March 2018

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I’m old so I’ve encountered my fair share of dumb ideas. Many of them were my own. I own my stupidity. Why not? It’s hard to hide from it, so you may as well lean into it. And hopefully, learn from it.

Do you have any recurring dreams? Or nightmares?

I’m not sure if I do or not, but I do sometimes dream about being back in college and falling behind. When I started college I was going into engineering. Talk about a major, “What are you thinking?” period of my life! I hated it. Hated every minute of it. I wasn’t wired for it, had no desire to do it, but I was practical to my core. It seems practical. No matter that I had no drive or desire (or capacity) for it. So a semester would begin and I’d go to the first class of some subject. I’d go until I stopped going. I’d just blow it off because I H-A-T-E-D it so. I knew what was going to happen. I was going to avoid going, fall behind and end up dropping the class prior to the “drop” deadline. Dropping was like a lifeline. What else are you going to do when you’re 18, working nearly full-time and trying to go to school full-time and you love your work, but you HATE school? 

I look back and even though I know what I was thinking, it still prompts me to ask myself, “What were you thinking?” Namely, what was I thinking by even pursuing that education? Answer: I was thinking I should pursue something practical that would earn a decent living. 

Maybe the more important question, and what today’s show is really about, is — What wasn’t I thinking? 

I wasn’t thinking long-term. I wasn’t even thinking past college. I never considered, “Do you want to do this for a living after college?” That question alone would have altered my course much earlier. Turns out, after a few years of hating every second of it, I left engineering and went to journalism where I felt like completely different. I loved it. I immersed myself in it. It was more up my alley. No, I still didn’t think I’d enter that field professionally, but it seemed practical from a skill perspective (writing and speaking are always nice skills to develop, I thought). By this point, I really felt – but never talked about and didn’t think too much about it – that business was going to be where I’d spend my life. Turns out I was right! 

This is just one example I could give you. I’m sure you’ve got a ton of them in your life, too. Times where we just took the wrong path. Made the poorer decision. Didn’t get it quite right. Or didn’t get it even close to right. 

What were you thinking? If you’re in the throes of it right now, “What ARE you thinking?” Deep down you feel you’re on the wrong path. You picked the wrong fork in the road. Maybe it was a mile back, or maybe it was 1,000 miles back. No matter, you know it’s the wrong course! 

I talk with lots of business people about a variety of ideas, plans and strategies. My habit is to work toward understanding the answer to that question, “What are they thinking?” As they make these decisions, what’s behind it? What’s driving that choice? What’s driving their conclusion that this is their best option at this moment?

Sometimes the talk is about a pivot. Or a new business idea. Or the need to accomplish something (like more sales, or reduction in overhead). 

While the motive can sometimes be clear, the path chosen doesn’t. And the more I ask and the more they explain what they’re planning to do, or what they hope to do, the more I sometimes sense they question – deep down – whether or not they’re being smart or wise. Business can make fools of us all. I don’t care how brilliant or experienced you are. 

Each time I leave one of these conversations I’m struck by the opposing question, “What wasn’t I thinking?”

What should I have thought about that may have altered my course, and helped me make a wiser decision? If I go back to my college days I’d have saved a ton of money, time and spared myself lots of misery if I would have simply thought about some things I frankly never did think about. Not early on at least.

I didn’t think about what I was most suited for. 

I didn’t’ think about what my natural talents were.

I didn’t think about what fueled my energy.

I didn’t think about how any part of my education would help me build a life I most wanted.

I didn’t even think about the life I most wanted.

I was only thinking it was something I had to endure and get through. Filled with dread each day. Hating every minute of it. 

No wonder I was making some pathetic choices. And no wonder I didn’t succeed. I wasn’t thinking about the most important things that would have helped me make better choices. 

Right now. At this very moment, you’re making some decisions. Choices are happening, either in your head or ones you’ve already put into action, and you don’t feel good about them. You made them based on some thinking, but more importantly, you made them based on some things you neglected to think about. 

What are you thinking? Better yet, what are NOT thinking? 

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:38 — 8.7MB)

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Stupidity and foolishness know no bounds. They don’t respect any of us. 

The other day I was doing some computer work and the ID channel was on. It’s the channel crime mystery lovers watch. A show about the murder of a woman was on. Turns out her husband, an MIT educated guy with a Ph.D. did it. I caught enough of the program to tell it was one stupid decision after another that climaxed with him killing his wife. I was thinking what most of us always think when we hear such things, “How can a guy who is so smart be so stupid?”

Because we all have a tremendous capacity for stupidity and foolishness. Even the smartest and wisest leaders can make stupid choices. 

Many people appropriately admire the goodness or greatness of General George Patton. But quite often this brilliant general was known to jam his foot firmly into his mouth. Many leaders have allowed their ego (or something else) to override their senses. It happens. 

Last night CBS 60 Minutes’ Anderson Cooper interviewed Stormy Daniels, the porn star who claims to have been intimate with Donald Trump. Lots of discussions have ensued about leaders and U.S. Presidents who have been guilty of “indiscretions.” Indiscretions? Well, that’s being polite. Sort of like calling Ms. Daniels an “adult film” star is a polite way of saying she’s a porn star. President Kennedy wasn’t the first (and he did it while in office), nor will Trump be the last. Smart men behaving foolishly. 

