"Fall in Love with the Process": The Power of Iterative Experimentation
TL;DR: Success comes from prioritizing process over rigid outcomes—focus on small, testable steps for continuous improvement.
From Billy Oppenheimer: "In Thinking, Fast and Slow, the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman writes about “duration neglect,” our tendency to assess life events by their peak or final moments, ignoring how we felt during most of the experience. When evaluating jobs, we often focus on isolated standout moments—like promotions, awards, or praise—while overlooking the day-to-day experiences and emotional states that make up the majority of our work life. When a creative project flops, the sense of failure can often erase the progress and satisfaction experienced along the way. To counter duration neglect, Kahneman proposes “a duration-weighted conception of well-being”—one that considers the overall quality of our experiences, rather than fixating on the fleeting peaks and outcomes."
From James Clear: "When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don't have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running. And a system can be successful in many different forms, not just the one you first envision."
In my experiences, I've observed people that have an aversion towards 'process'. These individuals either mistakenly associate process with arbitrary, often self-imposed, rules or are, paradoxically, rigidly fixated on the outcome.
In Big Things F@$t, we emphasize the importance of iterative experimentation over rigid adherence to specific predicted outcomes. Instead of getting bogged down by long-term trends or singular outcomes, our book advocates for building frameworks that support ongoing experiments, which can lead to incremental improvements. This is captured in the Return on Experimentation (RoEX) approach, which encourages leaders to prioritize live experiments over static plans.
Our book also discourages the traditional use of "stretch goals", as these often shift the focus too heavily onto specific outcomes. Instead, Marcus Dimbleby and I suggest creating incremental value through smaller, testable steps that allow for flexibility and continuous improvement. This shift in mindset allows teams to adapt more quickly to changes without the stress of meeting unpredictable long-term goals, thus reducing the pressure to achieve a single, predefined outcome.
From the Red Teaming perspective, focusing on the process aligns with the mindset of continuous learning and applying critical thinking tools such as the OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act). This methodology encourages leaders to adapt based on real-time feedback, allowing teams to adjust strategies dynamically rather than being locked into an outcome that may no longer fit the situation.
Reflecting on this, consider how you might balance the need for a clear vision with the flexibility to pivot and adapt as you experiment. Are you currently prioritizing incremental improvements and learning over rigid outcomes? How can you incorporate more process-driven strategies into your leadership approach?
Simple, not easy.
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Disclaimer: The insights and strategies discussed in this newsletter are based on the tools and methodologies from "Big Things F@$t" and are intended as general guidelines. While we have seen that these tools can significantly enhance leadership practices, their effectiveness may vary depending on individual circumstances, organizational culture, and specific team dynamics. We encourage readers to adapt and modify these recommendations to fit their unique contexts and to consider additional factors that may influence outcomes. Simply stated, the effectiveness of any tool or strategy is contingent upon its implementation and the environment in which it is used.
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