Last year, I read Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. It inspired me to share more about how I do what I do. After all, we are all just making it up as we go. And there are no original ideas, just mash ups from everywhere else (see Kleon's Steal Like an Artist).
Now I'm reading Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. In the book, Epstein investigates outcomes of specialists and generalists (and groups of each) in various fields. I was interested in this book because I consider myself more a generalist than a specialist. And it has not disappointed. Without going into detail or spoiling it, there are places in the world for both. But what generalists bring to problems is a wider range of information collected by crossing domains and applying it in new ways.
All of this together has me thinking about how to bring my range to my work, share my work in a way that inspires others to do good work, and operate from a place of abundance. Thus, I want to work on the following ideas throughout 2020 (and beyond):
- Less is more
- Quality over quantity
- Experimentation
- Abundance over scarcity
- More AND, less OR
- Collaboration over competition
While this list is in no particular order, the idea of experimentation is what I expect will show up in this blog and my work.
Experiment
The idea of experimentation comes from thinking about the scientific process.
Observe > Create Hypothesis >Test & Measure > Result
And I don't think we do this enough in the digital industry. Clients and stakeholders expect us to have answers. All too often we don't know if our work achieved its goals because we rarely set goals or measure results.
This year I will encourage those I work with to trust the process, use the scientific method more often, and have data that informs decisions and tells a story. If you want to learn more about how to do his, check out Paul Rissen's book Experiment-Driven Product Development: How to Use a Data-Informed Approach to Learn, Iterate, and Succeed Faster.
Enough to go around
As for the rest of the list, here's a little more in case you are wondering how some of those things can be reconciled.
Less is more and quality over quantity are two parts of the same things. We don't have to do or have it all. We can choose what matters most and really enjoy or do those things really well. Result: more satisfaction.
Abundance over scarcity and collaboration over competition is about mindset. When we operate from the idea that there is enough to go around, you can find ways to share the wealth (or your work!) and work together with others. There are very few (if any) zero-sum situations in the world. The sooner we allow ourselves to believe this, the better.
More AND, less OR is about being multiple things. None of us have to limit ourselves to one role or one way of being. This goes along with the rest of the items on this list. Be contradictory. Keep learning. Keep growing. We do not have to choose between being generous or taking care of ourselves first—do both!
If any of this resonates with you, incorporate it into your habits, mindset, behaviors, and teams. And, please, share what you do and learn so the rest of us can be the wiser for it.