This App You’re Using Is No Better Than CDROM

Have you seen this one in every hotel?

Control this TV with your phone

The benefit of the app can’t be that it replaces the remote. The remote works just fine. Why do we need to replace it?

If we’re going to build an app, it should be doing more than the remote. It should beat the remote.

The magic of an app can’t be that the same capabilities of the remote are now on a shiny screen!

We already went through that!

That was CDROM in the 90s!

How is that better?

A lot of resources go into technology products and if we’re developing with a lean mindset, this product really needs to justify why it exists.

That product really needs to justify why it took so many developer hours and venture capital.

There are a few times it’s okay to invest in something to achieve “feature parity.”

Feature parity just means that the new thing has the same capabilities or features as the old version.

This can be okay but only under certain conditions, like when it enables you to build more or better future features at less cost or more stability or by using less computer processing hours.

That’s an investment. That’s justified.

Having a lean mindset means that tasks, features, and innovations are all fighting for their lives to stay on your task list.

2 Minute Action

You have a list of things to do?

Great.

Spend 2 minutes right now, going top to bottom.

Everything must fight for its life to stay on the list.

Good questions to ask:

What might happen if I put this off?

What might happen if I never finish this?

How Rejecting Someone Can Help

“I’m sorry, we’re not for you.”

This seems a little ridiculous for a business to say to a customer but let’s back up a little and understand where it came from.

When Southwest Airlines started out, they decided that they were going to make flying accessible. This was a real challenge considering that the margins in the airline industry were already scarily thin.

In order to pull it off, they’d have to streamline operations so they could reduce cost and pass that savings to the customer.

This doesn’t mean slashing features, it means focusing on the features that matter and cutting everything else.

So how do you decide?

Southwest cut features that didn’t focus on their core philosophy of putting people first.

• They don’t offer meals for purchase on flights but instead offer free snacks and free checked bags.
• They use one type of airplane, which makes service and maintenance and processes more efficient and cost-effective.
• They only offer coach seating, which makes boarding and un-boarding the planes faster and easier to turn around at the gate. Southwest could turnaround 2 out of 3 planes in 15 minutes when the industry average was 55 minutes.
• They offered only the most convenient flight times at high frequency.
• When they hire flight attendants, they ask them to speak in front of the other candidates—but the hiring team isn’t listening to the speech, they’re watching the other candidates listen, encourage and engage with someone who in the hot seat.

So how does all this focus and award-winning customer service lead to the CEO of the company telling a customer that she should find another airline?

The customer had been saying: “your fares are great but I would like you if you had first class seating and if you flew to more airports, and if you offered meals.”

Since the fares were low because of the focus on the essentials, it was an easy explanation—but this customer wasn’t having it.

This customer wanted all of the non-essentials offered by other airlines but at the Southwest price. Just like many customers, who really just want a product designed specifically for them and all for free. This is normal, but it's your responsibility to call it out and stick to your mission.

Herb Kelleher said, “I’m sorry, Miss, we’re just not for you.”

Today, Southwest carries more customer than any airline and they have a sterling reputation among their customers.

The moral of the story is that being all-in on your mission and purpose means being focused on the essentials and cutting out the distractions that seem like necessities—even if some people disagree.

2 Minute Action

What are you focused on?

What are the essentials of your life and work?

Family? A few friends? Your career?

Take this time to look at how you spent the last 4 weeks of your free time and you will see what your priorities are.

How many hours did you watch TV? How much of that time was spent on Instagram?

How much of that time was spent figuring out how you’re going to backpack Europe? How much of that time was spent figuring out how to buy that commercial real estate property?

Do a quick, 2 minute time audit and decide on a non-essential to cut from your life so you can focus.

[TOOL] Evernote Vs. iOS Notes

I just caught myself looking at a comparison review of Evernote and the iOS Notes app.

I pay $8/month for Evernote and I have been for years.

But I’ve noticed that I haven’t really used Evernote over the past few months. I had exclusively been using iOS Notes.

That money is being wasted!

But why?

Evernote has always been better.

• Evernote could record your voice and save it as a note.
• Evernote could scan your whiteboard notes and make THOSE searchable.
• Evernote could upload everywhere and do everything.

Over the past few years, they built more apps, more extensions, and more features.

Scannable. Skitch. Web Clipper. And many others.

It became a brain.

And then . . . I realized I didn’t actually want a brain.

I wanted a note taker.

The number one feature that mattered to me was how quickly I could get my notes app launched so I could capture my thought.

That was it.

None of those other sexy features actually mattered!

iOS Notes has fewer features, looks less sexy, and doesn't scan anything.

But it does what I need it to do.

What a lesson about productivity and business!

It’s so easy to get distracted by features and extensions and compatibilities.

It’s harder to focus on the minimum viable feature.

The one thing that actually solves the problem.

Time to unsubscribe to Evernote.iOS Notes wins!

2 Minute Action

If you could only get one thing done today, what would it be?

What other things will definitely happen and impede this from getting finished?

Is this one thing dependent on anything else (like someone else’s work) to get done?

How can you get around it?

Just thinking like this for 2 minutes will make all the difference in actually checking things off.

Focus like this makes you immune to distraction.

And if you fall into the vortex of sexy app features (like I just did), it’s this learned habit of thinking that will get you out.