Category: Culture

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?

Steven Freidkin posted about the tension you find from being in the privileged place of being good at solving problems that also counterintuitively will bring you more problems to solve. Check it out linked below.👇 I’d like to riff off that for a moment.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7206267953606995970/

There’s an old jewish proverb: “if you work with your mind sabbath with your hands and if you work with your hands sabbath with your mind”

Because of the dynamic of never ending problems generated by growth:
-I’ll never not be a dad again
-I’ll never hold a position in a business again where my job will not be to simply look at problems and solve them. (Frankly, I think I’d be miserable if this wasn’t true.)
The work seems never ending and that can be an exhausting thought.

In that i’ve found that if I do something in the opposite realm (flipping from mind to hands) allows me to see something finished. The ability to see a finished work at least one day a week adds rest back in a way that gives me energy for the next round of problems the coming week.

With all the extractors, what is your filler activity that sets you up for the next week, the next round?

How redlined are you?

Empty space is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Some call it shower time, I think in terms of social gears where this is gear 1. It’s a big deal. It’s in those moments that your brain is able to cycle out and solve some deeper work problems that otherwise wouldn’t be solved by thinking harder about the problem.

Most of us get in a rut, not when we have too little to do, but too much to do. What about life being too full is a bad thing? Think of it like an engine (sorry Tesla fans). The gas isn’t actually what makes the car go. Combustion is what makes the car go. Combustion is the combination of several things. Sure gas is required, but so is oxygen. It’s actually the empty space that makes the engine fire.

Problems to Solve + Empty space = Brilliant Breakthroughs.
It sounds too simple to work, and it simply does. Proven, over and over.

Practicals though: For me, i’m in an extremely full season so it’s difficult to create that kind of space. I’m sure many of you can relate to that. On a ground level in a busy season this is done by two activities. Long runs and a daily creation of the bullet list wherein I must prioritize my daily activities. I’ve found that one gives space for deep thought and the other gives clarity of priorities that move problems closer to solutions.

What about you? What are your activities that help you solve deeper problems and be thoughtful?