What’s the next level for you?

Everyone’s and every organization’s next level is different than each other. Sometimes one person or customer can take you next level. Sometimes one word or moment triggers you to move the next phase of your life.

These days what I’m working on, I feel it is going to take us next level. Yeah, no one is expecting this transition is going to be so easy. That’s all right. I’ll try to make it as smooth as I can.

Yesterday, I visited Burlingame downtown, it looks like business as usual(it is actually better). We were checking some of the restaurants which are not really popular pre-Corona days, now they were packed. Literally, people are appreciating anything open and serve whatever they have.

It looks like as long as people access food via restaurant or groceries, life at least will go on. Business? depends on what you are doing. But, society and people are so adoptive anyway since homo sapiens. If you don’t adapt, you won’t survive

You probably have people around you who have an idea for everything, also they share their opinions about almost anything (without even asking their point of view:)), however, all they do TALK

On the other side, others who try their best to execute. Instead of sharing how they will accomplish their goals, dropping names, or their past accomplishments, they just Do It. ( We have saying in Turkish, az laf, çok iş (less talk, more work) I love those people. When people who are reaching out to me to get my opinion about their works or try to get help from me, all I look, Is that person doer or talker?

“Ah, just a six month, what is a big deal” Tell me about it:)

Some days I didn’t have any motivation to say even say “Hi” but still wrote it here. I think I felt even one person who is waiting an email from me, that’s worth it to keep writing.

Thank you, 360+ daily readers. I know reading myself even every day doesn’t so interesting from time to time. I wish substack has an option to set the email frequencies like daily/weekly/biweekly etc.

I am planning to write at least the next 6 more (Yes, every day) months then we will see what’s going to happen. Thank you again for reading my post whichever frequency you are reading or not subscribed yet but still reading via visiting aykut.substack.com whenever you want to check out. (I know who you are:)

If you are dealing with the people day to day operations, you should ask them directly or indirectly “ What’s your motivation?”

Maybe, you are trying to push them the wrong path which is technically the right path to you but not for them. That’s why you need really know their motivation so well.

There is no excuse. I don’t want to hear your excuses. If I want to hear your excuses, I can find better excuses for you.

All I want to see results, no excuses.

KPI means a key performance indicator. Your KPI pretty much is how you are doing during the specific timeline. Anything you do within that organization should be match and related to your KPI.

Especially startups are either struggling to find the right KPIs for team members or not motivate them well. Either way, you should ask yourself “ What’s my KPI”? If you don’t have a clear one, create your own and share it with your boss. Tell that should be my KPI. I am a big believer in “What do you think or What do you suggest” questions.

I always want to drive Highway 1 from SF to LA. Never had enough time. Yesterday, we drove to Big Sur on Highway 1 that is a magical place. I can’t describe enough words. I wish I didn’t wait that long to drive full Highway 1. Even a couple of hundred miles for a single trip can change your perspective tremendously.

Note: Also, I talked about why California doesn’t have outdoor seating & patios enough. I’m surprised how much Highway 1 offers outdoor eating & drinking experiences. If you are passionate enough to drive 100 miles from SF Bay Area, you can definitely find cool spots.

Whatever you are building, you need to explain to users “where they use it for?” In short, use cases should be very clear.

You are selling ideas and vision. If they figure out how to use it, they will get that outcome.

For example: If you are selling Mobile AD Intelligence ( voice of share of any ad networks), you need a list for use cases for every single industry and people who might be interested in it. After they start to use it, you will expand those use cases learning by their usage. Maybe they are doing something you can’t even imagine it.

You don’t need to explain to every single client why they should have this solution. All you gotta share their peers’ use cases (how others already utilizing it). For example: If you are talking Health & Fitness app size of company 25-50 people who are making spending yearly $5-10M for User Acquisition based in San Francisco, you should get ready to share the top 5 relevant use cases for that client.

Use cases should include social proof ( logos for each vertical), testimonials, and best practices.

I love eating at the outdoor seating area than inside of restaurants. Even if I had to stay to eat inside, I try my best to seat by the window. I think that’s very common for people who grow up in Europe & the Middle East.

That’s why last 8-9 years, whenever I feel homesick, I ask myself what I miss the most: basically social & vibrant life, eating outside, going out with friends one bar to another one, stopping by a coffee shop or random off the road restaurant on top of the hill or nearby water.

Don’t we have those in California? Technically yes and no. California is one of the most beautiful places on earth. But, a lot of places are either outdated or not that “touch” what we have in Europe. America is so much into functionality rather than experience. If it is working or solving that specific problem, they don’t’ try to make it most of it. Done is better than perfect mentality.

Nowadays, the restaurants who are struggling during the COVID times started to discuss with their cities to close off the streets and create more outdoor spots for their restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. Technically, our restaurant’s experience are turning more European (finally). If you go to Barcelona for example, you will see tiny restaurants have a huge patio or outdoor seating area than indoors, even winter times they keep a couple chairs and tables. The reason I pick Barcelona because California is very similar to the Barcelona weather. (310 days of a Mediterranean climate)

Let’s see what will be our “new normal”. So far I like this new dining experience which I missed the last 9 years.