A Learning a Day

Having a strong set of values, core beliefs, or principles can be both a blessing and a curse when making decisions.

The clearer our values/stronger our core beliefs, the more options we will easily be able to eliminate. Arguably, we will be able to make decisions that are more predictive to our happiness.

On the flip side, we will also have far fewer options from which to choose from. In places where such options are few and far between, this can be painful. For example, we will have fewer career options we’re excited about and will probably take longer to hire that right candidate.

Every strategy presents trade-offs.

No trade-offs, no strategy.

“It has always seemed strange to me…The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.” | John Steinbeck

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Brad Stone kicked off his latest book – “Amazon Unbound” – with this quote. While brilliant in the context of the book, it is a quote that has kept finding its way back to my thoughts in that past day.

So, as is my wont, I thought I’d share it.

We aim to learn from a mistake because we want to change how we operate and prevent making that mistake in the future.

Committing to learning is thus implicitly committing to the infinite game.

There is no winning, losing, or feeling stupid involved.

There’s only learning to be gained – in this moment and the next.

I was on a single lane road recently and behind a slower moving vehicle. The road had many “turnout areas” for slow moving traffic. But, this driver was either unaware of the rules or oblivious of the traffic building up or just stubborn.

So, it gave me a lot of time to think about the idea of a “turnout area.”

It is a neat solution to traffic on a single lane road.

It is also applicable well beyond driving.

Sometimes, in our lives and careers, we find ourselves in situations where our pace – even if unintentional or despite our best efforts – is holding others back.

When that happens, it’s good practice to pull over and let them pass. It is never easy to do this. But, everyone enjoys the journey a lot more. And, things work out just fine in the long run.

“The courage to be happy also includes the courage to be disliked. When you have gained that courage, your interpersonal relationships will all at once change into things of lightness.” | Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga 

Profound.

A question that often helps provide clarity – “Is this consistent with the person I want to be?”

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I was momentarily wrestling with a small (at least in the big scheme of things) decision today. Asking this question/its parent variant – “Is this consistent with the father I want to be?” clarified the path forward immediately.

When we change our questions, we change our life.

When you have the luxury to choose what you work on, work on problems you want to obsess about. Problems that you’ll want to stay up late or wake up early for. Problems that will make most of the trade-offs that come your way feel worth it.

Say no to things that don’t meet that bar.

This strategy won’t necessarily maximize money or fame. Instead, it’ll maximize excitement, engagement, and joy.

In the long run, these end up mattering more than the other stuff.

The old saying – “If you love someone, let them go” – is great personal relationship advice.

Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate how beautifully it applies to managing top talent in an organization as well.

Retaining talent is less about trying to hold onto them and more about giving them reasons to stay.

The most important step we’ll take as human beings to reverse the climate crisis is to get to net zero emissions by 2050. A few years ago, it was hard to even visualize a path to doing this.

For the first time, thanks to the International Energy Agency, we have an excellent illustration of the possible roadmap to achieve this. Here’s the link. Thanks to the interactive design, it will take all of 5 minutes to get a high level overview.

Thank you, IEA team, for all the research, analysis, and thought.

There’s a lot of important work ahead for all of us.