Category: leadership

Strength

FabrizioLeave a comment

Next time, try this.

“I am sorry, my mistake, I could have … . Let’s move on.”

It works beautifully in any situation in which there’s friction. It unlocks empathy (most likely you’ll get a “no worries” from the other side), and it allows the conversation to move forward.

It’s better than blaming the alarm clock, the traffic, the person who’s there to serve, the colleague who’s trying to help, the boss who’s learning the ropes, the partner who’s going through your same difficulties, the bystander who seems to not get it.

And it’s true.

There’s a variety of circumstances that causes what is going to happen. Chances are there’s something you might have done to avoid causing yourself trouble.

Recognising a mistake is not the same as putting an additional burden on your fragile identity. A mistake does not mean you are bad, mean, stupid, malicious. Quite the opposite, in fact. “I am sorry” means you are present enough in the situation to care about taking the next step. It’s about owning what’s happening and being ready to shape it going forward.

“I am sorry” is a strength.

Cut

FabrizioLeave a comment

When you are short on money.

When you are depleted.

When you simply have too much to do.

When there’s an emergency.

When your plans are at risk.

What do you cut?

A couple of things to consider.

Be in a position in which what you cut is up to you, as much as possible. Having somebody or something imposing cuts might well feel as just an additional burden, and you’ll have to cut more very soon. Make it an active decision, fight for it if necessary.

And of course, every cut sends a signal. On what you care about, what you stand for, what is important, the type of culture you want to promote and be part of, the legacy you want to leave behind.

By all means, cut. And do it conscientiously.

Making decisions

FabrizioLeave a comment

There are two fundamental flaws in how companies make decisions.

The first one has to do with the amount of information available to make the decision. A balance is needed between decisions made with zero information (“based on my opinion …”, “our manager wants it this way …”, “I strongly believe …”, “it worked at my previous company …”) and decisions made in the pursue of perfect information (“I want to schedule another meeting with …”, “let’s delay this until we get to know …”, “could you please review this one more time?”).

The second one has to do with the duration of the decision taken. The world changes, the information we have available changes, the players change, technology changes. And yet, organisations find it incredibly difficult to say “we were wrong”, or even “let’s try this instead”.

Of course, the first one leads to the second. If the decision was made with zero information, it was a personal decision, and that person (and often the people close to that person) will find it very difficult to change course along the way. If the decision was made after a long process, in search for perfect information, everybody involved got so fed up with going through the details over and over again that most likely they will close an eye and pretend all is ok, rather than start back from scratch.

The trick is having the right amount of people involved in making the decision (make it three to five – never one, never ten) and well defined parameters on which the decision is taken, with checks along the way to see if any of those parameters have shifted.

In all cases, have a process.

Stay present

FabrizioLeave a comment

If you get to a point where you decide to quit, for any reason. Or you are in a situation where you are asked to quit. Or you get rejected over and over again.

What are you going to do?

It’s very natural to want to burn down bridges, move to the mountains, and dedicate the rest of your existence to monastic life. It’s the fetal position that many of us can relate to: we have invested, we have collected less than we believe was due, we feel pain and disappointment, and we want no more of that in our lives.

Yet, after the heat of the moment is gone, the consequences of the choices we have made will stick. If we have shouted, cancelled, smashed, abandoned, insulted, publicly stated that we are done with this and that. All this, will stay.

So, if you quit, are asked to quit, or get rejected. Stay present. It will spare you a lot of time and energy that you can put towards planning and executing what’s next.

Northern Star

FabrizioLeave a comment

When you get close to the target, it’s very easy to lose view on the big picture. You focus on the minutiae and details, preparing for the big moment of truth, sure it’s just a matter of time.

A little more to the right, apply just a tiny more pressure, why the heck it’s not working, if only I would have a different tool, a different team, and so on.

That’s the time you need to go back to your Northern Star. The reason why you are doing what you are doing, your motivation, your vision, your purpose.

Only thay will unlock it and get you there.