Chapter 6: Bending Time
The key to valuable services and products in the digital age lies in bending time.
Digital assets are non-material, in the realm of the mind. Data and algorithms can multiply infinitely, quickly becoming an ocean of information, even if it’s structured in folders, databases, patterns, and modules, the flood of data is relentless.
In the past, it took weeks for a message to be delivered by courier on horseback. Thanks to the invention of the postal coach system, it only took days. Later, modern mail promised daily delivery of letters. Today, the message is conveyed in seconds or fractions of a second via email or messenger. The time for the same message has exponentially shortened. I call this time-bending because this effect statistically resembles a curved curve. The reduction of time for a message continues. With such new technological possibilities, the motto is “Less for Better!” as the data flood otherwise triggers a tsunami.
If we reverse this and don’t ask how long a message takes but how many meaningful messages can be conveyed in a given time frame, we bend time even more. An agile approach divides time into fixed units. Sprint instead of marathon. In this way, the time frame is fixed, and the amount of work done, such as message transmission or completed tasks, is variable.
The key to reducing this flood is empathy with the users of this specific information, at that exact moment. Only when a service provider or provider is able to take the perspective of their customer and see, hear, feel, smell, and taste what the customer needs, can they focus on the aspect that adds value for the user. Everything else can be deleted. Statistically, the Pareto principle applies here. Empathy is a Yin quality and, therefore, a feminine principle. Transmitting more messages in less time is useless if they are not meaningful. Less is better in this case.
Another Yin principle comes into play here. It’s about connecting to the greater whole and not focusing on short-term profit. The feminine cares about long-term purpose and meaning.
Our business laws were shaped in the industrial age when goods were material. Even though there’s the concept of “Goodwill” for the non-material value of a company, after purchase, a chair and table are listed as assets in the balance sheet and depreciated over the years. When we have software created today and pay for it, it’s hard for us to delete it the next moment. It’s as if we were buying a chair only to discard it on the garbage heap the next day. This is the external view, the masculine view. “Price is what you pay, value is what you get.” Value is subjective. It can be expressed statistically in the number of clicks and likes. However, these are just value approximations. The real added value lies in the joy and enthusiasm it triggers in a person. This can only be understood with empathy. Long-term benefit is the focus, not short-term profit. These are feminine principles.
For women to have time to focus on what matters, including relationships, family, and taking care of their health, it is necessary to bend time and break free from the hamster wheel. Excuses and resistance will immediately arise as to why this is not possible. It’s like a lumberjack trying to fell a tree with a dull ax because they don’t have time to sharpen it. Updating oneself is the key. This involves identifying and breaking through your own internal barriers.
Feminine agility encompasses a model for overcoming these barriers.
Ask yourself the following questions: Where am I wasting my time on useless activities? How can I provide optimal value to my customers?