Category: culture

Personal and personally

FabrizioLeave a comment

There is a thin difference between making it personal and taking it personally.

When you make something personal it’s a sign that you care about it. It means that, whatever the outcome will be, it will along a part of you. It’s about giving a shape to something that would not be the same were you not involved. It’s affirming your identity through your work.

When you take something personally, on the other hand, it’s a sign that you care about you. You are assuming that you are the focus on the conversation, which is perfectly normal to assume, but is often untrue. It’s about taking a part of something that is going on to justify your behaviour. It’s affirming your identity through the work of others.

It’s a thin difference and an important one.

Not possible

FabrizioLeave a comment

It’s not possible is a sentence that should always make you alert.

Certainly, somebody must have said it’s not possible for any of the things we today take for granted. It’s an easy way to safeguard someone’s own experience, to avoid facing possible shortcomings, to retain power.

And challenging it’s not possible does not mean that everything is possible. It just means that you are open to a different world and you are seeking a more thorough explanation about why that should not be achievable.

It’s the way of change.

Like it or not

FabrizioLeave a comment

The distinction between personal and professional is dated.

Not because you are supposed to work 80 hours per week, but because human beings do not have a siloed mind.

If you face personal challenges, you will struggle to shine at work. If you face professional challenges, you will most likely be distant and grumpy in your private life.

That’s a great reminder for leaders. You take charge of the full package, whether you like it or not. Better go at it intentionally then.

In any given moment

FabrizioLeave a comment

If you are reading a book, do read.

If you are doing some work, do work.

If you are checking emails and social media, do check emails and social media.

If you are chatting with a friend, do chat with a friend.

If you are in a meeting, do be in the meeting.

The point is that you should commit to whatever it is that you are doing at any given moment. Mixing different activities at the same time is a sure way to get nervous, stressed, and eventually achieve nothing.

Small to get big

FabrizioLeave a comment

Pursuing your goals is a work of removal, not addition. That’s where most people get lost.

You don’t need more time, you need less time.

You don’t need more resources, you need less resources.

You don’t need more opportunities, you need less opportunities.

You don’t need a larger market, you need a smaller one.

Get small to get big.