This week at work was a transition phase into a new phase of our product. This past quarter (Dec - Feb; don’t ask me why their business quarters are like that), we've been focusing on onboarding, aligning internally, and defining a way of working as a team. The next quarter will be about collaborating with teams across the entire H&M Group to get our product up and running. So this week we have been prepping how we will present our product to the other teams and defining what help we need and how we should collaborate with others. (Sorry, I need to be really vague about what we're doing lol.)
Feeling overwhelmed
There were so many things going on, I started to feel overwhelmed by the different things I could help on. Thankfully, I have a weekly one-on-one with our product owner. I always feel great after because I get the validation that I'm contributing, and she shares with me what's on her mind and what she thinks is the priority. Then I usually suggest how I can help with that and she feels at ease, I feel at ease - it's great. This week she said it was most important to focus on finding a way to explain what we need from other teams. That gave me the clarity I needed to focus on my work.
We’re in the same boat
Another thing I loved about my call with the product owner was that she said that nobody really knows what the "right" way to do our work is. This is because the H&M went through a huge reorganization in August to become Agile, AND we're one of the first product teams in the Innovation and Incubation function of the H&M Group. Nobody is sure how we should work. Nobody can predict how things will turn out this quarter. This is uncharted territory - and I'm one of the explorers. That's scary and exciting.
Photo by Filip Mroz on Unsplash
My favorite things this week
App: I didn't really get the hype over Clubhouse - and I am still not sure about the huge rooms that turn into Q&As - I don't enjoy listening to that. BUT I had a lot of fun co-hosting a UX room with @ux.collection and jumping into @designalilys rooms. I think I enjoy rooms when I already know the people there and am excited to "hang out" with them - this was further validated when I got excited when I created a spontaneous room and my friend, Tammy, and 2 people I met through Instagram (@nakachandesigns and @vidalaw) joined and we had a fun casual conversation. My friend and nakachandesigns even bonded over Japanese.
Offline, I love connecting people I know, and I've come to realize I can take that to the next level with Clubhouse. If you follow me on Clubhouse, Expect to see random rooms where I introduce people to each other.
If you're not on Clubhouse and want an Invite reply to this email and I'll send one to you if I still have them (only iOS).
Quotes of the week
Even a lion doesn't go after the fastest antelope in the herd - Sun Tzu
This quote resonated with me when I was listening to Sun Tzu and the Art of Business on Blinkist. Don’t go after your competitors’ strengths, go after their weaknesses.