Recently when GoSquared turned 16 years old (or young?) we shared a blog post with 16 lessons from those 16 years. We received a ton of great feedback on the post, so I thought it’d be good to share some of those lessons on the show and speak about them a little more.

Here are the first 8 of the 16 lessons we’ve learned along the way so far...

On ideas and building:

1. Build something people want.
2. Share early, share often.
3. Constraints breed creativity — embrace them
4. The details are not the details, they make the product

On customers:

1. Use your own product. Be your own customer
2. Charge the trust battery
3. Your customers are smart — treat them accordingly
4. Treat each customer as unique, but scale your process

Links and further reading

• Timeline of GoSquared over 16 years
• The complete blog post of our 16 lessons from 16 years
• Ideas are fragile
• Trust battery

Thanks, and see you next time!

P.S. I'm on Twitter https://twitter.com/jamesjgill

Music: Jakarta by Bonsaye

Podcast hosting: Transistor

I always find January a tough month — all the fun and excitement of Christmas and new years is over, the weather is awful, it’s dark outside, and to top it all off we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic.

But fear not, there’s a world of opportunity out there! I’m spending some time at the start of January to reflect on 2021. I’m not setting myself huge audacious goals because I don’t know what the future holds, and I know the chances of success are low unless I use my previous experience to inform my future actions.

Don’t get caught up in all the “new year, new you” nonsense — be careful what you read on social media! Instead, look at yourself, spend time reflecting on your own successes and where things could have gone better, and use that to channel your next steps as you enter the new year.

Actions / take aways

• Go easy on yourself — the last two years have been hard on all of us.
• It’s never too late to reflect — if you haven’t already, you still have time to reflect on 2021.
• You don’t have to make new years resolutions — instead get clearer on your values.
• If you are clear on your values, channel your thinking around small habits you can adopt day by day rather than setting huge unwieldy goals.
• Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of January — like a trip to somewhere you like, a gift to yourself, or some other treat.

Thanks, and see you next time!

P.S. I'm on Twitter https://twitter.com/jamesjgill

Music: Jakarta by Bonsaye

Podcast hosting: Transistor

This year, the term "the Great Resignation" has been increasingly used to describe the explosion in people wanting to change their careers.

As a planet, we're in unprecedented times – and it's no wonder that many teams are going through a tumultuous time with changes never seen before.

If you're anything like me, handling team changes is one of the most challenging aspects of being a manager and leader. I find it hard to even know where to begin on this topic, but I thought I'd share my latest thinking in this episode with the hope it will be valuable to others out there going through similar challenges.

Actions / take aways

• Every change is an opportunity to look at the business – what is going well, what isn't?
• Understand people’s goals and desires and ensure they’re on the right path.
• When someone leaves there can be tremendous opportunity for others on the team to grow into new roles.
• Be clear with yourself on the goals and needs of the company.
• Remember: everyone is on their own journey. You can’t control that! Focus on what you can control – organisation design, encouraging the culture and performance you want to see, leading by example, and making people the hero on their own journey.
• You’re not alone. This stuff is hard. Talk to others and you’ll realise that many others are in the same boat and going through similar challenges.

Links and further reading

• The Great Resignation on Google Trends https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=great resignation
• What is driving the Great Resignation? https://hbr.org/2021/09/who-is-driving-the-great-resignation

Thanks, and see you next time!

P.S. I'm on Twitter https://twitter.com/jamesjgill

Music: Jakarta by Bonsaye

Podcast hosting: Transistor