Laser-focused
When I was an analyst at Goldman Sachs, a lot of my VP’s and MD’s had catch phrases they would use to keep us motivated through difficult times.
“You are living the dream.”
“Great work, guy.”
“U da man.”
“Let’s rage.”
These messages didn’t have as much of an effect on me when I was sleeping on a drool-stained couch in our “quiet room” at 5AM (a power nap before an 8AM conference call). But one phrase has stuck with me through my ride at HelloMovies — “Stay laser-focused.” Smart people will always have brilliant ideas, and the temptation to work on all of them is incredibly strong. I’ve had my share of execution stumbles, but I am laser-focused now. Start basic, launch quickly with something basic, and iterate. Let’s rage.
How’s the rest of the team doing with this philosophy, you ask? Let’s consult one of my developers’ roommates, the always cool Mr. Aaron Elias Berhanu:
“It seems that every time I come in here, Josh is looking at a black screen with lots of little writing, and Stan is looking at 300. And Chris…Chris is sitting there in the corner rambling or playing Guitar Hero or something.”
….
=(