Measuring Success by Peace

As a science graduate, I am always impressed by the beauty of nature. When I first entered the business world in 2015, I had no idea what I was doing. This is where the importance of a quote attributed to Einstein comes into play:

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.

And so it was. Between derivatives, integrals, matrices, algebra, geometry, analysis, topology, and spaces, I suddenly found myself doing simple arithmetic operations in the business world. Recently, while researching a topic in my current job, I found myself modeling the set operation B−A. Even if you forget, simple arithmetic and high school-level math are still sufficient to solve most of the problems you encounter in real life. The only difference is that you cannot see this without being sculpted over the years. Just as a pianist can play the piano with their eyes closed, I start modeling the solution the moment I see the problem. The more context there is, the more advanced, and yet simpler, the model can turn out to be. The problem, however, is that time flows quickly, and we must regularly revisit certain definitions.

Redefinition of Success

Illusion of standard metrics

If there is one thing that needs to be rewritten from scratch, it is the definition of success. For years, success has been measured by various metrics. Imagine thousands of different metrics collected by every person, sector, and industry. The vast majority of these are noise. For most people, success is synonymous with being indispensable or controlling everything. From my first company to the last one I worked for, I can consistently see the same traces. I look at this from the opposite side. The more dispensable I am and the fewer things I have to control, the more successful I actually am. Control freaks do not know how to let go, but I believe this is also the foundation of the happiest human relationships. People should draw strength from each other’s existence and know that they complement one another.

Peace Parameter

True success is measured not by how well you do a job, but by how comfortably you can sleep at night when you leave that job. Contrary to popular belief, I find this path I follow quite successful in my own way. So much so that I left my first workplace in a much better position than when I found it.

There was a highly technical team, but the environment was full of patchy solutions, far from the concept of an actual product. Usability depended entirely on the technical team’s imagination, demos couldn’t be shown to potential clients, the technical prowess was thought by clients to be exaggerated, and delivery times were still not competitive. Stepping into all of this, building the most ideal and permanent system, and breaking that cycle was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. I owe everything I learned about the business world to this experience.

It doesn’t end there; I saw new problems at my next workplace. We were acquiring large clients with a platform that had a highly robust B2B leg, but we were experiencing a product scenario that was unnecessarily large and complex for small and medium-sized enterprises. The solution was to rewrite the minimal scope needed by the target audience as B2C. While writing this, we redesigned from scratch the most complex technical problems that had existed in the B2B platform for years. In the first year, over 10,000 invoices were issued for monthly subscriptions. What does this mean? I could now step out of the equation. Today, it has probably surpassed 1 million.

Then I moved abroad to another workplace. A small team, and I was responsible for about 60–70% of a platform used by nearly 700 people every day. Naturally, components were disconnected from one another, technical problems were swollen due to hastily developed features, yet endless demands kept coming. While debating whether the team should catch up with these or try to keep the platform alive, today I am out of this equation. Why? Because the dependencies ended, and standards arrived. Complexity was reduced, stability was ensured. Now we can release a new feature every week, and we sleep peacefully at night. When I ask when the last incident call came, no one remembers the exact date.

I change teams, and similar problems appear; years of postponed technical issues and concepts like “development tax” (which I mentioned in my previous article) had emerged. Seeing the effort spent, and the effort required to fix the problems caused by it, the cleanup efforts accelerated even more. Now fewer problems arise. Regarding security risks, many vulnerabilities needed to be patched every week, and since the effort spent on these was quite high, the time left for product development was very little. And today? A large part of it is automated, and the team can now dedicate +60% of their time solely to the product. And me? Of course, I stepped out of the equation. Because this equation can now generate value on its own. I am no longer needed. I am setting sail for other shores.

The Fear of Letting Go

Why do people fear?

The fear of not finding a job, failing, losing status, or breaking away from the identity one has created. However, this doesn’t change the fact that everything in life is temporary. Am I successful? Yes. Was I unemployed? Yes. Did I lose status? Yes. Did I fail? Let’s say I learned.

