This week the guys start a 3 part review of 2020 by discussing what hasn’t worked as the year comes to a close. Tyler forgets to “knock on wood”, James is a “blue headed octopus”, Garret threatens to bring out a pillow”y” bulldozer, and Darin takes full credit for the finance department.  All of that and an Apple Watch discussion.

00:00:00 - Pre Show

Poo, Candles, and Mouse Farts. (What are things that happen when James wonders before the show?)

00:02:15 - Show Start

00:02:27 - Follow-Ups - Review of S01E05 (the second episode we’ll never speak of again)

Darin’s Giggles

Self-rated as the BEST giggle on “radio”

“Pure Face-hole Joy”

EOS Police

No meeting needed - use the right terms please

00:21:47 - The Headlines

Darin

Tactical ToDo’s for Vision Rock

Product Board Progress

Production Performance

Tyler

Started the week rock-solid (forgot to “knock on wood”)

Data, Data, Data

Yahtzee 4 LTM

Garret

LT LTM Update (still below a 4)

Scorecard IDS

Rock Updates

1 Complete

6 “on track”

Day 11 of “75 Hard” and maybe in a fitness challenge with James?

Clicking things is hard

James’ version of headlines

Anger? Sadness? Feelings? - Yes

Lost focus - Growth outpaced teams

Are we ending the year worse off than we started?

Wants to blow up everything and take charge...kinda

Bulldozer feels...look out Infoplus!

Pre-maturely self-directed (swinging the pendulum to far)

00:45:14 - Topic 2 (1) What Didn’t / Isn’t Working as we Finish 2020

A podcast about fun, adventure, and struggles (or just struggles last 5 months) of running a high tech startup

James rates the departments on our 1-5 scale

Where are we now and what do we want to choose to change?

“Throwing the baby out with the bathwater”

Pillow”y” Garret appearance

Bulldozer → Forward → Push → Tree → Down

Hiring, People, Job Posting, Interviews (see previous 2 episodes)

A lot of “try harder” going on

CTO Darin takes full credit for finance

False dichotomy  - Points 2 through 7, sub-points A through Z

Leadership Levers: Talk, Hire and Fire, Get Involved

James is a “Blue Headed Octopus”

Garret’s silent head nods are podcast gold

James Exploring Options for solving issues

Key to any good solution = Yellow Legal Pads

Lots of Sad Faces

Taking failure and declaring it success - a simple trick

Garret’s angry appreciation

01:14:53 - Questions and Long Answers

Can you describe your interview process?

Interview Agenda (helps avoid ⅓ to ⅖ melting in James CEO interview)

Can you make a suggestion for people in jobs not doing quad 1 and quad 2 work?

When can we get Facilitator Ari on the show?

When James has word vomit on Slack, what’s his audience?

James’ Slack Word Vomit about S01E05 (with strategic use of ALL CAPS)

Note: Cheap things are cheap and they feel cheap

01:18:10 - End of Show 

If you’ve read this far you’ve experienced “easily the best part of the show”

01:18:10 - Aftershow  

Garret’s utilitarian use of an Apple Watch...and a sneaky humble brag