Think, Act, Market - You Can Be A Unicorn Too!
TLDR
Background
“No matter what I do, my work is not recognised.” Sounds familiar? 🤔
Over the years, even though I have played different roles as an individual contributor, a cross-team influencer, and a manager, I realised there are common traits among those who are more successful in these roles.
They think hard to solve the relevant problems. They carry out their plans conscientiously and without losing sight of their goals. They articulate their products to promulgate wider adoption for impact and improvements.
I have consolidated these observations and developed the “Think, Act, Market” (TAM) framework to help identify our current position and our potential gaps. I hope you can be a unicorn in your own space where you can also be thoughtful, action-biased, and communicative.
Common Problems
There are three common problems that reduce the chances of success.
Firstly, being thoughtless is usually the biggest problem. I am also guilty of committing this mistake in my early years. This problem is at its worst when combined with sheer hard work, where efforts were generated for themselves and others, moving everybody towards the wrong direction.
To date, I have observed many leaders and engineers continue to mindlessly pursue the latest technologies, such as AI, homomorphic encryption, and blockchain, without understanding the impetus and identifying suitable use cases. This blind pursuit of shiny projects to impress often ends with solutions looking for problems to solve, sometimes causing more problems than good.
Secondly, inadequate communication is another major problem. Many great engineers I have worked with are artisans who believe that the quality of their engineering products alone speaks for itself.
There is a lot of emphasis on their research, design, and implementation but without (much) articulation. These thinking processes and the details were found nowhere but mostly in their head. Even when many have used these products, no one knows the inventors of these creations and why are they invented in the first place.
I used to be one of these engineers but have learnt over time that a product often doesn’t speak for itself until someone speaks for it. Likely, the “someone” has to be ourselves. We need to be proactive in communicating our work and seeking opportunities for improvement.
Lastly, no one likes to work with empty vessels. One can share many great ideas, but success does not happen by chance. Trust can be easily eroded over time, particularly for leaders who speak vacuously. Worst still, what they say and do are inconsistent.
Different Archetypes
There is a total of seven archetypes identified via the “Think, Act, Market” framework. Are you able to find yours? 😉
A Unicorn
Congratulations if you are a Unicorn! A unicorn thinks deeply, delivers with quality, and communicates proactively.
Strengths
✚ Thinks of strategy that solves identified real problems and sets realistic goals
✚ Executes tactics and iterates thoughtfully without losing sight of their goals
✚ Market to maximise your product’s impact through more awareness and adoption
However, it is worth noting that this framework does not measure the quality of thoughts, actions, and communication. It also does not consider many other factors that can contribute to an individual’s success — such as values, emotional intelligence, grit, etc. It only helps to highlight the importance of thinking, actions, and communication, and there are always opportunities for improvement!
An Artisan
An Artisan delivers exquisite work but relies on word of mouth.
Strengths
✚ Thinks deliberately and deeply to deliver a thoughtful masterpiece
✚ Executes with precision and perfectionism
Challenges
− Work quietly and diligently on their own
− Limited impact due to lack of awareness and coverage
As an artisan may not articulate their work, they may not be adequately recognised. Furthermore, their work may not achieve maximum impact with limited reach. Also, the artisan may not have the opportunity to receive feedback for improvement.
A Deliverer
A Deliverer walks the talk but lacks of thoughts.
Strengths
✚ Focuses on delivering
✚ Market their products to complete their delivery cycle
Challenges
− Lack of strategy and clarity
− Lack of thoughtful details, such as the user’s journey
When asked, “How are you?” A deliverer will often reply, “Busy.” This framework reminds us to take a step back from time to time, validate our thoughts and evaluate our progress to see if we are still moving in the right direction thoughtfully.
An Inspirer
An Inspirer shares their bold dreams but needs support to deliver an outcome.
Strengths
✚ Thinks deeply about the problem and conceptualises their solutions
✚ Market their ideas to inspire others to support their causes
Challenges
− Hard to maintain long-term trust as followers expect leaders to walk the talk
− Lack of pragmatism due to inadequate understanding of ground challenges
Many leaders often fall into the category of Inspirer. However, does it mean that we do not need to carry out any work as a leader? Leaders can further inspire their teams by rolling their sleeves and leading by example! It would be a bonus if the leader could demonstrate some expertise in the domain that they lead.
A Thinker
A Thinker thinks deeply, but no one knows their great ideas
Strengths
✚ Thinks deeply about problems
✚ Create new ideas and philosophies
Challenges
− No one knows about great ideas in their mind
− Lack of pragmatism due to inadequate grounding
Thinking without trying may only result in more unfulfilled dreams. Many organisations need fresh ideas on how to progress, but there is a lack of brave souls who show and tell others the way.
A Doer
A doer gets things done but lacks recognition or validation
Strengths
✚ Focuses on getting things done
✚ Takes pride in the completion of their tasks
Challenges
− Inadequate recognition of their contributions
− Spending time working on things that do not meet objectives or with minimal impact
− No one could validate the usefulness of their work
If you are a doer, it’s time to question why you do your work this way. What is the impetus, and are there better ways of doing things? If you don’t think hard enough, automation may soon replace you.
An Advertiser
An advertiser promotes but sometimes vacuously, which erodes trust
Strengths
Focuses on conveying messages to their audiences
Challenges
− Inadequate thoughts in their messages
− Lack of demonstrations that erodes trust
If you think that others can always pick up the slack, you are wrong. Nobody likes to work with empty vessels. In time to come, you may lose your supporters and stakeholders’ trust in you.
It’s time to show that you can be thoughtful and demonstrate with actions!
Key Takeaways!
Everyone can be a Unicorn and be more successful in what they do. Be open-minded so that we can get out of our comfort zone and expand our skills to think better, do better, and communicate better.
If you are good at only thinking, doing, or communicating, you can start building skills in one other domain area. Perfect is the enemy of good; you can celebrate growth as long as there is progress. Just don’t stop growing to be better.
On top of improving ourselves, we can always partner with people who can complement us and progress together. We have to recognise that everyone is different, and inherently we have differences and tensions, especially among people with other preferences.
PS: I would like to hear your feedbacks. Please feel free to share with me your thoughts or share this article with people who you care.
Special thanks to my wife and son for giving me time to work on this project.