Shipulski On Design

Archive for April, 2023

You can’t see if you don’t look.

You can’t look if you’re distracted.

You can’t be distracted if you’re living in the present moment.

You can’t live in the present moment if you’re sad about the past or afraid of the future.

You can’t be sad about the past unless you want it to be different.

You can’t be afraid of the future unless you want to control it.

You can’t want the past to be different if you accept things as they are.

You can’t want to control the future if you accept you have no control over it.

Yet, we want the past to be different and we want to control the future.

When you find yourself wanting the past to be different or wanting to control the future, focus on your breath for a minute or two.  That will bring you back to the present moment.

And if that doesn’t work, go outside and walk in nature for fifteen minutes then quiet yourself and focus on your breath for a minute or two.  That should bring you back to the present moment.

Everything gets better when you’re sitting in the present moment.

The projects you choose define the problems you solve.

The problems you choose to solve define the novel value delivered to the customer.

The people you choose to run the projects set the character of the projects.

The choice of the projects’ character defines how the people feel about working on the projects.

How people choose to feel about working on the projects influences the character of the projects.

The people on the projects choose how the problems are solved.

How people choose to solve problems defines how well the problems are solved.

The choice around how well problems are solved sets the level of goodness delivered to the customer.

The level of goodness you choose to deliver to the customer governs the incremental revenue you create.

It doesn’t seem right that the amount of incremental revenue is a choice.

But, when you choose the right projects and the right people to run them and you choose the right problems and the right people to solve them, incremental revenue becomes your choice.

image credit — officallychaz

You can solve problems that reduce the material costs of your products.

You can solve problems that reduce the number of people that work at your company.

You can solve problems that save your company money.

You can solve problems that help your customers make progress.

You can solve problems that make it easier for your customers to buy from you.

You can solve too many small problems and too few big problems.

You can solve problems that ripple profits through your whole organization.

You can solve local problems.

You can solve problems that obsolete your best products.

You can solve problems that extend and defend your existing products.

You can solve problems that spawn new businesses.

You can solve the wrong problems.

You can solve problems before their time or after it is too late.

You can solve problems that change your company or block it from change.

You are defined by the problems you solve.  So, which type of problems do you solve and how do you feel about that?

Image credit – Maureen Barlin

If you can’t imagine it, it’s impossible.

But if you can imagine it, at worst it can only be almost impossible.

Who controls your imagination?

What you think about something affects you like it’s true, even when it isn’t.

And what you think is true often isn’t.

Are you responsible for what you think?

If you have two things to do, that’s doable.  So, do them.

And if you have twenty things to do, chose two and do them.

What if getting ten things done in a week is enough?

If the work is good, it’s likely you’re doing it with people you enjoy.

And if you work with people you enjoy, the work gets better.

Which comes first, the good work or the people you enjoy?

If you tell someone what to do and how to do it, they can do it.

But if you’re not there to tell them, they cannot.

Will you always be there?

If you show you care, people know you care.

And if you tell people you care, they’re not sure.

Why not show them so they can be sure?

If you tell the truth, people can work with you even if they don’t share your truth.

But if you sometimes tell the truth, it means sometimes you don’t.

And how does that work?

image credit — Miranda Granche