Ego Trap

The idea of “If I’m not here, the system will collapse” is not a success, but rather a confession of bad system design. Two years ago, when my manager sent me a student to train, it was an unfamiliar concept to me. But today? Because they learned the job in the kitchen from the master, their feet are planted firmly on the ground.

Overcoming Fear

The courage to let go stems from one’s genuine confidence in their own competencies. Today, I am not involved in many things, and the things I left behind can create value on their own and stand systematically. The real world, unfortunately, is not as it is written in schools or books; it requires pure experience.

Building a System vs Being a Hero

Hero Culture

Constantly putting out fires, solving crises, and the long-term damage caused to systems by individuals who exist through this. These individuals are also aware of this: solving problems poorly instead of well. Thus, spending a long time on this problem by solving it over and over again, becoming a hero regarding this problem. However, people who know how to solve problems resolve them in the most ideal way with a pinpoint strike or after 1–2 attempts.

Being a System Architect

The difficulty and ultimate reward of building a structure based on processes, principles, and culture, not on individuals. I have seen it a lot and continue to see it. We are building a structure here, and you cannot do every job yourself. You must include other people. They may or may not be at the level you want. You have to plan who you will spend how much time on, then delegate every variable at an optimum level and step out of the equation. While it is quite easy to achieve this with individuals open to change, you may be exposed to reactions from some individuals like “I hate you” and a poor management mentality.

Defying Entropy

Entropy as a Law of Nature

The tendency of any system left to its own devices (products, teams, companies) to deteriorate and lean towards chaos (entropy). This is a law of nature, friends. It is like swimming against the current in a river. After a few minutes, depending on your stamina, you will show signs of fatigue. Because the laws of physics are in action. You solve the laws of physics not with empathy, but again through basic sciences. You can tie yourself to a fixed point with a rope, or you can use a motor to carry you forward. There are many solutions.

Systematic Processes Crushing Entropy

How established solid mechanisms, documentation, and culture create a shield against the corrosive effect of time. You tied yourself with a rope. How did you tie this rope? What is the rope made of? How long will it last? How much does it hurt? Or you used a motor. Where did the motor come from, how did it arrive, how does it work, what does it run on, how does it break down, is there a spare? You must consciously seek out all these questions and store their answers.

Self-Healing Systems

Product and team dynamics that learn from mistakes and can find their way without their founder. This year, PSG won the Champions League final. No player received a red card in the match. However, mutual goals were scored. These players know the match is 90 minutes, they know their systems, they know each other. Most of the time, just eye contact tells where the ball should or shouldn’t go. When they lose the ball, dropping back to defend together and opening up space for each other is exactly an example of a self-healing system. A good coach does not line up 11 players for 90 minutes or dictate every tactic; they just watch and know how to intervene when necessary.

Building Autonomous Teams

Democratizing Knowledge

The risks of knowledge concentrated in a single person and the ways to distribute it to the team. I have experienced this many times too. There is something, and only 1 person knows it. Undistributed knowledge, unacquired experience will wake you up at 3 AM on any given Sunday night. Distribute the knowledge; remember that what you know no longer adds anything to you. It doesn’t matter whether you are at the bottom or the top of the hierarchy regarding what you know; there is a 99% chance an LLM model knows it too.

Delegation of Decision-Making Mechanisms

Creating teams that can take initiative and ask “What is the purpose of the system?” instead of “What would the Founder/Leader say?” Thus, the biggest fear of innovative teams, the thought of “Oh no, everything will slow down, we won’t enjoy what we do”, should not develop. Individuals or teams should know where and what decisions they can make, where they need to consult, and even which decisions they can never make but can offer suggestions on.

The Art of Parting in Peace

Knowing When It’s Time

Realizing that the gears you set up have started to turn silently and smoothly without you.

Handing Over with Peace of Mind

The unique feeling of lightness that comes from leaving behind a functioning legacy, not chaos, as you set sail for new adventures.

The Greatest Success is Your Perfect Absence

Growing the Legacy

A system that survives and grows after you is the greatest signature left on that system.

Closing Thought

Peace begins the moment you no longer need to be there to prove you succeeded.