FASTer - Issue #9

In my limited experience people who spend most of life feeling like they wouldn’t be able to handle bad things if they happened to them, that they would crumble under the weight of any pain. Leads them to have a lot of anxiety and preoccupation with things they cant control. These people operate on Intellectualisation: using reason & intellect to avoid feeling ones emotions. Intellectualisers are more comfortable with logic & rationality than emotionality & are good at speaking through things without actually feeling them. Whilst this can be a strength but also a problem. Some one said it best "This realisation took me years to figure out, moments to realise" for me personally a decade to integrate in my work ethos when dealing with people at large. If you can use psychological concepts to evaluate the world around you, you will help every one be more successful starting with your self.

Outcomes

The ability to separate bad execution from bad ideas is really helpful. It enables us to determine the direction of our outcomes.

Otherwise, you can throw away good ideas, or keep going with bad ones…

Also, we should always be very clear about what is the objective, what is the strategy, and what are the tactics.

A strategy is the approach you take to achieve a goal. An objective is a measurable step you take to achieve a strategy. A tactic is a tool you use in pursuing an objective associated with a strategy

This is a simple example for you demystify the issue.

  • Objective: I want to lose 50lbs by the end of next year.

  • Strategy: I’m going to exercise more and eat better.

  • Tactics: I will go for a run every morning and eat greens 5 times a week.

Simply: objectives are what you want to achieve. Your Objective has to be SMART – (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timed) – and forms the base of all future decisions. You should always look at what you’re doing and ask yourself “does this help me achieve my objective?” Rule of thumb, If it doesn’t achieve your objectives, then don’t do it because if you do, it will negatively impact your outcomes.

The strategy is your plan of action to achieve your objective.

Finally, your tactics are the “how” – what tools are you going to use? When? Where? Are you going to use social media, write a newsletter, make a video, hold a conference?

A fantastic podcast on Outcomes below. Do your self a favour and listen to this sooner rather than later.

"Humility is the most important attribute or characteristic for a leader to have." — Jocko Willin

One New Thing

How do you grow a business? You look for validation. I validate startup ideas using Reddit. It has 1.5B visits a month, so it can be fast and accurate (most days).

Here is some thing I read  on how to research subreddits and evaluate them for ideas validation and have been sharing it with every one. Today its your turn.

  • When you have an idea to validate write down at least 5 keywords related to it. Example terms : “growth”, “health foods”, “herbs”, “wellness”, “natural supplements”. Enter one keyword at a time into the search bar and it will give you a list of subreddits where your keyword is mentioned.

  • Find between 5-10 subreddits with people who discussed your topic. Make a copy of this spread sheet. And collect information about the number of readers. Pro tip: don't waste your time on subreddits with less than 10K readers.

  • Go to Related Subreddits by User overlaps by using this tool. You need to check every subreddit you found by searching your terms to get more ideas on when your potential audience is hanging out. You should also take this related subreddits Visualisation Tool for a drive (see details below)

  • Read posts within each subreddit to see if people might be interested in your project. Add subjective relevance to the spreadsheet, where 10 is for super relevant subreddit.

  • Once all numbers are added to the spreadsheet, sort your list of subreddits based on the Score it calculates for you.

  • Congrats, now you are ready to pick the most relevant subreddits, plan content, write a title, research the best time to post, etc.

Boring stuff that scales

With lock downs going no where, and deliveries going through the roof. There are many industries to focus on with regards to boring things that will scale. Let's pick a few examples today.

1) Restaurant food packaging + delivery bags

Why do I think its a great space to get into? Well no ones dining-in, yet most mid tier restaurants have horrible take away packaging from plastic boxes to shrink wrapped items to avoid spillage. There has to be a better way for both parties to win vs just doing brown paper bags with no logos and no customisation. So basically the Boring business idea is : monthly subscription service for custom printed restaurant takeout/delivery bags + packaging.

It’s an item that needs to be constantly replenished yet takes up a lot of valuable space if bought in bulk. It’s an opportunity to increase brand awareness as off-premise dining continues to grow. It’s a low cost way to provide eco-friendly paper bags printed with your logo along with other optional packaging that is ideally non-plastic read paper based but food grade safe as well.

