Measurement, goals, and instinct

“Not everything that can be counted counts. Not everything that counts can be counted.” — Albert Einstein

A friend shared a fantastic podcast episode with me today: Brian Chesky of Airbnb on Steven Bartlett’s show, “Diary of a CEO.”

Brian shares his journey building Airbnb and covers many of the low points and personal challenges of being a founder, grappling with balancing work and friendships, and a lot more. I highly recommend giving the episode a listen.

Something Brian also talked about creativity, instinct, and measuring success.

He highlighted that Airbnb is one of the few companies in the Fortune 500 with a designer and creative talent in the boardroom.

The world of business has come to praise measurement and financials more than creativity. Yet, the world is changing faster than ever, requiring ever more creative thinking to adapt and change.

I’ve always struggled with balancing instinct, creative ideas, and doing bold but immeasurable work against the “proper” way to do things: small, measurable experiments, data-driven decision-making, and focusing on ROI.

It reminded me of a quote I read a while ago from David Ogilvy:

“I notice increasing reluctance on the part of marketing executives to use judgment; they are coming to rely too much on research, and they use it as a drunkard uses a lamp post for support, rather than for illumination.”

Why put craft into anything if you can’t prove it makes a difference?

Why go the extra mile to make things “just right” if no one seems to care?

Brian’s suggestion is to not try to measure it.

As soon as someone passionate about their craft has to justify making their work as good as it can possibly be, they should probably move on.

Craft and creativity must be baked into your company’s culture. As a leader, you are the one that sets and reinforces that culture in every action you take.

The whole conversation inspired me. Speak up for what you believe in a little more.

Why would Apple make a VR headset?

A quick sketch of my dream Apple headset

The silence is deafening — Apple is going to announce a VR headset imminently.

The very fact Apple hasn’t denied any rumours, and the increasing nods towards a big launch, are evidence enough. If they weren’t, then we’d know by now.

The feeling is very reminiscent of the run-up to the launch of both the original iPhone and Apple Watch — both products were widely expected to be unveiled, but the knowledge of exactly what they would entail was almost entirely unknown.

We’ve been here before

My sketches of the proposed Apple Watch ahead of its announcement.

While I never wrote about that feeling before the iPhone launch, I wrote a piece just before the Apple Watch was announced: “Why would Apple make a Watch?” in which I tried to get into the mind of the decision makers at Apple and understand why they would enter the watch market and what the device might enable.

Looking back at that piece, I feel quite proud. While I was not the only person pondering such concepts, I proposed the Apple Watch (or iWatch as I believed it’d be called at the time!) would:

Enable you to pay on the Subway, and allow for contactless payments — before Apple Pay came along.
Have easily detachable / swappable straps.
Become a key health companion, continuously monitoring your activity and heart rate.
Enable you to sleep better and wake up at the optimum time.
It’d prioritise telling the time at all costs, despite its smart features.

I got many things wrong too — I thought the Watch would:

Have incredible, unbelievable battery technology.
Rethink the concept of a display: “I will eat my metaphorical hat if we see a full colour backlit Retina display on the device”.
Be the “magic wand” remote to your Apple TV.
As you can see from my sketches — the physical appearance of the Watch I believed Apple would make was more akin to a Fitbit activity band.

I love reflecting on that post because it’s what makes following a secretive company like Apple so fun — you can dream and imagine, and you get to find out eventually if you were right. You get to decide if you felt Apple lived up to, exceeded, or missed your expectations.

So with an entirely new device and category just around the corner, what do we hope to see from the Californian giant?

Let’s dig in…

What will it be called?

I don’t believe Apple will call this a “headset” at all. Apple has never referred to the iPhone as a “handset” even though it’s how carriers and many consumers referred to phones before the iPhone.

Normal people don’t buy “headsets”. Headsets are for gamers and geeks.

Apple makes products for people who want the best, and they, of course, charge prices aligned with that approach.

There are numerous rumours and trademark filings, and even supposed confirmations in various code

The Crystal Palace

This weekend I visited Crystal Palace Park – it’s very near to where I live and I used the day to go walking there and “get my steps in”.

The park and area is named Crystal Palace because of the huge glass exhibition building that once stood there. I had been interested in the story of the building for a while but never knew too much about it.

It turns out there are many stories and a fascinating past to the park and the building. I am no expert, but after just a day of visiting, and a few hours of reading around, I felt compelled to distill some of what I found into a short post – because what I learnt inspired me and I hope may inspire other readers too.

Designed and built in less than a year

I’m frequently amazed at how quickly some huge projects have come together – I recently wrote about the importance of moving fast.

For what was arguably the most ambitious building to ever exist at the time, this thing came together fast. Really fast!

As I understand it, Britain was to host “the great exhibition” of everything that was great both in Britain, and across the world – particularly in the British Empire at the time. It was decided that a building was needed to house all of the exhibits and it was to be in Hyde Park, central London, for 6 months from 1st May 1851.

Many architects and elite engineers of the time proposed solutions, but all were too expensive, and would take too long to build. No one could hit the extreme constraints of the project. With less than a year until the doors needed to open – doors that still needed to be created – a chap called Joseph Paxton drew an idea on a scribble of paper. Paxton knew a ton about designing gardens and also about grand conservatories and greenhouses.

After minimal debate, and the realisation that Paxton’s design would cost a fraction of other proposals (as little as 28% of the cost of another option), Paxton was given the go-ahead to turn his sketch into drawings and plans that could be used to start construction. He and his team turned the sketch into a full set of calculations, budgets, and building plans in two weeks. This makes me question my work ethic.

Paxton had 8 months to turn his plans into a finished building ready for the greatest show the world had ever seen. Not just any building – the largest exhibition space in the world at the time, made almost entirely of glass. No pressure.

Public toilets? You have the Crystal Palace to thank

Among many firsts, the Great Exhibition saw the first major installation of public toilets. Hard to believe that at some point public toilets just weren’t a thing. The phrase “spending a penny” was also thought to have originated here – as it cost a penny to use the toilets on site.

The Natural

Apple Store Bangkok Vortex Ceiling

There are few better ways to spend a Saturday in lockdown than drawing. I find it incredibly therapeutic, and I get a thrill from finishing a piece and sharing it with others to see their reaction.

This is no masterpiece – just a quick sketch – but I felt compelled to quickly draw the vortex ceiling of the Apple Store in Bangkok, Thailand.

Apparently this ceiling is made from 1,800 pieces of oak. I’ve never been to the store, or Thailand at all for that matter. Perhaps one day we’ll be allowed out again and I can see this for myself!

I drew this on my iPad Pro, with Apple Pencil, and used Procreate – the best value app I think I’ve ever purchased.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMFkI2WpUHn/

Art

A 4-post collection