Keeping Perspective

Yesterday was the AFC Championship and your’s truly is a big fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I won’t get into the details of the game because that would become a post of it’s own and the loss is still raw. Luckily work has been a welcomed distraction today and I’ve had a great, productive day.

It’s been a somber day for Jaguars fans, no doubt. Still, it was a season to remember for a franchise that’s had a rough 10 years. While I believe they should be in the Super Bowl, sometimes things just don’t work out as you’d like them. Such is life.

What’s funny is how much a sports game can impact your emotions. In the grand scheme of things, the game means very little. But sports have an incredible way of bringing people together. I was lucky enough to watch the game with a great group of people and had a Sunday afternoon I won’t soon forget. While the loss sucks, it’s helpful to keep that perspective.

Also — watch out for the Jaguars next year. They’ll be back 😏.

The Power of Deadlines

I learned the power of deadlines when I was beginning my career as a product manager. A core responsibility of a PM is to ship product. It seems obvious but it’s easier said than done.

Shipping earlier means getting value to your customers and learning faster. Beyond that, setting a release date provides a deadline for the team. This deadline acts as a forcing function. The constraint of time forces you to focus on the task at hand, rank what’s most important, and cut what’s not.

I’m seeing this now with a big project we’re working on at Moved. Not only are we shipping new product but we’re making big changes to the way we operate internally. The project involves everyone in the company, making communication and coordination essential. Each person has their role and we’re all focused on getting to the finish line. Even after the “finish line” (launch) there’s a lot of work to make sure all goes well into the future.

Deadlines can be stressful but they can also create moments of magic. Seeing everyone rally and execute in crunch time is a thing of beauty.

There’s more work to do but it’s useful to take a step back and appreciate the big moments as they’re happening. Thanks to this blog for allowing me a few minutes to do that. Now back to work.