Design the machine, not the work

The design of the machine is just half the work.

A small ship

I’m running a small ship. It’s not really tight as it is. That has to do with an issue, which I just now truly came to recognise.

I am not great at distinguishing between me as the designer of my machine, and me as the worker in my machine…

I should be doing it myself

I often think I will perform well at any task, and that I should be doing most of the tasks by myself.

The excuse is something like: the current stage of the project requires you to define it, therefore you must do it.

Definition is design

But definition has everything to do with design, and with creating the principles that allow workers to adhere to the design.

The other half

The design of the machine is just half the work. The other half is putting the right people in the right position, and allowing them to execute the work.

I wait too long

It’s easy for me to hand off tasks to people with a skillset I don’t possess. Where I think I could do it myself, like marketing and branding, I wait too long before handing it off.

Direct, connect the dots

Design is important, but directing the pursuit of the goals is even more so.

My role is to direct, connect the dots and safeguard output quality. My limited amount of attention time should not be a blocker.

Principles, not tasks

• If it sounds or feels too generic, we’re not being creative enough.
• For creative work, the first try is never the best.
• The simple and easy way is rarely the right way.
• Never start anything without scoring it.

Small ships need to be tight

If you lose one member, you lose an entire unit. It will be hard to replace this unit.

I must focus on being a better designer.