Weekly Snapshot: Long Term Thinking

We live in a world of instant gratification. Whatever we want, we want it now. It’s a mantra of our fast-paced world, surrounded by people who believe more in jackpots and overnight successes. 

Billion dollars? Now, please! 

Promotion? Now, please! 

Dream job? Now, please!

Fit? Now, please!

The negative consequence of living in an instant-gratification world is the inability to plan for the long run and optimize life for longevity. Sadly, the majority falls into this unfortunate bucket.

I am a believer in delayed gratification. The seed you sow today will take time to give fruit. Patience is the key, and planning for the next 5-10 years is critical. One criticism I hear is that “you don’t know what will happen in the next 10 years” to which my response is clear: it does not matter. As long as you have a clear vision of your destination, you’ll find the way. The difficulty level of the path is irrelevant.

Trust the process, give your best shot, and survive the long stretch of hard work. Once you take a long-term view, short-term setbacks become insignificant and ineffective to your overall vigor and energy. 

It’s not an easy path to take. It’s the road less traveled.

But isn't it great? The road’s empty, not crowded!

Think about this quote from Warren Buffet:

Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. 

Beautiful. 

💪 Wins of the week

1. Did extensive research into the energy storage market and learned amazing insights. It’s been a very enlightening week.
2. Successfully rallied the team at work around executing at lightning speed. The next couple of weeks are going to be intense but fun!
3. A special “project” that I have been building is 95% complete. The remaining 5% will be the hardest bit, but man, I’m excited!

🧐 Challenges & Learnings

1. Managing expectations is tough. I have often been told that it is better to under-promise and over-deliver. It works in practice but it’s not always easy. I believe in promising what you can deliver - it’s a little risky though.
2. Trust the process and stay focused on solving the problem.

🎯 Goals for Next Week

1. Conduct market research from the demand side to uncover use cases for energy storage in the commercial market.
2. Complete 50% of the tasks to stay on track for the sprint at work!
3. Stay focused.

📖 My Readings

Blue Ocean Strategy is a beast of a book! The insights are timeless, and the way to think about building new products and capturing market share is extremely practical. I’m loving the book - highly recommended.

🎬 My YouTube Video

In this week’s video, I dive into the 5 top skills you need to kick-start your journey as a product manager. We're going to keep it simple, practical, and super engaging. I'll walk you through each skill, why it's important, and how you can start using it today to make a real difference in your work. So, grab a notepad, get comfortable, and let's dive in together into this exciting world!

✍️ Quote of the Week

"If a project is moving slowly, set up another team with the same goal and have them compete"

— Jeff Bezos