Two stone masons were cutting a block of stone in a quarry. A passerby asked them what they were doing. “I’m cutting a stone” said the first mason. “I’m building a cathedral” explained the second. One saw what they had to do, the other could see the end result. One…
96. How do you view your world?
The world is a complicated place. The only way we can make sense of it is by simplifying it down. We create a worldview that’s a representation of the real world. A simplified model. And we all have a different world view… The same is true in smaller groups like…
95. Are you in an invisible prison?
Prisons are a little more complicated form of punishment than most people realize. Prisons use physical walls to separate inmates from each other and society. Prisoners are not just socially isolated, they’re separated from people they trust. Prisons are mental punishment. Keeping a person in isolation isn’t just about keeping…
94. Are you Lucky?
I worked with a group of people once who each pooled $5 every week to buy lottery tickets. They were happy talking and dreaming about what they would do if they won, but they never won the big one. They hoped they’d get lucky, but never did. It’s true that…
93. Do you get out of your box?
The problem with Data is it doesn’t play favorites. It can give you answers you don’t want to hear. That’s why autocratic governments are obsessed with gathering all the information they can get and controlling what information is shared. You don’t have to be a malicious autocrat to misuse data.…
92. Do you like Attention?
Getting attention feels good. It releases Dopamine in your brain to stimulate your “reward center”. So does completing a task, or achieving a goal. Therein lies a problem that leaders have to deal with. Another game that leaders have to play. The problem is that getting attention can be easier…
91. Are you Perfect?
The Project Triangle hides an important leadership lesson. Put simply, the Triangle says you have 3 objectives when completing a task. You can have it good, fast or cheap. Pick any two. You can’t have all 3. Good and fast = not cheap Good and cheap = not fast Fast…
90. Are you Efficient?
Efficiency is a key leadership challenge. How to achieve what you need to do at the lowest cost. Your challenge as a leader who has to manage costs is the struggle between what you say you want (lower costs), and all the other things you really want. Not just obvious…
89. Are you safe?
Employee engagement is not a “soft” topic. It’s hard work. Being nice is not enough. There are plenty of friendly, agreeable leaders with deeply unhappy teams, who have failed to deliver results. One reason for those “nice failures” is that friendliness and fairness alone don’t create engagement. Engagement doesn’t just…
88. Do you hide behind rules?
Discipline is important, but only when it helps achieve an outcome. Making the best decisions is important too. Making decisions is a key responsibility of leadership. Using rules to enforce compliance can be a way of avoiding hard decisions. Your decision to go against the “rules” can define your leadership.…