All in Teams
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.
I’ve always wanted to have all of the answers. I’ve always wanted to be that guy who knows what’s happening, has a clear and cogent explanation, and can provide my point of view on the spot.
But that can’t always be the case. Nobody can have all the answers - not me, not you. And, really, there’s no issue with that.
Where the issue does arise, though, is when I try and speak with authority when I have none.
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.
I’ve written before about how the most important subject at business school is also the least respected i.e. anything to do with Human Resources.
The conventional view is that those subjects are “soft and fluffy”, subjects that don’t merit real attention - not like Strategy or Finance, for example. But how we work with each other, how we lead and manage those who we’re responsible for is, in fact, the single most important driver of success in any business, bar none.
Many times, there’s a real value to contrarian thinking.
In investment terms, the best time to buy is when the market is down and everyone is running for the doors. Or, in personnel terms, placing a bet on the young up-and-comer who’s been committed and loyal to the cause, when conventional wisdom says to go out and hire an established name.
But there are times when the contrarian approach doesn’t make sense, and despite our desire to do what we feel is right, we need to accept that we might actually be wrong.
This month's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic that's absorbed all of us this year. I'll share my perspectives on how I've assessed this impact and how I interpret its impact going forward.
Today's podcast take on the idea of Work From Home (WFH) and how it's changed many of our views so significantly this year. That said, I also think the idea that it's here to stay is overrated.
This month's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic that's absorbed all of us this year. I'll share my perspectives on how I've assessed this impact and how I interpret its impact going forward.
Today's podcast discusses how the pandemic has reset the equilibrium of what we thought was our "physical-virtual" balance, for good reason. This is likely to endure well after the pandemic is over.
In my last post, I talked about the Signal-to-Noise ratio and its applicability to our personal and professional lives - how we need to be able to look past the noise that we hear to the core signals, so that we can interpret and react to a situation appropriately.
There’s a related idea that Seth Godin highlighted in one of his recent posts that speaks to the idea of confidence versus volume. And that is, that we sometimes conflate the two - implicitly, when it’s coming from others, or explicitly, when we’re the ones doling it out.
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.
To become a Yokozuna (or Grand Champion) in Sumo Wrestling, there are, broadly, two sets of criteria that have to be met.
The first relates - as we might expect - to power and and skill, specifically performance in recent tournaments with a standard of two consecutive championships as an Ozeki (or an equivalent performance). This is reasonably objective, quantifiable criteria, one that is reasonably objectively measurable.
Diving into something new can be daunting.
We don’t know ‘the ropes’ - what exactly to do, what constitutes success, whether we have what it takes, or whether we’ll even get “there”. Despite our interest and our passion, we get nervous, especially when the results are in any way public.
One of the hardest things to get our heads around is this idea of culture, and specifically, cultural fit, in terms of people we work with.
We’re well versed in assessing technical capabilities and the “how” we do the work that we do. You need to have these specific qualifications or you need to show those particular process skills, or you need to demonstrate that you’ve delivered on that defined platform in your prior experiences. All defined, all measurable, all tangible.
I think it’s ingrained in us, this desire to get things done by ourselves. In many ways, it’s a compulsion, and the bigger, more complex the issue, the stronger the desire to go it alone.
It might be an issue of strategy or one of people; a difficult relationship or a complex initiative. When we’re in its ‘throes’, we absorb ourselves in, well, ourselves.
This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.
Today's episode focuses on the power and value of community. We weren't meant navigate the world alone, no matter what we might think. And the last few months have shown the value and need for human connection, more than ever before.
This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.
Today's episode discusses that the worst thing that can happen to an organization is for its most passionate people to go quiet. The truth is that we need their passion and despite how difficult they might seem to be, we need to nurture them, not turn them off.
It’s a romantic notion, the idea of silver bullets.
It’s exciting (and oh so promising) to believe that there’s something out there - a solution, a framework, a technology, etc. - that has the potential of solving all of our problems or, at the very least, delivering a material, manifold improvement in our situation immediately.
This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.
In today's episode, I discuss the importance of surrounding yourself with people who believe in you. As much as you need to believe in yourself, it's as important to have an open, welcoming, encouraging environment for us to flourish.
A couple of weeks ago, ahead of the Chelsea-Liverpool game in the English Premier League, a reporter asked the Chelsea Manager, Frank Lampard, how he felt about facing Liverpool considering where each team finished at the end of the prior season. (For those who don’t know, Liverpool won the league with 99 points, and Chelsea finished in fourth place, a whopping 33 points behind.)
This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.
In today's episode, I talk about something Warren Buffett said about the best thing about being rich. It isn't what you (or I) might have originally expected, and it has everything to do with people.
