Decisions

One problem with business decisions – not always the most important, but certainly the bulk of them – is that they evaporate as soon as those making them leave the room where they were made.

Another problem with business decisions – perhaps a consequence of the first problem – is that they are not given enough time to prove right or wrong.

A third problem with business decisions – a sub-product of our lazy brain – is that the ones that stick actually tend to stick forever.

Keep track of what is decided, give it time to bear fruit, and be flexible enough to revisit it periodically. You can make this more effective if you manage to build different networks in the company – at team level, but also cross-functional – that make decisions and are held accountable for it.

As long as only one person, or the same group of persons, calls the shots, you will always have problem number one, problem number two, problem number three simultaneously.

Be the guide

If you want people to listen to you, use their own agenda, their language, their motivators.

If you want people to act, show them yourself.

If you want people to change, help them reflect and find their way.

There’s this idea that bossing people around is effective. It’s only partially true. You might get people to listen, to act, to change by commanding them, but that’s never going to stick.

They are the heroes to their own story. At most, you can be the guide.

The basis of a relationship

Relationships are hard work. All relationships.

That’s mainly because in a relationship we are asked to take something into consideration that we are incapable of understanding: the other party involved.

It takes a lot of work to just accept this simple fact. That understanding is not the basis of a relationship.

Caring is.

One of many

There have been studies before, and there will be more in the future. And this one is yet another confirmation that companies get most of employees motivation wrong.

What people seek is a sense of autonomy (I can choose the work I do), relatedness (I belong with my colleagues), and competence (I master what I do). If you’re not working to ensure your people get to experience these, you are missing out, and your company is just one of many.

Good luck!

Things you accept

The things you can learn to accept.

It’s unbelievable.

You are resilient and you can live every day learning to accept feelings, thoughts, situations that on paper you would never want in your life.

It helps to frame them in a narrative that serves your higher purpose. And it helps to remind yourself of that narrative at challenging times and at good times.

Once you have that, you are simply unstoppable.