Lessons Learned Flashcards
Personally being more self-aware of how I managing up based on fear driven strategic insights
CAC as a function of capacity
CAC = f(capacity)
I do think that increasing capacity (scaling the sales team, scaling CF) contribute to CAC in interesting ways. In on hand scaling factors (training a larger team, management overhead, etc…) increase CAC. It also decreases CAC because you improve funnel speed and don’t lose leads.
How to react to specs
Don’t try to disagree with specs immediately. See what you agree with and take a non biased approach.
When to validate if someone is a good fit or not.
https://pathrise.slack.com/archives/C02F1346F0C/p1683688958418319?thread_ts=1683684800.834939&cid=C02F1346F0C
How to think whether it makes sense to onboard an intern or not
Do you need?
Can you digest?
How quickly can you onboard?
How much management cost?
Does value > cost?
I’d guess:
No. PM not the bottleneck anyway. Kelly can feed the eng capacity. That is, unless PR is prepared to bet big on a lot of simultaneous contractor capacity, but I’m not sure just how large that appetite is, given kwu’s reaction here.
Yeah, probably. In theory, there’s enough PM work to do. And more blue-sky work we haven’t had time to consider. There’s also product marketing bandwidth that someone should take on…
Quickly, if he is put on the kind of projects that we scoped in the offsite. Not as quickly (and probably not worth doing) if he has to onboard onto the CM model.
Low
Median simulated delta is probably pretty close to 0 (but not negative). High variance on the right tail though.
Conversation with Hilary
https://pathrise.slack.com/archives/DJ5A12UDA/p1685166843523279
5 common problematic situations in business & life, and the epiphanies & questions to tackle them with logic:
1) Feeling offended
2) Worrying a lot
3) Dealing with unfairness
4) Making tough decisions
5) Tackling a difficult project
These are based on my personal experience. I had these epiphanies at different points during my 20s & 30s i.e. an eternity ago
Back then, I was proud of my logical thinking, so I used logic to convert these epiphanies into guiding questions to ask myself when I found myself in one of these situations.
~
Situation 1:
When I am feeling offended
Epiphany:
Feeling offended is a “me” problem, not a “them” problem
Guiding questions:
If someone’s words can spark so much inner disarray & disturbance within me, is the power with me or with them?
Where do I want the power to be?
The right answers just follow.
Do this regularly, and voila, the world has a diminished ability to offend you.
~
Situation 2:
When I am worrying a lot
Epiphany:
My past worries have either not materialized or they have not destroyed my life like I had imagined
Guiding question:
If this <bad> does happen, will it be a bad day, bad week, bad month, bad year, or a bad life?</bad>
This question provides much-needed perspective (and also helps prioritize the worries!)
And the answer is very rarely “a bad life” (even if it might feel that way initially).
~
Situation 3:
When I think someone is being unfair or unreasonable
Epiphany:
They clearly do not think that way about themselves
They did not wake up in the morning thinking they want to be a difficult / unfair person
Guiding questions:
What is the story they are telling themselves?
Under what conditions might their perspective be valid?
These questions help build empathy, and often also provide a way to navigate the situation in a way that gets us both what we want. Win-win.
~
Situation 4:
When making tough & important decisions
Epiphany:
Choices with long-term impact are still heavily biased by my current feelings
Guiding question:
Which of these choices will look wisest to me 20 years from now?
This question forces me to step away a bit from my current feelings, seek the right counsel, and generally helps accelerate wisdom.
~
Situation 5:
When a problem or project seems too hard
Epiphany:
Harder things have been achieved by people with fewer resources
Guiding questions:
Is this problem truly as unique and difficult as I think?
What might another person or team (whose work I admire) do here?
These questions help reframe the situation, build confidence, and make more room for creative execution.
~
To sum it all up, it’s largely about:
Self observation + Logic + Long outlook
Best of luck!
