Who’s behind the steering wheel
20 Jan 2025
When scrolling through Instagram, Youtube, etc. you’re presented with things that an algorithm has chosen for you. You’re not really deciding, you’re just passively watching what is being put in front of you.
Those things are usually things everyone gets shown, because it’s the latest trend or scandal, the reel that is super trending right now, the video that is going viral… If you’re opening an app, it’s always the “top 5 trending”, “must have”, “must read”, “what others are”, “currently” etc.
If we’re all watching and consuming the same, it creates uniform people; we all see the same stuff, have all the same experiences leaving no room for uniqueness.
However, I like niche, uniqueness, and appreciate control.
I seek to be on the steering wheel, and be guided by the things that uniquely drive me, listening to the things that attract me and that I feel drawn to. I am frequenty bored of the sameness that I see. I want to develop my own unique personality and fuel my own unique curiosity without an algorithm steering me.
In order to do this, it’s key to actively and consciously search for something, instead of just passively consuming what the world throws at me. Listening to myself and making conscious decisions on where I want to go next, what has catched my eye, what interests me, what questions do I have, what do I want to explore next; with as little outside influence as possible.
Once the direction is set, it’s ok to go out and wander and let serendipity guide me, but always making sure that, in the end, it’s still me who’s behind the steering wheel.
Worthwhile
31 Oct 2024
I like the notion of “making something worthwhile". I think the meaning of this word lends itself well to describing the mission that a product should have. Making something worthwhile for the customer, be respectful of their time and effort and the fact that they choose to give your product a go.
Making it worthwhile in this context means a couple of things to me: be transparent, be honest, be clear.
This means for example to not lure the user in. Don't make them waste their time, only to find out at the end that there was some catch to it or that what you're offering is not what they wanted in the first place.
So, when designing the customer's journey, it's important to put potential deal-breakers up-front.Let's take the example of a food delivery platform: showing the users all the restaurants available on the platform without filtering them based on the location of the customer can lead to a frustrating experience for the customer. The customer might choose a restaurant that is out of range for the delivery, spend time reading the menu, deciding what to order etc. Only to find out later that the restaurant is out of range. Very frustrating.
So the better option would be to put this potential deal-breaker as the very first question. Let the customer first choose where he needs the food to be delivered. Once that question is out of the way, show the customer all the relevant restaurants.
Ignorance = Carelessness
04 Sep 2024
When you are ignorant about a topic or area you are unable to appreciate the thing for itself or the work behind it.
This ignorance and lack of appreciation can lead to carelessness.
We can turn this notion around: if we want people to care and appreciate something, we must make them less ignorant and educate them.
Forced Change
28 Jul 2024
Sometimes change is inevitable and forced. When it is forced, it usually means that it is not something we wanted. We may be afraid of what is to come or the uncertainty makes us feel uncomfortable.
However, there can still be a silver lining. Sometimes, forced change can show us once again how resilient we are and how well we can adapt.
On Ownership
21 Mar 2024
When things go wrong or there is no progress, it could be an ownership issue. When it is not clear who has responsibility, who has ownership of something, things are left behind without action. We think “someone else will do it”, or worse , "why should I do it".
What happens if ownership is clearly defined? When we define who is responsible, and enable people to make autonomous decisions, then not only are things taken care of, but they are also done better. Having ownership over something means putting our face on it, our signature - and we tend to work harder and give our best. In return, ownership makes us more productive because things are being taken care of.
Experiencing vs the final result
07 Mar 2024
There are things in life where the actual experience of doing them is all that matters, and not the end result. When the experience matters more than the result, it can lift a bit of pressure off the final outcome.
Think about climbing a mountain vs taking the cable car. Sure, the result is the same: you're at the top of the mountain. But it's the actual experience of hiking with your own feet, that makes all the difference.
So the next time you're enjoying doing something and are worried about the end result, try to think if the end result really matters that much.