All in Aspirations
I don’t mean to oversimplify (though I’m about to), but it seems to me that the biggest thing about getting older is that you begin to run out of excuses.
What I mean by that is that, as the years go on, as our experiences educate us, and as we start to realize what we value, we realize that the only reason we aren’t where we want to be, is because of us. Of the choices we’ve made.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
Specifically, in today's episode, I speak to the idea of belief, and the fact that it's our belief in ourselves that drives our ability to achieve, excel and become who we truly are.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
In today's episode, I talk about our tendency, as we get older, to focus less on what we do well and more on what we don't. It's a curious thing, because it's our strengths that will drive us forward and, therefore, what we need to build on.
It’s often referred to as the “defensive” strategy.
The sports team that emphasizes defense over offense i.e protecting their goal and stopping the other team from scoring.
Or the business that is focused on adding enough features to be able to ward off the competition.
Or the individual contributor who spends his time understanding and developing (i.e. copying) the skills of his nearest competitors.
Strategy matters.
A good strategy differentiates your offering. It galvanizes the right resources to their best effect. It positions your organization for success.
A good strategy, though, is just the starting point. Once you’ve mapped out your path, you still need to run it.
And a badly run race will slow you down, allow your competition to gain on you and overtake you, possibly even prevent you from finishing.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
In today's episode, I talk about work ethics and this idea of balance. We shouldn't ever apologize for the former, and I argue, if we want to build something great, then we have to accept that a balanced life is not possible (at least in the short term).
The fact is that we’re always in transition.
As much as we want stability, our lives and situations are never stable.
We’re always moving towards something, or away from it. We’re always driving forward or backwards, in one context or another. There is literally nothing (or very little, anyway) that we can take for granted.
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
Today's episode closes out the month with a few thoughts on mindset and how we tend to define standards that, frankly, constrain us more than they help us, especially when we're just starting out.
When I started in Management Consulting, everyone wanted to do “Strategy” work. Strategy was sexy. It was glamorous. It was something to brag about. Newly minted Analysts and Associates would jostle for pole position to be part of those teams.
And make no mistake, Strategy work was interesting and fun. But, for the most part, that wasn’t what paid the bills.
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
In today's episode, I go on a bit of a rant about this idea of "age-appropriate". I don't know who came up with this idea but, frankly, it's nonsense and in this show, I talk about why.
Every game has its own rules. They’re there for a reason - so that everyone works to a level playing field. That there’s no unfair advantage. So that there’s no bias in how one team or player is judged relative to another.
Of course, teams push the boundaries. They’ll operate at the margins of the rules where they can, in order to gain some sort of advantage. I get that.
But underlying it all, it’s important for everyone to operate on the basis of fairness and the principle of good faith performance. Surely, we all want that.
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
In today's episode, I share a brief story about an interaction I had with a friend many years ago. The lessons from that story speaks to the constraints we put on ourselves about the things we aspire to do and who we want to be.
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
Today's episode focuses on our belief systems, the boxes we tend to put ourselves in and how an interview with a famous classical musician reminded me of the need to think differently.
So what’s the average age of successful entrepreneurs in the US? Not just entrepreneurs in general, but the founders at the fastest growing new ventures?
45.
That’s right. The average successful, high growth entrepreneur is, at founding, far older than conventional wisdom and the mainstream media would have us believe.
I was going to start this post with a comment about how crazy and unprecedented 2020 was, but then I realized that a) it would be cliched, b) I’ve already made that point in numerous posts over the last year and, c) it would be cliched.
Instead, I’m going to focus this post on two things - the things I’m proud I’ve been able to do on this blog over the last twelve months and then share a bit of my mindset for the coming twelve.
It’s the end of the year and about when we start thinking about 2021 and what our plans are for the New Year.
Some of these ideas that we’re considering are new - new hobbies we want to take on, new skills we’d like to develop, new ventures we’d like to create. The thrill and excitement of doing something we’ve never done before is intoxicating, something to really look forward to.
One of the hardest things to get your head around when you’ve decided to create something new, is that no one has the answer to what you need to do.
How your offering should be designed, what it should do, how it should be priced - all of this is up for debate. There may be comparables out there - models that you can compare to and get ideas from, and they can offer a guide, a few suggestions along the path.
The ability to be present is, it seems to me, a talent. It’s a hard skill to develop and hone.
I don’t know if that’s the case for you, but it’s certainly been the case for me, something I’ve personally struggled with over the years.
Part of this is a tendency to take on multiple priorities. Part of this is a tendency to obsess over a situation or a task, to let it absorb me entirely.
If we look at who we are today, we’re really an amalgamation of the experiences we’ve gone through and the lessons we’ve taken from those experiences - lessons that have, over time, become ingrained in us.
I think of it a bit like a mental ‘patchwork quilt’ that’s been sown together over time. In some areas, the work is seamless and the colors and patterns flow naturally together. In others, though, depending on who’s done the stitching, it’s less elegant and the resulting work is jarring and ill-fitting.
The Signal-to-noise ratio measures the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It’s commonly used in science and engineering applications but, of course, it has as much application in our professional and personal worlds, metaphorically speaking anyway.
When someone close to us emotionally recounts a personal situation and demands that we get involved and do something about it - and we do.
