A letter from Boris: The project momentum
The goal of a company is to make money. You start a project to achieve a goal. A task is done when it is done.
Yet, it seems that companies and projects have a mind of their own and want to exist and grow just for the sake of existing and growing. Every manager wants more people on their team. It makes them feel important and relevant, even though every manager knows that adding more people tends to slow progress rather than speed it up.
This happens in larger companies and, at a smaller scale, in your own life. Have you ever realised that you’re not cleaning up but giving yourself a false sense of accomplishment just by moving stuff around? Maybe you’ve alphabetised books on your bookshelf or ordered your glasses from small to large? You’re doing something, and it feels good, but if you’re honest with yourself, you know you’re just keeping yourself busy and not achieving anything.
Another aspect here is the bias you bring to every project. If you need to decide whether your hallway needs a paint job, it isn't easy to make an unbiased decision if you’re the one who will need to do the painting. On the other hand, if you’re getting paid to do the painting, that will undoubtedly influence you as well. Ideally, you get an unbiased third party to analyse and act accordingly.
This is why running a company and your personal life is so difficult. Projects want to run themselves, companies exist with their own will to live and grow, and everybody is biased and preoccupied. There’s no free will and no objectivity.
So, how do we proceed? Make small steps every moment of the day without giving up or getting distracted. Focus on the result, and accept that every opinion is biased. It's not easy, and that’s okay.
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