Fernando is waiting. Waiting to be told what to do. Waiting for his boss to give him orders. Fernando doesn't like waiting. He likes being productive and all this waiting makes him feel like his career is wasting away before his very eyes. ... I think waiting is detrimental to one's skills, potential and precious … Continue reading Fernando is waiting
Author: thomaspfduggan
Product or audience first
'Here you go marketing team, here's the product now go find 10,000 people to sign up.' The marketing version of the chicken and the egg - which comes first the product or the audience? In my opinion it has to be the audience first. You start with the need and then you come up with … Continue reading Product or audience first
Georgia’s deodorant
Georgia looked down at the deodorant bottle and thought to herself: 'Will I put on deodorant for a zoom job interview?' You can understand the hesitancy. Deodorant would be a must for any job interview but quarantine brings with it a new style of hiring, one over video calls. So, should Georgia apply deodorant? I … Continue reading Georgia’s deodorant
Interaction fatigue
'How could you be tired? You've been sitting at your desk all day!' 'Yeah but every second has been spent on calls!' Social interaction is tiring. It doesn't matter if it's virtually or in person, it can wear you out. It is fatiguing because each interaction requires a plethora of activities, like: paying attention, choosing … Continue reading Interaction fatigue
Generalist or specialist
For a long time I stood in the specialize early and don’t deviate camp but now I’m reading ‘Range’ by David Epstein and I’m not entirely sure anymore. Mr. Epstein provides compelling examples of generalists who have succeeded. That a large sampling period and trying your hand at many different things can be key to … Continue reading Generalist or specialist
Oatly brand personality
In this day and age of corporate brands a little personality can be a great competitive advantage. Take for example Oatly (oat milk) and Innocent smoothies. Both are in fairly boring industries, (when was the last time there was an innovation in milk?) with little differentiation between competition in taste and yet these two brands … Continue reading Oatly brand personality
Briefs and Pictionary
Project briefs are kind of like Pictionary. You what the answer is, you can see it in the drawing but the question is can the other person? ‘Look at it, it’s clearly a dragon!’ ‘Oh I thought it was a potato’ We’ve all heard the horror stories of a brief only being discovered it was … Continue reading Briefs and Pictionary
Love at first doubt
I think it's pretty safe to say - if a boy asked a girl to sign a binding contract that she will go on a second date with him - us objective bystanders would all see that as a huge red flag. 'I want it in writing that you are going to call me!' Steer … Continue reading Love at first doubt
The Flipsaw puzzle
Yesterday I placed the last piece into the hardest jigsaw puzzle I have ever come across. It was made by Mensa and they call it a 'Flipsaw' puzzle. A Flipsaw because each piece has two images on it. You can see one image at one angle and the other image at another angle. So you … Continue reading The Flipsaw puzzle
Assigning status
'Hang on, are you allowed to assign me work? You're not my boss! I'm going to go check with my boss that I have to do this work before I start it.' I think it's fair to say that there is a certain amount of status associated with assigning work. It's traditional for a manager … Continue reading Assigning status
