The second worst is the unaware sort. The work doesn’t meet spec, and we don’t even realize it.
The worst is uncaring. We know the work doesn’t meet spec, but we don’t bother to fix it.
But there are other varieties, and some are worth seeking out:
There’s the incompetence of creativity and art, where the spec isn’t the point.
And there’s the dawning awareness of incompetence that comes from learning. We didn’t realize we could do better, and then we discover we can. That’s a critical step on the path to better.
January 21, 2025
Selfish is easy.
Short term is easy.
Complacent is easy.
Turning our head and ignoring the problem is easy.
Going along to get along is easy.
But easy isn’t the point.
Better is.
Challenging the status quo is difficult, and worth it. Happy Birthday.
January 20, 2025
Learning is a journey of incompetence.
First, we realize that there’s something we don’t know.
Then we see that we’re going to be better at it, and we’re not good at it yet.
Then we figure it out and we’ve succeeded.
Repeat.
When we pre-process the information and simply test people on it, there’s no real learning going on. We become what we do, and if we actually solve the riddle, we’re more likely to have it stick than if someone simply tells us the answer.
The job of the teacher is to create the conditions for the student to explore their incompetence long enough to learn something useful.
January 19, 2025
The experience of the now is often more vivid than a distant memory. As a result, we can make decisions in the future without enough regard for how we felt the last time we were in a similar situation.
Here’s a simple hack that can inform your decisions…
You know someone who recently got the flu. Perhaps they were sick in bed for weeks, or even needed medical attention… Write down what happened (and how it made you feel) and put it in your calendar for September 16th. That way, nine months from now, when you’re thinking of getting a flu shot, the reminder will be right there for you.
Did you leave work an hour early to spend time with friends instead? Take some pictures and add that reminder to your calendar for two months from now, a useful way to get out of your daily work rut.
One more: the next time that cold and rain doesn’t keep you from an outdoor walk, drop yourself a note for next week, reminding yourself of how good it was to get up and get out.
It’s not a diary you put on the shelf. It’s a diary entry you send to yourself in the future.
The future unfolds, with or without us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bend it in a useful direction.
January 18, 2025
Freedom is something we desire. The freedom to choose, to speak up, to produce, to follow our passions and our dreams.
And organizations in search of efficiency, shortcuts or profits often argue for freedom as well. The freedom to organize their production and to go to market without regulation or hassle.
Our actions, though, have consequences. That power plant might be venting steam into the river that millions depend on. Your upstairs neighbor’s loud music at midnight is your sleep interrupted. Your worse might be someone else’s better (and vice versa).
The temptation is to deny the externalities or to minimize their impact. Teenager thinking is to argue for freedom by pointing out that nothing bad will happen, or if something does, it won’t matter much, and even then, it won’t really be your fault. Denial is tempting, but it’s not helpful.
It’s more useful and productive to do precisely the opposite.
The best way to achieve freedom is to take responsibility for the actions you’re taking. And the best way to be clear that you’re taking responsibility is to highlight the externalities and own them.
When you acknowledge what we can easily see, it’s much easier to trust you.
List for us all the negative consequences of your policy, output or actions, and then tell us how you’ll remedy them.
Freedom isn’t a clever plan to be let off the hook. It’s a deliberate path to being on the hook.
January 17, 2025
Process is the investment we make in inefficiency now to prevent errors from costing us later.
Jet airlines are the safest form of travel ever created, largely because of the inefficient process that we put in place. They’re over tested and over staffed, with checklists and feedback loops in place to ensure that errors don’t occur. It would be way less costly if one person simply jumped onto the plane with you and took off–less costly, but less reliable as well.
If you want to see this taken to a higher level, consider a typical hospital emergency room. If you’ve ever sat waiting, you’ve noticed that it seems inefficient and very process focused. But as a result, the system doesn’t rely on good luck or heroics to save the day. Instead, they’ve invested in process.
An institution that is 100% contemptuous of process may create vividly creative outputs, but it won’t last long. And one that’s 100% process focused will rarely create a breakthrough. We can take a hard look at our culture and decide if we need more (or less) process.
What does it cost to be wrong?
What does it cost to avoid being wrong?
January 16, 2025
The cult of consulting suggests that if you simply had better advice from someone who knew more than you, your problems could be solved.
Generally, the advice isn’t really the hard part. There’s endless good advice just a click away.
The art is in creating the conditions for people to choose to act on the advice. Good advice unheeded is a waste for everyone involved.
That’s why expensive consultants can stay in business, and why committing to a process before you’re sure of all the details makes it far more likely that you’ll succeed.
We might not need better advice. We might simply need to do the work of being able to work with the good advice we already have.
January 15, 2025
Annoyance is the inflammation that occurs after a mild emotional injury or wound.
Like a physical inflammation, if it’s not cared for it can become infected.
The difference is that an annoyance is easier for us to control. We can invest the energy to build a habit about what we do when an emotional injury occurs. We can develop a pattern of letting go.
Susan David differentiates between the healed emotional injuries (our scars) and the fresh ones (our wounds.) Sometimes, it’s tempting to gain intimacy and engagement by sharing our wounds with strangers, but it might be helpful to share our scars, our history, instead.
And in the meantime, we can build a practice to manage our annoyance.
January 14, 2025
Decisions are easy, choices are hard.
A good decision is our best analysis of the facts, options and risks. If it’s too close to call, flip a coin, because it’s too close to call.
On the other hand, a choice involves understanding our priorities, evaluating our preference for risk and sometimes, changing our minds. None of these are easy.
If we face a difficult choice, it’s helpful to stop thinking about it as a decision. It’s a choice. Decisions are strategic, choices are personal.
January 13, 2025
Every successful SNL sketch, every bestselling book, every landslide-winning candidate… every single one… had skeptics.
Someone in the writer’s room, or on the editorial board or even an investor looked at what was on offer and said, “no.”
Not just, “I’m sorry, this doesn’t match my taste,” but, “I’m an expert, and this will never work.”
If you’re not hearing this, you’re not doing important work.
And if you’re waiting for unanimous approval, you’re never going to ship that important work.
January 12, 2025
