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Managing Growing Pains: Thinking Big While Being Small by Jon Arnold This talk is for anyone who's had to promise new features to a client when they weren't actually sure how they'd deliver on the promise. We all have big visions and big ideas, but our teams and abilities are finite resources. We'll talk about how to manage expectations, growth, technical debt and delivery (and still be able to sleep at night despite that last wonky commit). We'll talk about the never-ending product roadmap, product reality and how what we create falls somewhere in between. Help us caption & translate this video! http://amara.org/v/JeLQ/
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The video titled "Managing Growing Pains: Thinking Big While Being Small," presented by Jon Arnold at RailsConf 2016, addresses the challenges small companies face when attempting to deliver big promises to clients with limited resources. Arnold emphasizes that while startup cultures often encourage grand visions of rapid growth and hiring elite talent, the reality for small companies is much more complex. **Key Points:** - **Understanding Growing Pains:** Arnold introduces the concept of growing pains, discussing how small teams can effectively manage expectations while navigating the growth process without burning out. - **Realistic Perspective on Startups:** He argues that small companies should view themselves as small businesses rather than aiming for a unicorn status, focusing instead on sustainable growth and building strong teams. - **Frameworks for Clarity:** Arnold discusses several tactical frameworks that his team has successfully implemented, including 'Jobs to be Done' to identify user needs and a '666 framework' to plan short- and long-term goals. - **Managing Technical Debt:** Encouraging a balance of new feature delivery with the management of technical debt, Arnold introduces the concept of 'Fun Day' where team members can address enjoyable tasks and tech debt alongside required work. - **The Importance of a Secret:** He highlights that every organization should have a core 'secret' which shapes its worldview and priorities. This secret helps define what the company stands for and informs the decision-making process regarding product development. - **Client Engagement and Sales as Consulting:** Arnold notes that selling in his context resembles consulting more than traditional sales, focusing on building relationships and aligning with client goals through workshops. - **Continuous Reflection and Adjustment:** He emphasizes the importance of acknowledging mistakes and learning from them, advocating for slow, steady growth aligned with deeper values and long-term vision instead of a rush to scale. - **Hiring for Flexibility:** Arnold supports hiring T-shaped people promoting a mix of deep specialization and broad skills, enabling teams to adapt to diverse needs without being overly dependent on specific individuals. **Conclusions:** Overall, Jon Arnold’s talk provides practical tactics for managing small company growth pains while retaining clarity of vision and direction despite the inevitable challenges that arise. He stresses the significance of establishing a clear set of objectives while maintaining flexibility in day-to-day operations, ultimately underlining that strategic growth should be prioritized over rapid scaling.
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