Build #49 - coaching, measuring and disaggregating work
Simon Wakeman
Fractional & consultant COO | Advisor | Coach | Creator of B3 framework? for company building | Classic 90s and nu-disco DJ
Hello,
Hope your week’s going well and you’ve got a little corner of brain space for three interesting articles I spotted recently:
Cal Newport has an interesting article that segues neatly from Elon Musk through management by objectives to its modern day counsin OKRs. The common thread is the challenge of measuring the unmeasurable - how knowledge work is inherently unmeasurable, despite a lot of effort to prove otherwise.
My take: There’s a lot in this to consider. OKRs have become the go-to methodology for tech businesses trying to gain top-down alignment to a common mission. In my experience, their effectiveness depends on the way they’ve been implemented and the wider organisational culture. They’re not a magic fix for employee disengagement or a lack of clear vision.
The way happens is changing radically - traditional full-time jobs are becoming disaggregated and reallocated to a portfolio of solutions, human and technological. This article explores the drivers behind this trend such as remote work, demography, the gig economy and AI-enabled efficiencies. Rishad argues we need to adapt by rethinking org structures, leadership and personal career strategies to thrive.
My take: like Rishad Tobaccowala’s podcast and this article is a good summary of the thesis behind his new book. For founders this article is good food for thought on how the nature of work is shifting and how they need to reflect this as they scale up their operations.
My Extra Brain collaborator Cath Brown has a nice article about how coaching can help leaders develop a more effective style, holding reflective space for deeper insights. She simplifies a lot of the noise around what coaching really is and helps provide some simple steps that any leader can adopt to increase their impact.
My take: As a coach this really resonated with me. I liked the way Cath disassembles some coaching confusion and provides practical advice that any founder can adopt with their teams or customers.
That’s it for today. Have a great week.
best regards,
-sw
I help founders turn visions into high performing businesses working as a fractional COO, consultant COO, advisor and coach.
Experienced founder-CEO - at thinkTribe and helping other CEO-CTO teams with gnarly Product, Roadmap and Scaling challenges
1 周I especially liked Cath's idea of asking for feedback more often with the 3 questions; putting on the table for all to reflect that the task/project we just did could be better next time?
COO, Startup Advisor, Angel Investor
1 周I find the separation and reaggregation of work fascinating to see play out. What does the aggregation look like? While aggregation is done by humans, and traditional saas products, disruption might look slower than expected, but at a certain point does AI co-ordinate everything, and then how much more do things atomise? What will the social effects of this be? Like many innovation waves, we probably overestimate it in the short term, and underestimate it in the long term.
Systems for Independence. Founder of Volcano Base?. FRSA.
1 周Just subscribed ??