I listen to several podcasts on a variety of topics. I especially love to listen about creativity, screenwriting and the Arts.
But, strangely, I also listen to business podcasts, and a common term in business and entrepreneurship is the word iteration. This is often used in tech startups, where a product will be tested and sent out early as an MVP, or Minimum Viable Product. Are you still with me?
“Hey, isn’t this about creativity?? I want my money back!!”
Bear with me for a moment…
This MVP is not in its final form. Instead, it has all the necessary features to do the basic things its meant to do, and then it’s changed over time. The feedback shapes the product. It’s iterated.
Do you remember when Facebook had those goofy, “Michael is….. “ things? I think it was in 2007 or so. That didn’t last because it was probably disliked. It wasn’t the best use of the platform. I won’t get into the nuts and bolts of social media, but this is an example at a basic level of how Facebook tests their products. People try them, they get feedback, they tweak some variables and try again. Iterating, thus in theory, making it better.
As I grow into middle age….(Ok, that just freaks me out even saying it out loud. Wait, I’m writing it so I’m still ok, phew!) As I get older I realize we can also iterate our lives.
We get to try things, rinse and repeat. Change the variables on a daily basis. This isn’t a new concept. There are other versions out there. Have you heard of the concept of C.A.N.I.? Constant and Never ending Improvement.
I first heard about this concept from Tony Robbins, but it’s actually from the practice of Kaizen, popularized by a Japanese man named Mr. Masaaki Imai. Interestingly, I also recently found out my brother Dan Florizone wrote the forward for the Japanese version of his book, Gemba Kaizen. This same model was used to create change and improve the quality of Toyota.
On a personal level, change is hard. If we’re getting the same results every time, it’s probably time to change one of the variables. However, it doesn’t have to be big and bold.
Even the smallest change matters.
Although we’re in the middle of a global pandemic, each day doesn’t have to be like Groundhog Day. Instead we can consciously choose to make micro changes. And those small changes add up, to macro changes. I think I read about this idea in James Clear’s Atomic Habit, an interesting read on creating new habits.
There’s a British saying I really like, one that came up in the Akimbo workshop:
many a mickle makes a muckle.
It basically means that many small things add up to make a BIG THING.
Many small changes add up to a BIG CHANGE.
Even though those small changes seem tiny on a daily basis (and sometimes insignificant), over time they can have a profound effect.
I don’t have all the answers. Far from it. But I’m going to try and see what comes of it.
After all, life is a bit of an experiment.
With Gratitude,
Michael
ps. If you didn’t get a chance to check out all my posts, they can be found here!