Be willing to withstand short term suffering for long term gain.

There’s this concept/framework of ‘switching hats’ that I’ve learned by observing a few people who use it.

We all play different roles in our lives.

I’m a son, a friend, a boss, a brother, a partner, an employee, and many more.

The framework of ‘switching hats’ gives you the lenses that allow you to look at yourself as having more than one persona.

Being a mother who’s nurturing and supportive might mentally make you feel like you shouldn’t be disagreeable and stern on a business matter at work. But why not?

Those are different hats. You can wear the mother hat at times, and you can wear the boss hat at others.

Not switching hats could often mean that you’re in a compromised position.

I’ve been asked this question a few times lately (in nicer ways), so I thought I’d answer it for everyone.

I’ve also asked this question to a couple of product managers to see what they thought their job was.

I think a lot of people don’t understand what a product manager is or what one is supposed to do.

So let me tell you.

First of all, why is this important?

I’ll tell you why.

Startups are started by founders.

Those founders often play the role of a ‘product manager’ at the beginning.

So without this role, startups don’t start. We must be grateful for when a good product manager is in place with good engineers/designers, as magical things happen.

Okay – here’s the story:

Winning as a company may seem like a complex concept, but in reality, it is extremely simple on the surface. It only gets complex once you’re a couple of layers in. Hear me out.

Writing this as a reminder for myself.

Doing the ‘right thing’ is almost never celebrated with approval and cheers.

It helps to remember that this is a timeless fact. Below is a 2,000 year old text that describes it well.

When faced with a difficult decision, it is usually not the lack of conviction that make you clench and slow down on taking the action, but rather the subconscious thoughts of the consequences.

We are social animals. Inside of every one of us is a little desire to be a people-pleaser. When we make tough decisions that we believe in but others may not understand, we may get ‘punished’ with judgement, criticism, or resistance.

This text from Seneca’s letter #29 helps me remember that popular approval shall not be craved, and tough decisions will almost always not be applauded.

We all know this smart person (often an engineer) that speaks extremely bluntly, sometimes saying things that might be socially considered as harsh/awkward.

I started thinking about this recently.

I work much better with such people.

At times, I tend to say things myself that people tell me were too harsh or direct. I don’t get it. I usually think that they’re normal fair things to say, because they’re true, disregarding what feelings/emotions hearing them may trigger for the listener.

I’ve realized that my engineer and scientific friends do the same. And I think I’ve realized why they do it.

As an engineer, you’re often faced with technical problems that you have to agonize in untangling some logic to solve them.

I have this tendency to assume that everyone has the same capabilities as me.

I’ve been called out on it a few times.

“If I can do it, why can’t you?” I tend to think…

I got criticized for assuming that everyone can.

I’ve recently heard this statement in a podcast:

What if everybody tomorrow became a scientist or an engineer?…And don’t tell me people can’t do it, because they can. That’s just the tyranny of soft expectations, that’s just you looking down on somebody else. They can do it, they just need to be educated.

Naval Ravikant

I loved the term. The tyranny of soft expectations.

I’m writing this for the young managers that haven’t received an MBA in management, but need to manage a team regardless.

I work with a lot of kind and agreeable people, that are also ambitious and want to get things done.

The problem with being agreeable at times is that when someone gets in the way, the agreeable person would let them do so for longer than necessary, because they generally don’t like conflict and would like to avoid it at any cost.

That causes all sorts of problems and unintended consequences.

Here’s why you should fire, and fire fast:

Figuratively, or literally?

I’ve always thought that this statement is a figurative one: staying hungry means not getting satisfied and always aiming for more (ambition not greed). That is a recipe for continuous growth.

However, I’ve recently stumbled upon a video for the one and only Andrew Tate saying how one should stay hungry as one’s body operates at its peak performance when it’s in ‘hunting mode’, and operates in a rather lazy mode when it is full and lethargic.

He says:

You should be hungry all of the time. Your body is designed to perform at best while you are hungry because you’re supposed to be hunting for food. If you’re full of food, you’re going to be lazy and lethargic.

I’ve never thought of it that way – but I see the merit in that argument. Such an interesting insight. It is true that when I fast, opposite to what you expect happens: I perform better and stay more focused.

It is such a challenge though to go against our animalistic instinct. The voice in our head tells us to fill that gap in our stomach whenever it’s created. The best thing we can do however in the age of abundance is to fight that thought and stay hungry, in order to optimize for a healthier, happier life.

p.s. I’m not ashamed of liking what this man has to say 🙂 he’s a controversial figure, but spits facts a lot of the time. This is one of them (video here)