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First Principles

What is the most important problem you need to solve? How do you know?

Understand the Job to be Done and what successful outcomes look like.

Process​

Be honest, embrace the pain, make something work, then do it better, then make it faster. Be your own worst enemy to make yours systems antifragile.

  1. All solutions are temporary, insightful questions are timeless.
  2. Don't optimise things that should not not exist.
  3. Put full focus on desired outcomes then work back in straightest path and least steps.
  4. Iteratively delete things to confirm outcomes justify their existence.
  5. Accelerate cycle time.
  6. Automate progress with fail-safe signals.
Mantra

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo Da Vinci

Context​

Validate​

Your system is only as good as each individual process/JTBD can be completed by the least capable and experienced person (without additional training) to achieve consistent good outcomes.

Mantra

Never trust, verify and validate

Priorities​

What is your biggest problem? How do you know?

  • Who are the domain experts?
    • How do you know?
    • Do you trust them?
  • Are you using the best possible tools?
    • Do you have best practices for evaluating new tools?
  • What processes are broken?
    • What steps require the most time to complete?
    • What steps cause firefighting?
    • Which steps have the highest cost?
    • Which steps have the greatest impact on quality of outcomes?

Walk The Pipe​

Does reality align with official records?

Continuous Improvement

Follow the pipe to establish all inputs, instruments and state transformations, and then what comes out.

Constantly upgrade your toolkit to simplify processes to optimise capability to deliver greater value by:

  1. Improving Quality
  2. Minimising Waste
  3. Reducing Cycle Times
  4. Maximizing Returns
  5. Elevating Teamwork

Modelling Value​

Breakdown complexity into fundamental truths, then reconstruct.

  1. Walk the pipe, map the system
    • Inputs
    • Components
    • State Changes
    • Outputs
  2. Intentions
    • Interpret Perspectives
    • Align Consensus
  3. Define Decision Boundaries
    • The Job to be done
    • The best tools for the job
    • The best protocols for using those tools
    • The best people for running and evolving tools and protocols
  4. Validate Delivery Systems
    • Assets and Raw Materials
    • Technology
    • Process
    • Risk versus Reward
  5. Focus Attention
    • Filter signal through the noise
    • Deliver valuable outcomes

Disciplines​

Teamwork​

Link Strategic Goals with Process Maps to align intentions and focus attention through:

  • Better Communication
  • Increased Motivation
  • Clear Accountability

Understanding of big picture is essential to:

  • Encourage adoption
  • Identify problems
  • Improve process flow
  • Maximize Opportunities

AI Potential​

Explore opportunities to automate processes to improve efficiency and reduce human error with AI Agents.

Governance AI guided DAOs could enable decentralised control, moving from existing top down, command & control approach to goverance to a more humanist sense & respond approach with shared leaderhship with fairer distribution of gains in return for positive contributions.

Failures Fail loud fail early

  • Signal failure immediately
  • Make failure obvious
  • Build warnings into algorithms

Scale​

Evolve processes into standardised protocols to build systems that scale.

  • Technical expertise: recruit skilled engineers with a deep understanding of what is valuable
  • Innovation: constantly look for ways to improve production processes and find new efficiencies.
  • Single purpose: break algorithms down into atomic value units that can assembled into multiple more complex solutions.
  • Collaboration: work closely with others of complimentary talents to achieve common goals.
  • Partnerships: cultivate a healthy ecosystem of strong relationships of mutual benefit.
  • Adaptability: react quickly to changing circumstances.
  • Selfless: encourage and develop competition to better your own ideas without ego.

Leaders must be able to inspire and motivate teams with a strong work ethic while providing systems for them to get things done - William S Knudsen