of this blog (more than twenty years and still going) are the foundation of my career as an author, and I never forget it.
The realities of the supply chain mean that my publisher needs to make difficult decisions about paper, printing and logistics long before the book ships. Organizing and talking with readers now helps make sure there are enough books in June… and hosting a conversation, QA and celebration always seems like a good idea. Pre-order a book, come hang out online.
Here’s a breakthrough that’s about to happen somewhere: A GPT that reads every email that anyone in your organization has ever sent and makes it easy to ask it questions about what the entire organization knows.
A person could probably not find the time, bandwidth or privacy constraints to do this.
But this accessible but unembarrassed database tool could quickly become a huge asset for any organization that installed it–even a soloist. Tell me who I know or what I know about XYZ…
Or consider the power of a network. If my colleagues opt in, I can simply ask the AI, “tell me who in my network is the person who knows someone at this organization, or is really interested in that topic.”
Of course, there are huge privacy implications. But your work email has never been private anyway.
February 28, 2023
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