Let Go and Haul: setting context and turning the creative corner
Week 36, 2018 – Brooklyn
Journey: where we’re at
This week’s update from the captain’s log is going to be a short one. We’re hella in the middle of a whole bunch of product work and we have a deadline tomorrow! Welcome to startup town on a Sunday night.
Journal: what I learned
Every Friday we do a demo and retro. We show our work and talk about what went well, what didn’t go so well, where we need help and what we learned. From this there are usually some actions – things we need to do to improve what we’re making at TRASH.
This week a few of us brought up the importance of setting the context for whether what we’re discussing with product is an idea, experiment or production. It seems really simple and obvious, but oh man, it’s so easy to forget to set that context in the inherent chaos of startup life! Quickly setting that context saves us a lot of time in communication, so I’m sharing this simple tip with you too. Cuz time. The most precious thing.
It reminds me of something I learned at a talk (that I wish I remember the name of!) at SxSW years ago about setting the context for turning the creative corner. It‘s been one of the most useful tools for me over the years, and I’ve mentioned it in many talks I’ve given (here’s a slide) and sketched it on many whiteboards.
In the abstract, it seems like — whatever. But in the moment when you’re pressed on a deadline and someone waltzes in like “I’ve got an idea!” (ughhhhh) or when your team is sharing ideas and a team member can’t engage because they’re focused on how it’s going to get built (also ughhh)... then it becomes really important! We strive to all turn the corner together, so we don’t fall into this trap. This one is from the vault because it’s a busy weekend :)
Jams: what I’m into
That Blood Orange album. Medasin (recommended by Katheryn).