Julie Zhuo

The path to success is never a straight line. It’s not about having the single, brilliant, lightning-flash insight that suddenly wins the game. Instead, it’s about consistent planning and execution—you try what seems like a good idea

Recall Herbert Hoover’s catchy campaign slogan: “A chicken in every pot.” It’s the opposite of squishy. The promise isn’t “America’s going to get wealthier.” It’s not “People will have more economic prosperity.” “A chicken in every pot” conjures up an image of millions of families enjoying a hearty and substantial meal for supper.

To help you get started, ask yourself the following:
Assume you have a magic wand that makes everything your team does go perfectly. What do you hope will be different in two to three years compared to now?
How would you want someone who works on an adjacent team to describe what your team does? What do you hope will be your team’s reputation in a few years? How far off is that from where things are today?
What unique superpower(s) does your team have? When you’re at your best, how are you creating value? What would it look like for your team to be twice as good? Five times as good?
If you had to create a quick litmus test that anyone could use to assess whether your team was doing a poor job, a mediocre job, or a kick-ass job, what would that litmus test be