'Tis the season to give thanks. This year, I am adding "tough bosses" to my list. I've had my fair share of such managers; and some of them were not only tough, but bad. The kind you want to leave as soon as possible. I did.

But I did something else. I took the opportunity to also learn:

Stand up. Some of the bad bosses are like bullies that never grow up. They try to intimidate you because they feel they can. Don't let them get away with it. The trick is not to respond in kind, because you only escalate. But calmly state the facts. 

I had a manager who used to constantly come into my office (even during lunch), and interrupt me with a new task. I would take it in, and add to my "catch list". I'd then go back with priorities we had agreed to earlier. And then, either (a) adjust my priorities to accommodate the new task or (b) get my manager to agree that the existing priority list was the correct one. This tip is from Patty Azzerello's blog of "Catch vs. Do". Take a look at her comments on setting "Ruthless Priorities" and sticking to them.

Change what needs to be changed. If you take the "sting" out of their criticism, there's usually a kernel of truth. Self awareness is critical to help you grow; and tough bosses shine the spot light on flaws you need to correct. If they are saying it, chances are others are too - just not as directly. 

One of my managers told me; in effect, "I wasn't fit to be an engineer". It didn't make sense at first; my grad and undergrad degrees said otherwise. Going deeper, I understood. "Don't pursue a career in program management, but you can excel in product management". It was the right call, and I am glad I switched. I wouldn't have changed if it weren't for that pivotal moment. 

Another manager was always picky about my communication. I mean even nits like commas. I realized the importance of clear structured communication and invested in learning (a) Precision Questioning and Answering and (b) the Minto Pyramid. Both turned out very helpful - and still do.

Give feedback with finesse. In the case of my bad bosses, I learned what not to do. When they gave critical feedback, it was harsh. It made me feel less valued. I learned to bounce back, but I never want to do that to another human.  

So next time you have a boss that's causing you grief; think. Are you going to leave or stay? Either way, don't forget to learn.

October is the month of the giving campaign at my workplace. It's natural to think about giving money; but I wanted to discuss the benefits of giving your time and your talent (in addition to donating money).

Puts things in perspective. It does not matter whether you volunteer at a soup kitchen, play bingo at a nursing home for the elderly, help pack food at a shelter, and so on. It quickly makes you realize that no matter how rough things might be, there are others with needs greater than you. Makes it easier to appreciate what you have and get to work on Monday.

Grows and diversifies your network. It's natural for us to connect with people we know; whether it is through work or social circles. Volunteering adds a whole other dimension and diversity because you interact with people with entirely different backgrounds than your own.

Helps sharpen your teamwork skills. At work you're frequently in situations where you have to influence others to accomplish a common goal. How often do you have to do that with resources that don't report to you? Now think about what it means when you are in an environment where the people you work with are all volunteers. How do you get the job done?

Recently, a young lady asked me advice about co-founding a company. Here are some thoughts based on hard lessons learned. It's like skydiving ... once you jump off, there's no turning back. So what can you do to
prepare? It comes down to knowing yourself and knowing your market.

Know yourself

1. Do you have fire in your belly? It's not enough if someone else suggests you start something. Do you truly want do it, deep  within? Do you  have the passionate voice that can't be quieted, day or night?
2. Are you pioneer or a farmer? Are you the "Louis and Clark" type that's ready to explore new territory without a map? Or are you comfortable with where you are in life? A related point. You might consider yourself a pioneer but circumstantially you may not be ready, e.g. family commitments. If that's the case, don't start a venture unless you can really afford it and you have support. 
3. What's unique about you? Founders are usually individuals that not only recognize new opportunity, but also have unique insights on how to apply prior knowledge (and others'  knowledge) to that opportunity.
4. Do you have a safety net? Do you have enough funds to last for a year without income? Do the math - take your "baseline" expenses/month to live frugally, add 15% on top, and multiply by 12. That's how much you need. And/or ... do you have a significant other that both of you can live together without your income? If you can't make it, can you go back to what you did before (e.g. your old job)? Will the market be robust that you can find another job down the road? 
5. Do you have a network? You'll need help ... lots of it from friends, family and advisors. In particular, think
   about your relationship with your family and your cofounders. Your life is definitely going to change. How will your relationships endure regardless of whether  your venture is successful or not? 

Know the market
There's a lot of great advice out there about knowing the market (customers, competitors, partners, and
so on), so I won't repeat that here. A couple of tips: 

1. Don't share everything to everyone. Of course you have to share your ideas, trust your advisors and investors to get them excited and onboard. But, be careful about disclosing too much or too early. You need to get traction ... so share what you must, but reserve the "secret sauce" details to your trusted, inner circle. NDAs can  (and will) only go so far.
2. Know your exit before you begin. Are you going to disrupt the market? Are you going to share the market? What's the likely success outcome ... IPO or acquisition?. Here's an excellent blog post (an
   oldie but a goodie) about "Sharks, Pilot Fish, and the Product Food Chain". It's written by Rich Mirinov,
   a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley.

