The main thing
Delft, 2022, on my way to Texel for Conversion Hotel.
Lukas, what's your main thing?
"Main thing? Well, the main thing is to live a happy life."
Delft, Netherlands, November 2022.
What's your main thing?
I asked many people about their main thing and he was the first to bring that up.
When I first crossed this concept I could only think about business priorities, the main drivers of profit or growth, and their mission in the world. Too often we get lost in the sauce and spend wasted effort on projects that are not part of the “main thing.”
You'll probably surprise yourself with what you can accomplish — if you're focused on one thing.
You'll probably frustrate yourself with what you fail to accomplish — if you're doing 5 or 7 or 10 things.
Nobody performs well when stretched in a half dozen directions.
— James Clear, 3-2-1 Thursday from 16.05.2024
Fast forward to May 9th, 2024 in Taormina, Sicily, I was reading "How to Write a Good PRD" and found out The Main Thing quote is from former CEO of Netscape Jim Barksdale.
In the Product world, I used the quote to challenge adding features that are not key to our strategy and value proposition.
Two questions to avoid distractions:
Will it keep the main thing the main thing?
Is the juice worth the squeeze?
Taormina, Sicily, May 2024
What pain do I want?
If we are serious about achieving ambitious goals, rather than considering what kind of success we want, the right question is what kind of pain do I want? Having a goal is the easy part. Who wouldn’t want to write a best-selling book or lose weight or earn more money?
Everybody wants to achieve these goals.
The real challenge is not determining if you want the result, but if you are willing to accept the sacrifices required to achieve the goal.
“Success lies in relentless execution of the basics ”
Do you want the lifestyle that comes with your quest? Do you want the boring and ugly process that comes before the exciting and glamorous outcome?
Everybody wants a gold medal. Few people want to train like Olympians.
Palermo, Sicily, May 2024
Keep priorities straight
As a Product person, I experienced delivery pressure, ruthless prioritization, and scope management when time and capacity were fixed for key projects. Three patterns stood out to me, and I often bring them up during mentoring sessions when discussing prioritization methods:
Begin with the end in mind
The ending is everything.
Every Sunday, during the weekly review, I’ll set three goals for the upcoming week and label them “this is how you win the week,” which becomes guidance to managing time and energy.
Anticipating the outcome is a valid exercise for important tasks or projects, a clear vision of your desired destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen. Direction first, then speed.
Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking ahead.
Show me your calendar and I'll tell you your priorities
How we allocate time and energy is a strong predictor of what we are prioritizing.
In my case, if I have more energy in the morning and Health is a priority, I use my best time for that type of activity.
“Not having time is one of the biggest excuses we use. Because we all know, when it’s important enough we make time, if not we make an excuse. Track your time meticulously for seven days.
You will be shocked at how much time flitters away doing things that don’t create value.”
Saying no to good ideas
Priorities, just like the essence of strategy, is choosing what not to do.
The 5/25 rule is attributed to Warren Buffett – although probably only in the apocryphal way in which wise insights get attributed to Albert Einstein or the Buddha, regardless of their real source – in which the oracle of Omaha is asked by his pilot about how to set priorities.
He tells the man to make a list of the top twenty-five things he wants out of life and then to arrange them in order, from the most important to the least.
The top five, Buffett says, should be those around which he organizes his time.
Now, the remaining twenty aren’t the second-tier priorities to which he should turn when he gets the chance. Far from it.
In fact, they’re the ones he should actively avoid at all costs – because they’re the ambitions insufficiently important to him to form the core of his life yet seductive enough to distract him from the ones that matter most.
“Focus is a force multiplier on work.
Almost everyone I’ve ever met would be well-served by spending more time thinking about what to focus on. It is much more important to work on the right thing than it is to work many hours.
Most people waste most of their time on stuff that doesn’t matter.
Once you have figured out what to do, be unstoppable about getting your small handful of priorities accomplished quickly. I have yet to meet a slow-moving person who is very successful.”
For me, the main thing is more headspace dedicated to fewer projects.
It's depth instead of breadth, it's playing long-term games with long-term people.
Peaceful John reflecting on cherry blossoms and the main thing during Think Week Japan Q12024
Sources of wisdom
Ray Dalio, Principles: Life and Work
