shashaank

(4/4)

Execute based on your own plan and not in reaction to others. Agency and ownership rule the day, and this is why “Send email to X” is stronger than “Send reply to Y” — the best work does not happen in reaction to what others do. Just build your own plan based on your goals and the information you have at hand, and don’t be afraid to update it as you get market feedback. In the same way, it’s important not to get caught into the loop of simply doing work that is assigned to you, answering emails that are waiting in your inbox, etc. Reactive loops are easy, but lead to decay.

What would we like the curve to look like instead?

For the long tail — remove/delegate/automate the <1x work. If it doesn’t matter much if it’s done well or not, then just get it done. There’s so much written about this that I won’t dive into it much here. This is the “playing defense” part.

For the 2-5x work, keep doing it — it is “work” after all. But perhaps figure out how to align it towards your plan for work and life?

For the head of the curve — we need to remind ourselves that our careers are defined by the highest moments of the biggest swings. Let’s maximize these opportunities. Make a Master Plan, and then pick a direction and go! Embrace more serendipity, talk to more interesting people, take more swings, and go deep on your craft. Proactively position yourself to jump into action when 10x moments emerge, and create the opportunity to pour resources (time, people, capital) into a project that catches on.