Andy Lykens

Innovating and operating through growth

Growth

Questions

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What is the core business? Who are the support teams? Who holds accountability, and how are they influenced?

How are the complainers dealt with? The over-analyzers? Does seniority count the same as impact?

How often is appreciation shared, and why? Are decisions justified with pragmatism? Are they justified at all?

Does your degree matter more than your impact? Does your degree matter at all?

Are there rewards to be had? If so, which types of behaviors and results need to be exhibited to get them? If those behaviors don’t align with your values, are you prepared to leave?

Is your work part of your identity? If so, how sure are you that you define it? Do you want to relinquish the definition of any part of your identity to someone else?

These are good questions to ask yourself, right after you ask this one:

What am I doing, and why?

The Roots and Growth of Decisions

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They’re cutting down a tree on the corner of my block. A big tree. There are 3 big trucks and 6 guys with chainsaws. The tree is outnumbered, but it still seems like it’s winning.

This one’s major offense is that its roots have completely upended the sidewalk. It’s dangerous. I know because I’ve tripped on it more than once.

Cutting this tree down has done nothing to fix the sidewalk. And putting a sidewalk next to this kind of tree in the first place is a short-sighted idea – but whoever made that decision is at least retired and maybe dead.

So if the decisions people make have consequences, and if they’re hard to undo, and if there’s even a remote possibility that 6 men with chainsaws will have to undo it – maybe it makes sense to think more about the roots and growth of our decisions in the first place.

Pull & Push

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A pull is different than a push.

A push is a jolt. A quick exertion of force causing momentum. It’s a one-off effort. A boost. It is abrupt and fleeting. It’s a jump across a chasm.

A pull draws you near gradually. It’s a tether to the past, or a thread leading to the future. A pull is enduring. A pull feels both distant and strong. It is a siren’s song.

Push or pull both provide momentum and direction.

Which one do you need?

Sharing

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Sharing is hard. It exposes a point of view, a piece of context, that not everyone will want to receive. Not everyone will understand what you share and agreement is not yet met. You will almost certainly be misinterpreted.

Sharing is vulnerable. You’re admitting the things you don’t know while revealing what you’ve been focusing on. You’re asking people to listen to your idea. People always have opinions about new ideas.

Sharing is uncomfortable. You won’t be sure if your timing is right. You may not know who to share with first. You definitely haven’t thought of all the questions you’ll get and how to answer them.

Sharing is important. The only way to know if your idea works is to share it. The only way to gain allies is to share your perspective. Progress can only happen if we share.

The lazy genius

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There are definitely geniuses. Da Vinci comes to mind. Socrates. Einstein. Mother Theresa. Helen Keller. People whose very existence has such an impact on the world that they’re remembered for centuries.

There are also people who are famous, powerful, rich, or some combination thereof. These people are highly regarded for their impact. Some people may call them genius now, but time is still testing the merit of that descriptor in many cases.

In either case, we are really celebrating persistence.

What it takes to be a genius is showing up, putting in the work, and doing it again tomorrow. Focusing on incremental change. Getting back to it after a stumble. Refocusing on the most important thing after a distraction.

Most of us are geniuses (who’s to say you aren’t?) – we just might have a persistence problem.

Play your own game

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Even though it’s possible for a professional basketball player to play baseball, you don’t typically see them doing so.

They spend their careers developing a way to play one game that is uniquely their own. Trying to translate that to another sport leaves them without an identity and at the beginning of a journey where every other player has a years long head start; even Michael Jordan was a rookie in a double-A league when he played baseball.

If you’ve spent years becoming undeniable at what you do, honing skills and building relationships while collecting useful experience, it’s ok if you want to try to play a new game.

Just don’t be surprised when people catch you making rookie mistakes.

(H/T JP)