Category: Culture

Happy 5th! I didn’t post yesterday since everyone else seemed to and I enjoyed simply spending time with my people.
Started the day with a run though and it gave me some thoughts. There are plenty of places where simply being able to go about my day in peace like that isn’t possible. All the technical advancements that enabled that run (moisture wicking clothes, lighter shoes, Strava) would arguably not be here if it weren’t for the advent of our nation and the attitude we carry around pioneering, innovation, and work.

There are trade-offs/costs to it and there are plenty who will rave about other parts of the world’s choice towards less work days, social needs outweighing our own individualist tendencies, etc. There’s truth to that, we get to choose what to opt in and out of and the value that gives us. I will say that those models of living are also not the ones that gave us the benefits we have today.

So here’s to July 5th. The day after the celebration. The day we get to go back to what we celebrated and are priviledged to participate in. The day we get to go back, innovate, push further towards a preferred future.

Let’s go!

Rest is good. If you haven’t planned any for the year, we’re 2/3’s of the way through.
-Go to your calendar now.
-Look 4 weeks out.
-Book it.

There will be excuses as to why that can’t happen. They’re excuses. Be as ruthless with your rest as you are with your work.

I’ll catch you all next week.

Let’s talk about private equity for a minute. Full disclosure, i’m not an accredited investor. Still, through a myriad of circumstances I’ve been able to hold private assets with other parties as a Limited Partner. There are some times that being an LP or telling someone you’re an LP sounds good. Reality wise, it’s not all that nice most times. It’s an investment vehicle and that’s all it should be considered.

Someone was asking me about one of these related to a robotics venture and if they should invest. There is a lot of nuance to that question and for this person I discouraged it. Not because I think it was bad for me, but more because the experience of an LP is distinct in your inability to control outcomes. Even when I was working IN the actual business where I was also listed as an LP I didn’t have access to many of the levers that would deliver better outcomes to me as a shareholder.

General Partners have a much better viewpoint, but also have the privilege of personal liability against the asset. So i’m not saying their situation is any better. It’s simply different.

What do I do then?

Well for the person I was speaking with about the robot stuff, I told them the S&P 500 has a better feel. For them that was equally true because of their runway. For me, I have a longer timeline so i’m ok. But in general many (social media, news, advertising) will try to convince you that being an LP in something is SUPER great with a pot of gold at the end. It CAN be true, but it is NOT necessarily true. Also, private assets are harder to remove your position in where public assets are simple. As a litmus test to this, think about selling a stock on your fidelity account vs selling your house. See what I mean?

So i’m not giving advice on how you invest. We’re all adults here with our own versions of what we need and why we do things. That said, I do believe you should be aware of what you’re getting into and if you have the opportunity to own a private asset it’s worth careful consideration and wisdom from some trusted folks around you. That’s the point, don’t buy the line that there are riches at the end of this rainbow. There’s a safety net in a multitude of perspectives and experience

Who are your people that you trust to give you wisdom in these decisions?

Everyone has a wall they hit with growth. The question is what to do once you get there? I’ve found these tools help me a ton as I look for ways to grow.

• Books —> Reading is helpful beyond the information. Training your brain to intake deeper and longer form information is an activity that our society has lost much of, but it’s incredibly necessary.
• Print —> If there are a lot a charts
• Audio —> If it’s a story form
• Podcasts—> Honestly on this, just do it. Too much entertaining content with a low effort bar on the consumption. Even if it’s outside of your normal scope of thought, I’ve never found it harmful to know a little bit about a lot of things. That said, here are the three areas I tend to live in:
  • Business —> Generally, but not always, finance. It’s always helpful to understand how finances impact organizational decisions so the more understanding you can get here the better.
  • Leadership —> Things like EntreLeadership or WorkLife are very helpful in thinking through how to lead teams.
  • Edutainment —> Basically, tons in this area so it’s hard to recommend one in particular. Lately, because of a cyber security interest I’ve been listening to DarkNet Diarires.
• Videos —> YouTube has so much on there. Beyond that, find 3 good movies about something you’re interested in from history. Don’t watch just for entertainment though. See what the diverse perspectives of others can do with the same story.
• Relationships —> The most growth I’ve experienced is from sticking in long term friendships where the other person had enough context to call me when I was lying to myself.
  Who is in your orbit that you can trust to challenge you in a safe way?
  Can you challenge each other?
  Do it!

What are some other vehicles of growth that I’m missing?

I had a conversation about growth with one of my staff the other day about the fact that he is incredibly smart, talented, and hardworking. That sounds like a good thing and in a vacuum it is. Here’s the thing though, he has currently refused to read books, listen to podcasts, or find other ways to grow outside of picking up things from those in his immediate orbit. I had also struggled with how to communicate the reality of what damage not growing through other mechanisms that aren’t direct experience would cause. Finally, I had the thought. The challenge I presented to him is that at some point he hits his ceiling and then he’ll need to find a way to push past the barrier of his immediate vicinity.

When you get to your capacity there are very few choices of how to grow and at some point you become the ceiling for your team. What do you do in those moments to continue growth? How do you find other people and places that will challenge you with where you’re at? I can say after years of self-feeding I’ve learned to do this for myself. My current challenge is helping others learn this for themselves. How about you? Do you actively or passively pursue growth?

If you don’t know who Chris Lighty is, that’s ok. Chris was the business manager for most of the large names you would have heard of coming out of the HipHop scene from the late 90’s early 00’s. He was known for his incredible work ethic. The thing is, no one would have known about it if it weren’t for this one moment. There was a point he was in a club with some folks and got into a fight because of some random beef he’d had with folks. From there, someone took him aside and explained to him that they liked him, but also made it clear that he can’t do that anymore. So Chris was faced with a choice to stay the same or up his level.

I constantly have this thought. “Is this my Chris Lighty moment?” Existing in a rapid growth environment will cause you to run into enough people who work extremely hard but, for a myriad of reasons, are in a place where the company might have outgrown them. In those moments, I try to be as clear as possible with those staff members about their ability and my concerns. I’m also certain that everyone has a ceiling. That will come from either ability, or choice. If mine is ability then I hope someone will be gracious enough communicate that to me. If it’s choice, then that’s only something I can know. All roles have a cost. They require too much of the personal end of the life balance. Some roles are simply not worth the transaction cost to achieve the position. The only way to know that is to be clear on your own personal boundaries.

It helps to be clear on those so that you know when to say “I need to change to level up.” or “I’m ok and that’s not worth it.” I’ve found the clearer you are about this, the more comfortable everyone else is with where you’re at. What are your limits before you’ve given too much for a role and where are the areas you need to commit to change and growth?