Lack of adaptation is death
A couple of weeks ago the concept of "lack of adaptation is death" floated up in a meeting. This concept can also be described as being stuck in a rut. We do things the way we’ve always done them, even when they don’t serve us as well any more. If your business strategy and thinking is not flexible, that lack of adaptability can cause your business to fail.
In 2011, HBR published an article: Adaptability: The New Competitive Advantage. The article says that in order to adapt, a company should have the ability to read the signals, experiment, and act quickly. By experimenting, the company can quickly test new products and services, as well as receive feedback from consumers. But the ability to act fast is a function of decision-making cycle time. If it takes too long to make the decision, your company will not have an adaptive advantage.
So what does adaptability mean? At its core, adaptability has two parts: flexibility and attitude. With products, we want to find a product market fit, to find our customer and deliver them an amazing experience. To be able to do that we need to spend more time with customers, doing small experiments, and getting feedback. It means being able to adapt our product or service to cope with changing contexts, and new challenges. It means being able to critically think and reflect on the outcomes we are aiming for and the results we are getting. It means being able to adapt our decisions and actions based on information we are gathering.
This reminded me of a book I read last year, Unlearn by Barry O’Reilly. In the book, O'Reilly talks how successful people have a formula for success that worked for them in the past. But expertise can hold people back from learning new things. When the situation is different, when the context is different, we need to unlearn old habits, challenge existing mental models, and get outside our comfort zone. Instead we should do small and cheap experiments with quick feedback loops, to test our assumptions. We should break large-scale goals into much smaller tasks that build up to that goal. We should think big, start small, and learn fast — to get out of a rut and start shipping again.
~ Elle
What’s been happening?
Ruby Conf Thailand
Elle and Lachlan gave their talk about delegation earlier this month at Ruby Conf Thailand, which lead to lots of great conversations about our roles and responsibilities as technical leaders.
Web Directions Code Leaders
How comfortable are you with workplace situations that lead to conflict? Needing to confront someone puts us in a fight, flight, or freeze response, which is a physical stress condition. Wouldn't it be nice to feel more at ease when in these situations? Or at least have a plan for the conversation?
In our session at Web Directions Code Leaders later this month, you will learn a framework to approach a confrontation, while Elle and Lachlan will role-play a scenario from an engineering team.
Assertive Managing Up workshop (new)
Learn how to communicate what you need to get your work done in our new workshop: Assertive Managing Up
Are you struggling to communicate your needs at work? Or align expectations with peers? Are you able to say no when you have too much on your plate? Do you have a good relationship with your manager? Do people at your company know what you've been working on? You’re not the only one.
We’ve been delivering versions of this workshop internally at scaleups across Australia and the US throughout 2023. Now we’ve turned it into a public-facing workshop for the first time in February 2024.
Come and join us to learn how to develop a positive and productive relationship with your manager, communicate your own needs and boundaries, take ownership of your one:ones, and develop your personal branding, so that in the next round of promotions, you will not miss out.
For the first workshop only, we are offering it at a great discount. Check it out at https://blackmill.co/workshops/assertive-managing-up
What are we reading?
Dimensions of Power — The ideal state of an organisation is some combination of: the best decisions being made and the individuals involved learning and growing as much as possible in the process. Power differentials will always exist. Wise, effective use of power to achieve good decisions and growth require those with power to lend it to those with less.
How to manage: finding yourself again — Women at Work — Who are you now, who do you want to be, and how can you stretch without taking on too much? In this podcast, Jen Dary shares advice for finding yourself anew at work, dealing with disillusionment, and setting priorities and boundaries.
Beyond Senior — Metrics Obsession — The hallmark of truly senior engineers is autonomy and discretion. Metrics, when used in such a way as described in this article, disincentivise growth and often times actively punish it.
A cuppa with Karolina Szczur
1. What do you do? And what do you like about your work?
I’m a co-founder and design lead at Calibre, a bootstrapped software as a service company providing a platform for improving web performance. Aside from design, in the past I’ve been intensely involved in community organising—you might know me from directing CSSConf and JSConf Australia. I’m a big proponent of working less, so two years ago, we switched to a 4-day workweek. This change has been transformational to my wellbeing. I also enjoy running a business guided by the values I hold dearly, which isn’t always possible when working for someone else.
2. What aspect of your work do you find most challenging?
We’re an intentionally small (4 people!) company, significantly outnumbered by our customers. It takes longer for us to build and release features, which means patience is key. As a founder, I also often wear many hats (support, design, communications, marketing, to name a few), so I have to carefully manage my ability to focus and compartmentalise vastly different areas of work.
3. What are you passionate about?
Leaving anything I’m involved in a better place than I found it in. I have a strong sense of integrity and my core values (my Gallup Clifton Strengths assessment strongly agrees). I read a ton of social justice non-fiction to expand my knowledge, understand intersectional perspectives and be better as a citizen, founder, and a person.
4. What are recent accomplishments you are happy with?
A while ago, after seven years, I got my Australian citizenship. I feel immensely privileged to be a citizen of two countries (also Poland, where I was born) and that I’ve been able to do this within a relatively short timeframe. Anyone who had to deal with immigration in any country knows how expensive, stressful, and frequently unjust the process is.
5. What is one mistake that you will never make again?
Not that I’m planning to seek employment anytime soon, but giving employers too much benefit of the doubt (because of their outward-facing progressiveness) and tolerating mistreatment for way too long before quitting.
6. How do you manage stress?
Years ago, I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety, which meant constantly struggling with high stress levels. Since then, I probably tried it all, but what helped me most was therapy and medication—it was like night and day. I also focus on quality sleep, frequent movement (I love Pilates!), nourishing meals and time with loved ones (including our cat, Cosmo: he’s adorable).
7. What is the best advice you can give?
Work to live, not live to work. Work isn’t your family, nor it will love you back. Yes, even if it’s your own company.
8. What one thing would you change about our society?
Oooof, I have a long list of demands here, a lot of them equally important, so I’m going to go with what’s been on my mind most recently. I want to see an even more radical investment in stopping the climate collapse. We’re at a turning point—it is critical we don’t look away or lose hope. Not one life (human or non-human) is expendable, and Earth is our only home.
9. What are your goals or aspirations for the coming year?
My partner and moved to a new house recently. I’m planning to go full interior designer and have fun with painting walls, styling and making the place ours.
And we’re out
Thank you for showing an interest in our newsletter and we hope that you enjoyed the read. Feel free to contact us if you have any feedback, a burning question, or just a recipe that you would like to share.
Until next time, keep learning!
Everyone at Blackmill