Proof of Concept - Bold strokes
Everything I learned in art school has become valuable lessons in how I approached my professional craft as a software designer in tech. The parallels between art and software is not only the craft of making but how we approach the work. In this issue, I remember the lesson of making bold strokes. My studies focused on multi-disciplinary art. However, my love was oil painting. I recall taking watercolor as one of my electives. I assumed that it would be a walk in the park because of my love for painting—quite the contrary. I struggled with watercolor painting. My comfort zone was oil painting; a medium which you could spend an eternity manipulating the paint. Watercolor required precision with paint that would constantly remain wet, and when you let it dry, you can’t layer it as aggressively as oils, resulting in the paint re-wetting and becoming a puddle of paint. One day, my professor noticed how close I was keeping my hands to the brush while making tiny strokes in hopes to control the water. “You need to take bold strokes,” she said to me, while adjusting my hand position on the brush. Instead of taking a bunch of small brush strokes, I took one big one across the entire paper. It worked. The bold strokes gave me control over what I wanted to do on the paper. With this new approach, I was able to build a lot of layers on top of the aforementioned strokes. The metaphor of bold stokes carried me through as an entrepreneur, designer, and now a leader of orgs. Lesson 1: Intention is crucial Lesson 2: Don’t stop in the middle of an action One cannot stop in the middle of an iteration. This is how I approach any sprint cycle or iteration of design work. Stopping midway makes it worse. See it through, then iterate. Lesson 3: Look ahead Making bold strokes is looking ahead and entrusting your technique will get you there. When work gets a bit chaotic, I’m still looking ahead on what needs to get done. Looking only in what’s immediately ahead will keep you in the mindset of operating that way. Even as I stare at a looming deadline, I take a breather and look at what we need to achieve next month, next quarter, next year. This ensures you continue heading the right direction. Lesson 4: Build up layers As you learn from one stroke, you can apply the learning to the next one. This is the spirit of retrospectives in sprint cycles. As you continue more iterations, you continuously improve and increase the mastery you hope to achieve. Craft requires bold strokesThe beauty of our craft is most of the time we get multiple chances to iterate from what we learn through failure; something not many other industries have the pleasure affording. Whatever you embarck on next, remember to make bold strokes without hesitation. If you mess up, take another bold stroke. Invite your friends and earn rewardsIf you enjoy Proof of Concept, share it with your friends and earn rewards when they subscribe. |
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The office is a productivity tool
Sunday, September 29, 2024
Issue 214: Coming to the office as leverage, not attendance ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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Issue 213: Playing Battleship at work ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Operator Mode
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Issue 212: Doing work as a non-founder and non professional management class ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Experiencing Hatch Conference
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Issue 211: A recap on my time in the Berlin conference ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The parallels of job seeking and dating
Sunday, September 1, 2024
Issue 210: Reflecting the similar arcs and tips on both ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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