All in Life
This month's podcasts focus on war stories, recounting situations and experiences that were unique, intriguing and (always) educational.
In today's episode, I recount one of the most unique interview experiences I had, back when I was interviewing for management consulting. It taught me that no matter how much you prepare, you don't always get what you expect, and so, you need to be ready to think on your feet.
Reiss Nelson is a 20 year old up and coming English footballer, who plays as a Forward for my club, Arsenal FC.
On Saturday, he came on as an attacking substitute in the 82nd minute of the 2020 Community Shield game, the traditional season opener when the prior season’s League Champions (Liverpool this year) play the FA Cup winners (Arsenal). At Full Time, the score was tied at 1-1 and so the game went to penalties.
The thing about respect is that it isn’t something that’s bestowed upon us. We can’t simply expect respect as some sort of birthright, a product of our position or title or so-called standing. We have to earn it.
Our actions and behaviors are what enable us to earn it, enable us to command respect. That’s all on us. We own all of our outcomes.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I reflect on article I read about Lauryn Hill and the importance of creating art for yourself and not for anyone else. This is true of all truly great creators - not simply in the Arts but in business as well.
If you look at your role and what you do on a day to day basis, the fact is that at least 70% of your time should be focused on doing your core work.
To say it more clearly, there’s typically one thing that is the raison d’etre of our work, and the vast majority of our time should be focused on that specific thing.
You know, the older I get, the less patience I have for the idea that we should let anyone or anything other than ourselves be the guide for what we do. That the perspectives of others are, at best, suggested inputs, and at worst, detrimental guidance (intentional or otherwise).
And the reason for this loss of patience is that I have grown tired of my own personal issues in this regard.
One of the things I love about kids is that they just get started.
Ask a 5 year old to paint, and they don’t worry about what they’ll paint, their technique, the precise color mix or anything else. They just grab a brush, pick a color and get going. No times wasted thinking, analyzing, pre-judging. They just do.
As we get older, we lose this. Too much thinking, analyzing and pre-judging. Before we’ve even tried.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I talk about ideas and how the great ones are - and should be - polarizing. They should engage or enrage, but nothing in between.
Is it that we don’t believe we deserve to be ambitious? Or is it the fear that we are likely might fail?
Which one explains why we don’t wholeheartedly commit? Which one explains why we become “dabblers” - just dipping our toes in the water but not really getting wet?
Something stops us from committing ourselves, which seems a worse fate, to me, than even trying in the first place. We pretend to engage, to get involved and take on the goal, but really we’re not.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I talk about where ideas get their start. Many times, we think of successful businesses as always having been full formed, from origin through execution. The reality is that it all starts with a hunch.
A few years ago, I was at a Van Halen concert - specifically, the David Lee Roth Reunion incarnation. Halfway through the gig, Diamond Dave sat with an acoustic guitar without the band and said to the crowd:
"When I die, I want you to sprinkle my ashes over the 1980's".
I had a different post I wanted to put out today but, instead, I felt compelled to share a few thoughts about John Lewis’ posthumous Opinion piece that was published in the New York Times yesterday. Written a couple of days before he passed away, it’s his final message to us all, and it speaks to the underlying ideals and principles that guided him through almost the entirety of his life.
This month, the podcast is focused on talent, specifically what we can and should expect of our people, as well as how we evaluate and manage them.
In today's episode, I close out the month by talking about standards and the little compromises we make to accommodate this or that particular team member. It's far better to raise the bar, set our own standards and bring our people with us.
What is this idea of “being a hero”? I don’t know how to really comprehend it, that is, what makes someone become a hero?
I mean, it’s a concept we talk and hear about incessantly - all over the media, in our news, in a lot of our personal conversations. But I don’t know if we really internalize what it means.
I’m not a big fan of the TV show, Shark Tank. It has too much of a contrived, over-the-top vibe to it with an extra helping of meanness served up by a couple of the “sharks”. I also don’t like it when entrepreneurs with good ideas give away too much of their company in return for, at least what I perceive as, too little in return. (You can chalk this off as the grumblings of a fellow, aging entrepreneur…)
This month, the podcast is focused on talent, specifically what we can and should expect of our people, as well as how we evaluate and manage them.
In today's episode, I discuss a simple way to assess whether a performance problem is solvable or not, and that is to ask, whether it's a problem of content or values. The answer to that questions indicates whether the relationship is worth working on or not.
When you’re in the midst of it, the power of the herd is almost unavoidable. When it moves in a particular direction, the pull to do the same - to move with it - is relentless.
Aside from its very momentum, there’s a seemingly rational justification as well. All those folks couldn’t possibly be wrong, could they?
So, if I’m honest, I’ll admit that I’d settled into a very managed emotional pattern when it came to how I engaged with football (soccer for you non-English speakers) and specifically my team, Arsenal Football Club.
Arsenal would play their games and I’d watch, but in a very managed, somewhat detached way (most of the time). If we won, that was great and it gave me a nice feeling, but it wouldn’t send me over the moon.
My son took me to the driving range over the weekend. It was a great chance for us to spend some time together, enjoy the outdoors and work on our golf game.
It had been a long while since I’d even picked up my clubs, so my “golf game” really did need work. (When golfers ask me what my handicap is, I say I don’t have one. Not because I’m a scratch golfer - a zero handicap - but because it’s so high, it isn’t even worth measuring!)
We tend to think of massive entities - ‘working’ entities from big companies to big countries - as having a life of their own. Once they’re set on their way, they progress forward, taking out everything in their path. They have the power of momentum behind them, fueled by past success, money, resources, what-have-you. Forget stopping them in their tracks, just altering their path or slowing them down is difficult to do. Massive entities are very, very difficult to stop.
