The Manager 142 - Memories we make and more
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The Manager - Edition 142 - Memories we make and more
Hi.
I hope you are safe and well and all is good. Things are good here. Contract renewal is in the pipeline, house move finally trundling along and lots of summer sun. The Parent Brain newsletter is also gathering momentum and Stationery Freaks podcast has surpassed all expectations!
I've added back in the "stuff I've read" links at the bottom after a few people stated they missed the clearly delineated set of links to read. I'm always trying to make this newsletter better.
The memories we make
As we prepare to leave this house as a family and move on, I’ve been struck hard by strong emotions. We moved into this house 15 years ago. We’ve done a lot of work to the house and have enjoyed living here.
We got married whilst living here and we had all three boys here too. It’s our family home. But two of the boys are sharing a room and I’m currently camped in the kitchen for work, as we’re both now working from home. We’ve outgrown it.
It reminded me of when I left the start-up I’d been part of for 10 years. I’d become the business; the business had become a bit of me. I remember telling everyone that I had to destroy a little bit of myself to leave that company. It took me many months of slowly retracting myself from the business to make it less painful.
Not sure whether you are like me, but I get connected to companies easily. I build a wide awareness quickly and I get company smart.
I only work for companies where I feel I can align quickly behind the goals and the mission. I get stuck in and become loyal quickly - I guess that’s in my nature. But I’ve also built resilience into this, and I would encourage you to try the same. A business often has to do what is right for the business, but that may not be right for you.
I build a runway of money so I can live for 6 months without work.
This took me a while, but I got there and tend not to touch this money unless I have to.
It helps that I have low living costs. My biggest expenses are my kids and books.
I insulate myself from the madness of any company I work in. Things will happen that may not be good for me.
So, I keep writing, I keep producing, I keep connecting, I keep building my body of work.
I switch off in the evenings and weekend.
This took me a while to learn how to do, but when I’ve finished for the day and done what I must for that day, I close the lid on my laptop and I don’t check emails or work until the morning.
I refuse to install business connectivity apps on my phone.
I’ve been there before - where I’m committed and working 14 hours a day and I won’t do it again. It’s really not worth it.
If I want to work 14 hours a day, then those extra hours are spent building my own life; with my kids, writing, creating videos.
I prepare for the worst. This may sound negative but it’s actually a positive thing to do.
The Stoics did negative visualisation about the many things that could go wrong in their lives. It helps to plan and prepare for what could happen. It also helps to carefully think through your approach to your work.
By imaging losing my job, I’m ready. I have a CV on my site, I have passive income, I have a runway and I keep producing.
We’re all different and by thinking through the worst things - you may find it gives you ideas on where to focus your energy and attention.
Not everyone needs changing
It’s common for managers and leaders to want to change people, processes and ways of working; to transform the business. They often seek to move everyone to a new way of working; to fix the culture by making everyone behave in different ways. (Think Agile transformation - they are not process changes, they are culture changes)
It’s a fool’s errand to want to change everyone. Not everyone will change. Not everyone can change. Not everyone needs to change.
Imagine you’re pulling a bus along a road with a rope. You know the direction and you’re on the path. A few people are helping you pull; people who believe in your vision and want to get there too.
There are people at the back of the bus pulling in the opposite direction. They don’t want change; no doubt for valid reasons. But they’re making it hard to pull in a new direction. On the bus are the majority of the people in your business. They don’t know whether to stay where they are or get off and help pull in either direction.
Your job, when leading change, is to set a direction and make it compelling and interesting. Identifying why you are pulling in this direction makes sense. Then use your relationships, excellent communication skills and a relentless focus on solving business problems to garner support. People will join you.
Over time more people will join you - after all, you’ve made it really compelling. Pretty soon it makes it hard to go back to old ways, there are too many people pulling the bus. As in, there are too many people behaving in different ways to go against the norm. It becomes hard to stand out.
Not everyone will join you at the front. Many will stay on the bus. But the point is not to get everyone out and at the front pulling in the new direction (behaving and operating in new ways). The point is to get enough people. Not everyone needs changing.
Seeking silence
Silence is a myth. I’ve been on a personal journey to seek out more silence to bolster my health and aid in my creativity. To quiet my life and my head. Those that know me know I think a lot. I have a tonne of ideas. I find it hard to switch off.
Interesting Article on creativity and brainstorming- creative ideas are still to come
Then yesterday, whilst enjoying some quiet time in the garden with a beer, I realised there is no such thing as silence. The world is always making noises. Nature is never quiet. But... When we remove the human-made noise. When we stop the chatter in our minds. When we sit and do nothing but listen. We can always hear something. We can hear nature, animals, trees, wind, insects creeping around.
I’ve stopped searching for silence. Instead, I’ve realised that listening to nature is the key. Nature has a calming effect.
What’s this got to do with management? Well, in work I used to plug myself into a meditation app, or one of those that plays bird songs, or listen to music during breaks.
Instead, the best thing, at least for my mind, is to find some nature (which in the UK we are thankfully blessed with lots of it - visit me on Instagram to see some of it) and just listen.
Not only can you hear bird songs, but you can also sense the wider aspect of nature and get some air too.
And if it all gets too much, I’d suggest you follow a Stoic / CBT principle and zoom out. Imagine yourself from a bird’s eye view, now an aeroplane view, now a space shuttle view. It helps put my problems into perspective. :)
Stuff I've read this week:
The darkside to networking - I enjoy networking but there is, apparently, a dark side to it.
Your dream job probably doesn't exist - sad but likely true.
I honestly cannot stand OKRs (Objective Key Results). They are misused all over the place, but they have caught on. If you have to use them, this guide can help.
Apparently, a bath is as good for you as a run.
Introverts make good leaders. I'm an introvert and I've lead teams and people....I never doubted we couldn't lead
Enjoyed this - what if remote working didn't mean working from home?
Until next time.
Rob..
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Rob..