All in Life
There’s something to be said for persistence as being the single, overriding factor that leads to success.
That sounds like the right thing to say but that’s not always how we talk in practice.
We tend to think about the brilliant idea as being the most important thing, or perhaps the creation of a detailed plan of action, or (as is more usually mentioned) copious amounts of money (aka funding).
This month's podcasts draw lessons from popular culture.
Today's episode speaks to the importance of self-talk and our choice of words. But not simply in the most overt sense that we need to recite affirmations, but even in our most casual conversations with ourselves. Our self-talk matters.
Is comfort the enemy of innovation and growth?
It’s a constant pursuit, this pursuit of comfort, at so many levels. We long to be free of our problems and our issues, to achieve some sense of calmness in our lives.
It’s important to take the time to get good at something.
A spike in a specific area is important and helpful on multiple levels. You’re able to contribute via that particular skill, to a level that’s considered “expert”, which means you become sought after, and develop something of a reputation. That’s always a positive, both personally and professionally.
This month's podcasts draw lessons from popular culture.
In today's episode, I discuss a quote from Thom Yorke of Radiohead about this idea of exposure and vulnerability and the role it plays not only in art (which we tend to accept) but also in business (which we often don't).
At what point do we stop asking questions?
It comes very naturally to us when we’re young, but at some point, so many of us, simply stop.
There are many reasons for this. It could be that it wasn’t encouraged at home. Or it could be that our schools and our teachers didn’t want to hear them. Or it could be peer related, not wanting to seem ‘out of place’ with our friends. (I can’t quite decide which of those is the worst.)
I really don’t like the idea of standardized tests.
Ostensibly, they’re designed to be a pure measure of talent and intellect - a way to measure our depth of understanding of the specific subject matter in question.
But the fact is, they’re not - well, not in the way we’d like to think anyway.
George Martin is often referred to as The Fifth Beatle for the contributions he made to the band’s recording process.
Without question, the core of their creative genius came from the four band members themselves, but there’s no doubt he facilitated and enabled their creativity in very real, very direct ways. From the classical instrumentation we hear in so many of their songs to pushing the technical envelope with the technology available to them at the time.
I was struck by a paragraph in The New York Times “The Morning” briefing today that spoke to the alarming decline in life expectancy in the US in recent years:
“For many, daily life lacks the structure, status and meaning that it once had, as the Princeton University economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton have explained.
I have this hypothesis that we get more worried about the competition when we’re not actually focused on being something.
What I mean by that is that, when our business or product doesn’t have a defined mission or overarching goal, when we’re not focused on moving towards becoming, then we tend to become fixated on what others in our space are doing.
This month's podcasts deal with matters of culture.
In today's episode, I speak to the value of assessing cultural fit when we're bringing new people into our teams, and when we're evaluating the long term impact of existing team members. It's not easy and it's tempting to look at hard metrics, but these soft ones can be the most critical to our success.
There’s no worse feeling than being in the midst of a difficult situation and feeling helpless, not being able to do anything about it. The result is the noise in our heads that is anxiety.
But difficult situations are difficult for two reasons: lack of comprehension and lack of perceived control.
Inspiration can come from many different sources. Depending on our interests and affinities, we might look to sports personalities, musicians, business executives, politicians, artists or some other professional(s) in some other field(s) altogether.
We may even look to different people at different stages of our lives - whoever made an impact (and I define that broadly) at that specific point in time, for whatever specific reason.
This months podcast deals with matters of culture.
In today's episode, I speak to the Sumo concept of Hinkaku - that is, how being a champion is about more than tangible measures of performance. It also has to do with how we behave.
I think the problem begins when we subscribe solely to a specific point of view, a particular doctrine.
This is what I believe in. These are the truths about this or that and they cannot be compromised.
We’ve learnt (been taught/taught ourselves) these doctrines over the years and have chosen to accept them as the path forward - the only path forward. And, we’ve galvanized the ‘opposition’ into a defined doctrine of its own - the other, that against which we must fight, come hell or high water.
I don’t know if there’s a single maxim by which we should live our lives. Life’s too complex for that, but there’s probably a few that are useful.
I do know that, in general, any advice that encourages us to think before we make a life choice is likely to be on point. I came across one such maxim recently:
This month's topics focus on personal war stories and observations.
In today's episode, I talk about an experience I had with the late, great Professor C.K. Prahalad when I was at Ross Business School, and specifically what it taught me about actually being clear about what we want, versus chasing some idea of what we think we want.
In one of the final scenes of the 1994 movie, ChungKing Express, the character “Cop 663” is at a Hong Kong bar called California, waiting for Faye, a girl he met while she’s been working at her cousin’s takeaway shop.
He’s been recovering from a break up and Faye, who’s trying to figure out who she is and what she wants in life, becomes enamored with him as he stops by every night for something to eat or drink. It's an unspoken (and somewhat strange) flirtation, until he finally asks her out on a date, asking her to meet him at California at 8 pm the next night, to which she agrees.
Does consensus = compromise?
Conventional thinking touts the need to “get to consensus” as we make decisions. But is ‘consensus’ the right answer?
In concept, consensus makes a lot of sense.
This month's topics focus on personal war stories and observations.
In today's episode, I talk about the time I turned down the chance to see Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. Which is enough of a story in and of itself, but it's really a lesson in the need for balance, compartmentalization and looking out for yourself.
