DPL Reading List – May 5, 2017
Here are some of the articles we’ve been reading around this office this week.
Performing a Project Premortem – “Although many project teams engage in prelaunch risk analysis, the premortem’s prospective hindsight approach offers benefits that other methods don’t. Indeed, the premortem doesn’t just help teams to identify potential problems early on. It also reduces the kind of damn-the-torpedoes attitude often assumed by people who are overinvested in a project.”
Why Companies Are Not Startups – “In the last few years we’ve recognized that a startup is not a smaller version of a large company. We’re now learning that companies are not larger versions of startups.”
The Art of Having No Idea – “This is what being creative means to me… to pick up on something that’s already ready to happen — and help it to find a way.”
The Myth of ‘The Visionary Founder’ – “I just tell [founders] to do the next thing and forget about the grand vision for now, your job is to stay alive long enough to develop a grand vision. Truth be told, some of these grand visions from successful founders are developed in hindsight, anyway.”
If you’re not lost, it’s probably not groundbreaking – “Ambiguity is your friend — it is the first step towards something really exciting. Not knowing the answer and getting lost isn’t a sign of failure, it’s a sign of success and a signal that you’re really starting to get under the skin of the problem.”
The Age of Notifications and Attention-Deficits – “What do you do when you are idle? Check phone. What do you do when you are feeling anxious? Check phone. What do you do when you wake up in the morning? Check phone. What do you do when you can’t fall asleep? Check phone. What do you do when you feel awkward? Check phone.”
The Secret to Productivity: Focus – “The reality is that while technology has the ability to improve productivity, too many people allow it to distract. Ultimately, the key to getting more done in less time requires focus. A cluttered, overly busy mind is like a cluttered, messy home; it takes too long to find stuff and get things done.”
