Andy Lykens

Innovating and operating through growth

No response necessary

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Our workplaces can seem like a completely reactive world: the inbox becomes a to-do list, the calendar is other people blocking your time, meetings are mostly a way to disseminate information…yeesh.

Stop and consider for a moment how much time you spend actually making an impact. Why should your to-do list be tasks that other people – who don’t know what you know, who aren’t you, and who don’t share your responsibilities – drop in your inbox at random times? What are you getting out of a meeting that couldn’t have been accomplished with a voice memo or a video message?

We’re implicitly taught for most of our working lives that reacting with a fast answer (+1!) is the same as doing the best work possible (but if you’ve ever had a mediocre doctor, you know this isn’t true).

One of the takeaways I had when going to business school while I was working full time was how to let fires burn. It is amazing how much impactful work you can get done by triaging problems. Focus on the thing you must get done or the one that leverages your time the best, and the rest can…wait.

It gives you extra time to focus on something with real impact while concurrently allowing the sender a little space to potentially solve their own problem (or have it disappear entirely). It also may condense the time allotted on a given project, which can help improve focus.

I know, I know. The boss wants you in the room. You need viz on the thread. The responses to the Q&A from the CEO are interesting. You need something to do while you eat lunch. You really like presentations given by so-and-so. You’re excited to propose your idea…

If all you get out of reacting to all of these things is a feeling of busy-ness and overwhelm instead of a sense of accomplishment; if it’s easier to be busy and complain about it than it is to show up and engage; if you’d rather not challenge any assumptions and do what’s comfortable; then by all means…

…hurry up and answer that email.

The Way

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Here’s how I think about helping a team develop:

  • Move something out of their way
  • Show them a different way
  • Put something in their way

It’s not about telling people which fork in the road to take, it’s about revealing the fork and letting them decide which is the right path for them.

The 1 Minus

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In the world of probabilities there is a concept of 1 minus, as in 1 minus the probability of something happening is the probability that something will not happen. For example, if there is a 34% chance your initiative will work, there is a 1 minus 34% – or 66% chance – something will not work. I get it, math is hard.

But this concept is useful beyond probabilities.

It helps reveal the contrary perspective in other problems too, like company culture. This dawned on me while reading What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz. Mr. Horowitz reminds us that when we’re building a culture we can choose concepts that sound positive, but we need to also think about how those traits may be weaponized.

For example, if you say your culture is ‘Flexible,’ that sounds really good – like you’re a lean adaptive group. But at some point, asking people to be flexible all the time is pretty much the same as saying “do what I say and don’t complain about it.”

Sounds pretty rigid to me.

This is further complicated because company cultures have all kinds of traits they’re trying to embody. As the concepts layer on top of each other, it gets trickier and trickier to tease out the underlying implications.

Of course, the goal isn’t perfection, its awareness. We can’t be perfect so if we’re aware that there are layers and nuance to how we live a culture, that’s a great start. Not to having a perfect company culture, but working toward one that doesn’t reward the 1 minus of it’s attributes.

Heating up the car

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A common method for heating a cold car is cranking the dial on the temperature to full red, and blasting the fan on its highest setting.

But if your destination dictates you drive for more than a few minutes the car soon becomes uncomfortably warm, and then you need to adjust to an extreme in the opposite direction. You end up taking 1 step forward and 1 step back until you land somewhere in the middle.

Work can feel the same way; an extreme amount of effort at the beginning of a big project can lead to having to compensate by back pedaling in the other direction.

Try keeping things regulated. Put the temperature dial close to the middle, and keep the fan at a medium speed. Acknowledge that your work will take more than a few minutes and accept that your project may be slightly slower to warm up, but ultimately you’ll have to make fewer major adjustments and stay more comfortable.

The Simplest Way To Invest In Property

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Here’s a simple way to invest in property: create art, then share it.

Write a poem, compose a song, paint a picture, sculpt a statue.

It will take practice, patience, self awareness, and showing up each day. You may feel frustrated, uncomfortable, afraid, excited, accomplished, acknowledged, soothed and a host of other emotions.

You will exercise your mind, convey a message, create something from your unique perspective, and share a small piece of yourself.

And you will own a piece of intellectual property.

Do this enough and you may own a small neighborhood.

One day the market in your neighborhood may even start to rise.

All you have to do is begin.

Help me help you

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If you want a useful restaurant recommendation it’s important to ask someone you trust and make sure they know you’re lactose intolerant, love spicy food, and will be in New York City in May.

Most people do the opposite when they ask questions at work: it’s more like they’re asking their best friend where to get dinner tonight – there’s a lot that doesn’t need to be said and pre-existing knowledge and experience with exactly this problem.

At work this method causes back and forth, even more email, and extra time.

When asking for help from busy people, or from people who’s attention is important to you, don’t overlook asking your question directly and don’t forget to give them the information they need. That will help them help you fastest.

This is also why people prefer handling things over the phone or in person – it ensures they can have an efficient conversation, help decipher next steps, and move on (and have a trimmer inbox to boot).