05/28/24 - Morning Pages
Jig
9 out of 10 applicants don’t continue with their application at Expedock’s product team.
The first 30 mins they spend convincing me as to why I should let them in.
The last 30 minutes I tell them why this job is horrible.
I warn them about the dangerous mission ahead.
I warn them this is akin to joining an elite army force.
I warn them that Expedock is the craziest and hardest job available to a product person.
You will be paid with dignity but not over the top like other startups.
Here’s everything you can gain as owners if we win but the chances are slim in startups.
Here’s everything you will learn even if we lose.
Here’s the man or woman you will become after 4 years.
I tell them I’m committed to coaching them and guiding them at all dimensions of their lives.
They know this to be true. I’m a man of my word. I commit & hard send.
I tell them to think about the job to be like a grand adventure
We wont work you like the ground like investment banking.
I will never ask you to work on the weekends but the hours will be 1-5 and 10 to 2am.
In practice, that’s your whole day and 0 Friday nights
I will give you everything you need to be the best version of yourself
but what I can’t give you is a normal life.
I will promise you a great culture surrounded by great thinkers & doers.
No unreasonable deadlines,
no angry boss, no toxic teammates
only a daring vision.
Urgency is only a function of our shared mission.
I tell them that
I need you to rest. I need you to take care of your body.
I need you to meditate. I need you to eat well.
I need you to have a strong emotional & mental well being.
I need you to level up and read all these books in your free time.
I will give you the tools and resources take care of your mind, heart, and body.
I tell them all of this instead of persuading them to join.
Product people coming from local startups rescind their application on the spot.
Fresh grads say they’ll think about if they can commit
9 out of 10 realize they want to chill and live a normal life.
But sometimes you encounter the insane few.
Those who grin hearing about the dangerous mission ahead.
Those who get excited and want to start killing it immediately.
Those who beg for an opportunity at world conquest.
I ask them to sprint but only at their true capacity.
I ask them not to keep up with me. Not yet.
Not until your mind, body, and heart can take it.
I welcome them to the storm and battlefield.
I welcome my fellow Odysseus
I welcome them to the Odyssey.
—
This post was inspired by
Jose & Aga who did 2 weeks worth of onboarding in their first week on their own without any instruction to do so
They’re already making an impact by 1.5 weeks with a full understanding of the product lines & businesses entrusted to them
At the end of their first week Jose said Expedock is like the Odyssey and to win we all of us have to become Odysseus.
“Lets sail the storm like Odysseus!” was his battlecry.
I grinned. He gets it.
Startups require multiple odysseus who can overcome seemingly insurmountable supernatural problems & mythical beings.
Expedock requires each person to be resilient, courageous, cunning, creative, strategic, and resourceful while saling the storms
I’m excited to have 2 more Odysseuss on the product team.
Instagram Posts: 1. https://www.instagram.com/p/C7fmLBUPIHr/?igsh=MWVwenVqeTNqZDY2bg==