Thinking
How I think about building.
One rule I try to live by, three questions every idea has to answer, and a few principles I keep returning to.
The rule: practical before impressive
Practical before impressive.
A decision should make sense in the place where it has to work. I want to understand the people, resources and constraints involved before I treat an idea as ready to scale.
It is why my first venture solved a problem I could see in my own city, and why most of what Dayjoy sells is made in-house.
How I decide
Three questions for every idea.
- 01
Is it practical?
Does it make sense in the place where it has to work, with the people and resources actually there?
- 02
Can it scale?
Will it still hold together when more people, more places and more volume depend on it?
- 03
Does it build capability?
Does it help us keep responsibility over the long term, instead of creating a new dependence?
Principles
What I keep returning to.
- i.
Systems that support consistent work
A business needs more than enthusiasm. Clear responsibilities, understandable processes and useful information help people do good work repeatedly.
- ii.
Capability over dependence
Understanding manufacturing, improving internal systems, bringing connected parts of an operation closer together.
- iii.
Bad news needs an invitation
Being approachable does not mean people feel able to disagree with you. I want difficult information to arrive early enough for us to understand it and act.
- iv.
Technology with a practical purpose
Technology interests me when it reduces friction, improves decisions or helps people work better. Its value depends on what it changes in practice.
“My responsibility is to help an organisation become capable of finding answers, including when I am not in the room.”
A book in progress
7 Wrong Habits of Leadership, mistakes included.
I am working on a book about leadership, including the habits and decisions that make the work harder than it needs to be. I want it to include real mistakes and the lessons that followed, rather than a version of the story that only keeps the successes.
Looking forward
The industries may change, but the questions stay useful: what is worth building, what do we still need to learn, and how can the people involved share in the opportunity to develop?