I have been thinking about process. One friend, an entrepreneur, posted recently about the creative process involved in building a new company and/or product. Another, a former colleague, posted about the process to get effective input from subject matter experts (SMEs), where including the full agreement, rather than a snippet, in the note to the SME typically results in a better, more reasoned outcome. A process need not be elaborate. A simple calendar reminder to meet with your technologists on a regular cadence (maybe every 4-6 months) to learn more about new product features and adjust privacy notices, terms of use, EULAs, MSAs, etc., comprises a process. The steps you take to draft or review a contract is a process. Writing an article or a blog post, or preparing a presentation, is a process.
Planning, preparing for, going on, and recovering from a hike is a process.
Our Mission Peak hike last week consisted of four (4) parts: (a) Ohlone College Parking Lot K to the actual Mission Peak, via Peak Trail and Eagle Trail; (b) along the ridge (Peak Trail) before descending (via Peak Trail, Horse Heaven Trail, and Peak Meadow Trail) to the Stanford Avenue Parking Lot: (c) a relentless ascent up Hidden Valley Trail to the junction of Peak Trail and Eagle Trail; and (d) back down Peak Trail to Parking Lot K. The first part was quite pleasant; cool, quiet, not overly muddy. Part of our crew peeled back after the photo opp at the Peak. In retrospect, this was probably quite wise. The ridge was perfect. Sunny, almost warm, with the snow of the Sierra Nevadas to the east and the coastal mountains to the west. The descent is steep, and as it had rained the previous day, muddy. Hiking sticks helped. Hidden Valley Trail is always a beast. 40% grade. I might be exaggerating, but probably not that much. When the Peninsula Hiking Club first hiked Mission Peak in 2022, this was the straw that almost broke the camel’s back. Two years later, I’d like to say that it was a little easier for me. For newbies (to ascending Hidden Valley Trail), this can be a shock to the system. An ice bath, which was actually the post-hike remedy of one of our hikers. The fourth part, the downhill hike back to the Ohlone College Parking Lot, was relatively easy, thankfully, as ultimately we were welcomed by flat ground, and cold beverages, pilsners and lagers from Barebottle Brewery. For our post-hike lunch, we visited La Cumbre (the Peak, of course) in San Mateo, home to the original Mission Style burrito. Mission accomplished, literally and figuratively. Again, all part of the process, plus, of course, planning the hike, preparing for it, and writing about it after.
The process need not be perfect, but it needs to be developed thoughtfully and documented, for accountability.
Now, to the picture at the beginning of this post. I visited the Design Museum in London in 2017. The main exhibit focused on technology development in California. The prospect of seeing my old Apple 2c computer in a museum was exciting, in a strange way. Of course, technology developed in 2017 may be generally antiquated now, which means time for a new exhibit. Which brings me back to process. In a fast-paced, ever-changing world, process, to keep track of new developments, understand their applicability to your business, make the appropriate investments, etc., becomes even more important. So, with that, what’s your process?
Comments welcomed.
The Peninsula Hiking Club 