Insights & Thoughts on Product Development, Life Hacks and Team Dynamics — Clips of Logic — T.S. Lim

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execution

Tagging in the real world

​In Flickr, you can tag your photos to categorize them. On Facebook, you can tag the faces in your photos to link them to the actual person. (or spam others) Now, stickybits gives you a way to tag objects in the real world with digital content like photos, videos or messages. Tagging is done by scanning the bar-code on the item using their application that is available on iPhone and Android. If you are the first to scan the bar-code, the content that you tag onto it will appear first. There is also a history log to track if there's new content being attached to the item or when it changed location.

Currently the business model is selling packs of vinyl bar-code stickers so you can tag any items you want by simply stamping the stickers on them. There's nothing stopping stickybits from charging for exclusive rights to add content to items first and maybe even show related items when you scan something. Google Adsense for the real world anyone?

Now this is a brilliant idea that is well executed.

It is never done

If you have been using the Internet for a while, you'll notice there are some web sites and applications that are labeled beta. It basically means the software is still under development and things can or rather will break-down but the developer can choose not to give any support. Obviously, I don't encourage you to release beta products so you can refuse to support it but it does help you to release something early and fast. It's a license to dump your idea to the public and find out for real if it works or not.

The beta label can also serve as a reminder that your product is not finished and might never be but that's a good thing. It means there's always room for improvement.

By revealing your product to others, you get to collect feedbacks, suggestions and if you're lucky some will even contribute and collaborate with you to make it better. This is basically how open-source software development is done.

If you are working an idea, start early and remind yourself that it is never done but that's alright.

The simplest solution

In software development, over-engineering is a huge problem because it is so easy to manipulate bits and bytes compared to atoms and molecules. It is very common to fall into the trap of building more and more features to cater for scenarios and problems that might happen in the future. George Whitesides showed us with his paper-made postage-sized diagnostic tool that the solution to a problem can be simple and cheap at the same time. In order to provide healthcare to regions of the world that can't afford them, instead of lowering the cost of existing tools, he approached the problem from the opposite angle. He used the cheapest thing he can find to create those tools.

He also came up with a way to build a centrifuge to separate blood plasma with an egg-beater. Simplicity is his strategy in tackling problems. A student from MIT when asked by him, came up with a way to best describe what exactly is simplicity.

What is simplicity?

It's impossible to f*ck it up

The next time you are trying to solve a problem, try solving it from different perspectives and remember that most of the time, the simplest solution is also the best. I'll leave you with a video of George's talk at TED.

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All about winning

I'm quite a competitive person. I don't only like to win arguments, I like to win in just about anything. The only reason I play a game is to beat it. Obviously, I don't get to win all the time but the urge to win keeps me motivated.

Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing - Henry Russell Sanders

Turns out there are quite a few advantages with this must-win philosophy. The most obvious would be the motivation you get if you are hell-bent on winning. Before jumping into a new game, I prefer to do some research and read strategy guides. Every exploit in the game will be utilized as long as it's not considered cheating.

As many of you know, to get really good at something, you need to focus and invest lots of time in it. What this means is that, in order to win, you need to focus on only the things that matters and ignore everything else. This automatically makes you a minimalist.

Arguably the most important aspect of this, is the confidence you gained from winning. This allows you to build success on top of your previous successes and let's you tackle bigger and bigger things from the momentum.

I guess it's time to start winning?

Will it work?

Everyone has some idea of their own, be it a brilliant business plan or an ingenious way to turn off the lights from their bed. If you have problems coming out with ideas, you should read this post from Seth Godin about fear of bad ideas. You need to come up with lots of bad ideas before you find one that's good. Having an idea is the first and last step for many. Some people are so protective of their ideas that they miss the chance to improve and get feedback on it. An idea is nothing until you turn it to reality.

To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions. - Derek Sivers

Knowing all that, working on an idea takes enormous effort and often requires an unhealthy dose of optimism. If your friends, family and cat start questioning your sanity, you are probably on the right track. No one knows if it will work out or not, so the best way to find out is to try it.

Every really new idea looks crazy at first. - Alfred North Whitehead

If you have some ideas you been wanting to try, stop worrying if they will work out or not and start focusing on their execution.