2) E-commerce Flyers (PolyMailers/alternatives)

What we call flyers what the rest of the world frowns up-on, tamper resistant plastic packaging for your e-commerce deliveries. Don't get me wrong the rest of the world also uses these The poly mailer is a flexible packaging type, made from polyethylene LDPE, or paper.

Think of an Amazon bag or FedEx mailer bag – these are both poly mailers.

A padded envelope is also considered a poly mailer.

With it being light and versatile, it is a popular choice for e-commerce businesses that ship all types of products of light to medium weights. So whats the alternate, cloth bags made from industrial textile waste, this can spawn a cottage industry and put tons of waste into re-use.

3) Mail-Box Stores in Vertically Dense Neighbourhoods

The rest of the world has had private mailboxes for eons. Why now? Why in Pakistan? Look at the urban density in areas like gulistan-e-johar etc. Look at lock downs + delivery rations going crazy. Then also look at middle class neighbourhoods where both partners are having to work, but they are digitally inclined and not always home to receive what they order. Or Where deliveries to the 13th floor or 15th floor without a functional elevator means that you have to go down to get it or loose it. With most buildings not having secure mail boxes, this is an adjacency business model, much like the guy who does easy paisa + Jazz cash launches small personal real estate aka boxes, you can rent for your deliveries to be securely kept from from 8am to 10pm when he's open and always on for business. In turn he can charge a small fee to bring it up to you. You can spawn new last mile services by encouraging setting these up and use them as fulfilment channels for accurately and timely delivery. More on expanding this model next time.

You heard(read) it here first ...

The Jewish community was once an integral component of Karachi and played an important role in the city’s development.

In 1901 there were 482 Jews in Karachi. In 1911 they constituted 0.3 per cent of the city’s population and at the time of partition their number had reached 2,500. When in 1948 Israel came into being a lot of Jews migrated to Israel, and after the Arab-Israel war a majority of them left the city. Quite a few of Karachi’s Jews now lived in Ramale, Israel.A video recently surfaced on youtube about a Pakistani origin Jew who moved to Israel and visited last 1996 is pretty interesting if authentic.

In her book ‘Malika-e-Mashriq’ (Queen of the East), Mehmooda Rizwiya has written about the Jewish presence in Karachi. On page 146 of the said book, the author tells us that the Jews are settled in Lawrence Quarters… That a majority of them belong to the working class… That they are commonly known as ‘Bani Israel’ (the tribe of Israel)… Their ways of butchering edible, kosher animals is different. She also tells us that they have a cemetery and a haikal (synagogue), and that they were very few in numbers, and are mostly educated and well off.

The Magain Shalome Synagogue was a synagogue in Karachi, Pakistan. It was built by Solomon David Umerdekar in 1893, when the region was still under British rule as India. The synagogue was demolished in 1988 on the orders of the then President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, following which a shopping plaza was built on the location.

Mr. Zarrar Khan, who used to live in the Ranchore Line area up until the 70s related an eyewitness account that the synagogue was situated at the central square of Ranchore Line, where now in its place stands a tall building called the Madiha Square. The last trustee of the Bani Israel Trust was Rachel Joseph who transferred the power of attorney of the building to a Mr. Ahmed Ilahi, son of Meher Ilahi. There was an agreement that a commercial building was to replace the synagogue. Furthermore, the ground floor of the new building would have shops and businesses, while the first floor was to become the new synagogue. The agreement was duly followed initially, and the synagogue was constructed. However, after a while, the synagogue was replaced by residential apartments. This resulted into litigation between Rachel Joseph and some other people representing the second party. The case was won by Rachel and her attorney.

An other interesting item quoted the Tribune (link below) stated: Pakistani Jews, few in numbers, usually hide their identity from public and according to a top NADRA official their identity details, like house addresses, in the authority’s records are treated as top secret. According to him, there are some 745 registered Jewish families in Pakistan.

*Sources : https://www.dawn.com/news/1046956

https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c6/e207509/Place/Pakistan

https://www.dawn.com/news/1046956

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1366268/man-interfaith-parents-wins-right-religion-choice

What you should be reading

Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most

"No matter what challenges or obstacles we face, there is a better way: instead of pushing ourselves harder, we can find an easier path. Effortless offers actionable advice for making the most essential activities the easiest ones, so you can achieve the results you want, without burning out". I saw this book being featured in a tweet and had to read it.

