by John Macdonald | Jun 6, 2025 | The250
A great way to think about and socialize your unique advantage is a differentiation grid. It looks like this: What are the axes on which you (or your product, your service) look the best?Who are your competitors?Where are they on the grid? Find your axes. Find your... by John Macdonald | Jun 5, 2025 | The250
When I was a young engineer working on the products that our company made and sold, I was quite naive. Actually, I was worse than naive. I was insular and egocentric. Basically, I thought that engineering was the... by John Macdonald | Jun 4, 2025 | The250
It’s easy to do, and it’s easy to buy in when others do it for us. “You deserve this.””You’re doing a great job.””It’s not your fault.” To be clear, these may be true, but what if they’re just comfort... by John Macdonald | Jun 3, 2025 | AI, The250
Productivity is easy to measure in industries that make stuff. How many cars off the line? How much wheat? How many I-beams? Productivity measurement in knowledge work is slippery. We try. Is it hours worked? Is it emails sent? Story points? Tickets resolved? Tax... by John Macdonald | Jun 2, 2025 | The250
Attention is a currency. You spend it, and others are trying to extract it. We talk about, write about, and argue about how we spend our other resources. We made up the term ROI (return on investment) to measure it. “What’s your ROI?” How are you...