“Congratulations on being senior leaders. Your job now is to always find the flowers in a field full of shit.”
A teammate who heard from an executive at the offsite described this as a quote that lives rent-free in his head since.
So much of senior leadership is finding reasons to be optimistic and figuring out how to make things work against the odds.
Vivid, hilarious, and wise – it resonated.
Someone I know was talking about a recent experience working in a different part of their organization.
From the outside, it always looked like that side got whatever it asked for.
A few months in, he realized that it came with downsides he hadn’t considered. He returned with appreciation for what he had.
The grass is often greener on the other side because it is fertilized with bullshit.
There’s a lesson you learn early as a parent. If you allow your kid(s) to run the agenda, they’ll happily continue to do it.
It takes a lot of pain in the early years but there is an important moment that defines the culture of a family. It is that moment when parents recognize what is happening and say – “No.”
Simply, clearly, and repeatedly.
Until the message sinks in.
And in doing so, they make clear what is acceptable and what isn’t.
Because, in parenting and in any kind of leadership, you get what you tolerate.
“At the heart of science is a balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes – an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive, and the most ruthlessly skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. This is how deep truths are winnowed from deep nonsense.” | Carl Sagan
Beautifully put.
It resonated.
Periodic reminder that the moments that matter in this life are rarely a result of grand gestures.
Instead, they often occur because of the cumulative impact of small things done with extraordinary care.
A friend made an insightful observation the other day about the importance of not falling into a habit of giving yourself a pass.
The more you do that, the less you push to learn, improve, and do better.
The opposite of a good idea is also a good idea. And while it isn’t helpful to habitually give ourselves a pass when we play sub-par, it is equally unhelpful if we just responded by repeatedly kicking ourselves/beating ourselves up.
The more you do that, the less you push yourself to try new things that in turn help us learn, improve, and do better.
So the answer lies in that sweet spot between giving ourselves a pass and kicking ourselves. It lies in acknowledging when we’re playing sub-par, correcting it if we realize it as it is happening, and reflecting on the pain to then make progress.
In other words, kick yourself just enough to feel some pain but not so hard that it prevents you from trying.
The middle path, as always, is easier in theory than in practice.
I read this report from Marc Zao Sanders titled “How People are Really Using Generative AI now.” This is his second edition and here are the top 10 use-cases with last year’s rank in brackets.
It was also interesting to see use-cases that were high last year that aren’t high this year. E.g. –
I’m sure every report has its own biases. But I do appreciate a case like this with a consistent methodology year over year.
The biggest reflection I had from seeing the list is how Gen AI use-cases are moving upstream from more tactical (editing text, drafting emails, specific search) to more strategic (therapy, find purpose, etc.). That’s just a mark of how quickly these models are getting better.
As AI takes on a more intimate role, it is hard to escape the thought that we are getting into the realm of dystopian science fiction. That’s aside from all the big questions about how society will be structured a decade from now.
No answers, just observations and questions.
It is generally a good idea to just have that conversation you’ve been avoiding.
The obstacle is the way.
“If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys” is a useful quote to keep in mind every time we attempt to take the cheaper route when working with a contractor (of any kind).
Every once a while, if we’ve done our research, cheaper can work and provide the returns we’re seeking.
But, as a general rule, we get what we pay for.
Best to choose thoughtfully.
There are a collection of situations in any given day or week when we switch to autopilot.
Perhaps it is our commute to work or when we’re brushing our teeth or putting our kid(s) to bed.
Each of these autopilot situations can be transformed with a simple habit change.
We could brush with our non dominant hand (helps creativity) or brush while standing on one leg (helps balance).
We could pop on an audio book on the commute.
And we could simply breathe deeply and intentionally while lying in bed.
Small changes in how we use our autopilot time can go a long way.
A Learning a Day 