Photo: JRubenc, licensed under GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2

You’ve heard the line about assumptions, the one about ‘u’ and ‘me’. Turns out checking for assumptions is really hard to practice. Why? Because we often “summarize” information in our heads – and in the process, details get lost.Think about this… we get tons of input about the world around us every  moment. If we were to stop and test everything every minute for assumptions, it would be virtually impossible for life to function.

However, because we often  rely on our instincts to “fill in the picture”, it’s easy to overlook details during the speed of conversation. In business, we may miss critical information as a result. Sometimes, that can be catastrophic like the Titanic disaster.

Turns out there are nine types of assumptions (Courtesy: Vervago).

1. Existence, an assumption that something or someone exists. A claim such as “this solution will solve the customer sat issue”, assumes there is a customer sat issue to begin with.
2. Uniqueness, an assumption that there is only one; e.g. only one problem, or only one solution. For example, there is only one customer sat issue, or only one solution for it. A helpful  hint is look for words like “this” or “the”… they imply uniqueness.
3. Measureable, an assumption that something can be accurately measured, e.g. customer sat. It would be important to know what goes into measuring customer sat; e.g. is just about product use? Does
   it include support? Pricing?
4. Possibility, an assumption that something is possible. For example, solving customer sat can done with existing resources, budget and in a timeframe that matters for the business.
5. Value, an assumption that the result will be valuable (e.g. good or bad). For example, solving the customer sat issue for a product that is about to reach end of life may not be in the best interest of the
   company.
6. Audience, an assumption about the audience (e.g. the market/geography, gender, income level,  and several other demographic factors). For example, the customer sat issue could be restricted only to a
   customers in a certain geographic region.
7. Category, as assumption that the issue/audience has been correctly categorized or subcategorized. For
   example, is the real issue product features or price?
8. Similarity, an assumption that what is being proposed is similar to something else. For example, the argument “we have already solved the customer sat issue for product ‘X’ using these techniques” assumes that the same ones will also be effective for the new product ‘Y’.
9. Time, an assumption that things will stay the same. For example, the drivers of customer sat could be pricing one quarter, availability the next, and performance a year later.

When preparing for a project review, or listening to one, I do a mental scan for these nine types of assumptions. It’s amazing how much critical detail get uncovered.

Here’s a test.. how many assumptions can you spot in the statement “After the heist, the masked gunman escaped with the money by running toward the alley for the getaway vehicle waiting for him”.

Re-read the statement again for deeper assumptions. For example, did you assume the alley was in the back? The vehicle was a  car?

Acknowledgements: I’d like to thank Dennis Matthies at Vervago for hooking me onto assumption checks!

Photo: Uta Wollf, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

Vegetable washing machines. Service technicians from Haier, a well-known
manufacturer of white goods in China, noticed an inordinate amount of problems with washing machines in rural China. Their motors were quickly getting burnt out. Digging in, engineers found that local farmers were using the washing machines to clean their vegetables, clogging up the drain and eventually burning the motors. Instead of attempting to "educate the consumer in the proper use",  Haier saw an opportunity. The development team came up with a wash cycle and machine designed specifically for cleaning vegetables. Haier's example is often quoted to illustrate break through thinking based on discovering hidden needs; for example, in Paul Sloan's blog Destination Innovation.

Now, consider the other side of the coin.  What happens when companies fail to understand hidden emotions, misgivings and cultural biases? Probably the most well-known of  all time is New Coke. Though the new formula fared better in taste tests than the old one – and beat out archrival Pepsi – all the research did not reveal the deep emotional attachment and nostalgia felt by so many people. Fans boycotted New Coke and forced the company to reintroduce the Classic. Other missteps –  Colgate Kitchen Entrees (familiarity with toothpaste is not the same as the  brand most people associate with food), Clairol's Touch of Yogurt Shampoo (confused folks got sick ingesting the stuff), and Harley Davidson perfume (motor oil, anyone?).

We often get into discussions about representing the “Voice of the Customer”. On these occasions, it is important to keep in mind the two facets; there are hidden treasures – and risks – beneath the surface. An oft
used (somewhat abused?) phrase is “Walk in the shoes of the customer”. As a wise person once said, “Before you can walk in your customers’ shoes, you need to take off your own”. To me, that statement is profound with Zen-like quality.  That’s why I made it the title of this blog.

When I am with customers, I focus on a few things (examples are in italics) and lots of notes:

• What is the task at hand? Let's say that Marcia, a busy mom is about to email photos of her daughter’s birthday party to her dad in another city.
• Why, i.e. the motivation? Is it functional, emotional or both? Here it is about the emotion; the joy of sharing.
• What is the ultimate goal? Sharing the memories of her daughter's birthday with her father; but also overcoming the barrier of the physical distance from him.
• What are the  pains points and constraints? What if it takes too long for her to upload? What if her father can’t access a PC?
• What are the alternatives? Are there new alternatives if constraints could be removed? Would Marcia have picked email if her father could have been on IM?

So next time you plan a customer visit, take a notebook. And remember to mentally leave your shoes behind when you walk in.