Effortless is profound in its simplicity. It is the phrase “work smarter, not harder” expanded into a book. McKeown presents strategies and concepts for ultimately creating a life that requires less effort, many of which you may already know, that are not only easy to digest, but easy to implement, hence a brilliant take. Its the anthesis of working hard, or working till you drop dead and of the culture of hustle. Some times an alternate view is a great reminder to re-calibrate what matters most in life.

We live in a world that never sleeps. There is always something (or someone) vying for our time and attention. But what happens when we simply have no more to give… When we reach the point of burnout?“Burnout is not a badge of honor.” He also states that fitting in, doing the hustle, being always switched on are not what they are made out to be. It's time we understand what really matters and seek balance. Its a brilliant book in all respects.

He offers insights that allow us to reprogram our thinking and challenge our assumptions. An interesting read for the intellectually restless.

Monetise your time

If you feel that the current reality isn’t serving you (or your organisation, your community, your country…) and you aren’t taking meaningful action to change it, the reason you’re stuck is simple. Because you aren't learning. When you stop learning you get stuck in a time warp, between wanting what you could have or what you aspire to have or do, but not putting in any effort to get to a close on that goal. Learning = Monetising .

If you waste your time being bitter, you are not monetising your time thus negatively impacting your outcomes. You have to rethink & "realign your resources" when you're motivated, to change; because of new learning or new skills or a new target or goal. We monetise what we prioritise. We find time where there is none for what matters. Not doing so leaves you feeling "stuck". The meaningful impact we want to make in the world always begins with internal interrogations of our own beliefs, sense of identity...and yes, emotions. You have to ask your self why do you want to learn some thing new, or why you aren't doing what you know you should? Whats your "mental road block"? Why are you stuck?

You can monetise your time when you are able to take decisions. When you are stuck, seek help. My mentor tells me all the time "To build an effective team you need to know yourself. There is no other place to start". Put differently how can you monetise your time when you don't even know your self? So start with what you know.

Beliefs are powerful things - at their worst, they hold us back when they live in the shadows; at their best, they can propel us forward. If you are stuck, what ever your station in life, career or other wise, seek out a mentor or a coach or a therapist. All of them look at how beliefs are working, examine the results you are getting from holding them, consider tweaking one or two, giving up a few, or help you think about how to use them as fuel to keep on going. Optimise the fuel you have by leaning on others. Monetising your time is not just about the $s you can charge per hour but also your own wellbeing and mental wellness, awareness and making use of outside views.

Good Mentors teach actions.

Great Mentors in still beliefs.

Take stock of where you are and monetise the time you have left vs worrying about what you missed.

Made in Pakistan (or also made in Pakistan)

The Mughals were very fond of desserts contrary to popular belief. A common sweet dish was Rasawal, made using sugarcane juice or Gurr or both. Among many forgotten seasonal recipes the one that stands out in my memory is Rasawal, an old Lucknowi recipe-basically a kheer made with rice and sugarcane juice, its cooled down, then cold milk is added before eating.

This recipe was a favourite of both Hindus and Muslims in Lucknow. Making it was a ceremony where women used to come together to stir large pots of sugarcane juice and rice, and carry away bowls of the unique kheer back home. (Granted I wasn't around during that tradition)

But Rasawal traditionally is winter fare, but to me it is a treat on a warm summer day with cold milk and an Iftar and Eid tradition from an era gone by. Some of these generational foods definitely have a come-back potential as we look for the simple pleasures derived from local and abundant ingredients. Not every thing has to be a Lindt Chocolate Soufflé.

One Last thing.. That you can do today

The pandemic isn't going any where. But we will go if we don't take precaution. The one thing you can do as you enjoy all your e-commerce deliveries and food deliveries being delivered to your door step. Make an effort to share and educate the riders and all those around you or in your care to register for the vaccine by sending their CNIC number to 1166. Every time a delivery rider comes to your door or a service provider or any one, either tell them about this registration, most are ill informed or don't know how to go about getting the free vaccine.

If you find it in your heart print out and keep at your door step these instructions, so whilst they deliver you your goods, you deliver hope. Don't deny those who are not educated, the hope to live a full life, the hope to see their parents and children and loved ones in good health. The education divide is real. Do your part today. If you do do it, please reply back and let me know as well. There are 100s of subscribers to the newsletter via email and thousands who read the web version. Every little bit helps. Be the change you want to see in others.