Month: June 2022

Remember when I talked about knowing your league? Well I lied when I started the list with an A-league.

In every endeavour this is also an superior A* league. It only exists for a tiny minority of superstars.

If this is your league:

1. Learn to correctly identify other A* players.
2. You will suffer in any of the other leagues.
3. A* is international – never national.
4. Stay in your lane.

[This article is part of the Innovation Snippets series]

An ideology or principles driven approach tends to lead to a failure to identify a market need.

A populist, ear to the ground, approach will find a better market, but may (i) fail to build a product, (ii) not deliver on real-world objectives.

There is always a tension. Know where you are on the spectrum and where your potential blindspots may lie.

[This article is part of the Innovation Snippets series]

My thoughts on hiring have evolved a lot.

I used to hire from the perspective of effectively mentoring the candidates into the role. This does not scale. And any payoff comes far too late.

What I have learned the hard way:

1. Any compromises on hiring will come back to bite you.
2. Hire for fit. To task and to team.
3. Hire for ability to deliver on day 1.
4. Hire for a growth mindset and ownership.

[This article is part of the Innovation Snippets series]

Be normal. You cannot risk being an outlier in all aspects of your business.

Your responsibility is to minimise the overall risk without killing the potential upside.

[This article is part of the Innovation Snippets series]