I don’t care what your politics are. Or what color the state is where you live and work. It doesn’t matter to me. And notice I’ve not said anything about “great leaders.” That’s likely far more subjective than smart. Whether you loved Kennedy, Clinton or Trump. Or hated them. These (and many others) are inarguably smart guys who were able to achieve some success in life prior to being elected President, which requires a certain degree of smartness. 

Really smart people – smart leaders (people who are at the top of the food chain in an organization) – can be stupid and make really bad choices. Rather than throw rocks, what can we learn to help our own leadership? It’s a loaded question and there are likely as many reasons as there are people and situations, but let’s give it a go and try to learn some things.

Selfishness Trumps Them All

Pun intended. 

Every single act of foolishness and every stupid choice can likely be traced all the way back to selfishness. The leader was primarily (maybe only) thinking of himself. 

General Patton, like many other leaders, could blurt out things that others found appalling. In each case, he was thinking of what he wanted to express, or maybe spewing out thoughts he had been harboring for a long time. Sometimes it may have been an expression of frustration. No matter. It was about him.

From infidelity to immorality to murder, smart people and smart leaders can become so focused on themselves they lose sight of wisdom. Good judgment leaves them as they grow increasingly focused on what they want. 

I’m a baby boomer. I grew up knowing one thing about leadership. It’s service. The phrase “servant leadership,” is credited to Robert K. Greenleaf who wrote about it in 1970. Sorry, Bob, but you did not invent it. Jesus exemplified it. It’s as ancient as time itself. I thought it was the only kind of leadership worth exercising. For me, as a young leader (decades ago), it was THE way to lead. The other option was a dictatorship, which meant being an autocrat. And I’ve always hated autocracy. 

Patton loved his army and his men. Yet, in a self-centered moment, he could behave like a mad dictator. So can you. 

And in one fell swoop, you can undo years of good. 

Empathy Drives Us To Serve

Thinking of those entrusted to our leadership…making sure they’ve got what they need when they need it…helping each of them elevate their performance to achieve success together and individually. 

You can’t do that when you’re wrapped up thinking mostly about yourself. 

Smart leaders sometimes make stupid choices because they think it’s about them. And they don’t think about anybody else. It may be momentary. It may be who they are, autocratic jerks. Smarts don’t matter if you don’t properly deploy them…and as the leader, that’s your only job. To marshal resources (or acquire them) to serve your people so they can succeed. Cause you’ve got the authority to flatten their speed bumps. And to knock down the barriers that get in their way. 

Sometimes smart leaders are making stupid choices that make it harder for their people. It’s destructive. For the leader and the people. The minute you realize you’re being stupid, stop it. Own it. Apologize. Fix it. Move on.

I’m smart. But I’ve been stupid before. And I’ll be stupid again. But my business philosophy continues to be my north star.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:47 — 12.5MB)

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People are supposedly driven by only 2 things: our attraction to pleasure and our fear of pain. Sadly, the fear of pain is usually the stronger of the two. Which means, we’ll work harder to avoid pain than we will to gain pleasure. 

These are big, broad and sweeping generalizations that can encompass many things. For CEOs and business owners, the desire to grow the business means we generate more revenue, which means we generate greater profits, which means we reap bigger financial rewards. Hello, Pleasure. It may also mean we work hard to avoid hitting a sales slump because that brings with it a slower flow of cash, more restricted resources (aka cash) and the risk of losing our business if it continues. 

Some people claim to have a fear of failure while others vow they’re more afraid of success. I’m not quite sure about all that, but I’ve come to believe that these 2 reasons – pleasure and pain – are likely at the heart of every motivation we’ve got. Professionally and personally.

Pain, and the avoidance of it, maybe among failure’s strongest weapons. But it’s inevitable. If we press on we’re going to experience pain. It’s a given. And only a matter of time. 

Pleasure and the pursuit of it are often very temporary. We hit a certain sales goal only to realize we now must chase something higher in order to feel good about ourselves, and our company. Such is life. 

A short time ago I began to help a friend out with some live streaming. Miguel Dias operates ScaleupAcademy.io. He’s in Portugal and wanted to start a new live streaming show, Scaleup Heroes. It’s the first European live show on scaling up a company (for instance, growing a company from $10M to $100M). As companies scale up they encounter new challenges and new opportunities. What once worked, may stop working. Companies, including their C-Suite leaders, must learn along the way so they can continue to grow. These are especially true for European companies where markets may be much smaller than here in America. 

The interesting thing I’ve found as I’ve interacted with a variety of business people from Europe is that a common problem continues to resurface. Communication. And along with it, culture.

And each person readily admits that intentional incorporation of diversity is not just important, but urgent. Companies devoted to growth and scaling up are finding that diversity is crucial as they continue to innovate. It’s also how communication and culture can best be improved. 

Companies intent on scaling up are searching for the pleasure of success – higher revenues, more customers, more resources and bigger profits. Simultaneously, they’re working hard to avoid the pain of losing in the market. Fear of lower sales, laying off employees and potentially closing their doors are all daily drivers behind their decisions. 

It doesn’t matter where we are – North America or Europe. Our desires and fears are common. Ditto with our problems and challenges. Not necessarily true with our opportunities, but we’ve got plenty of those, too. 

CEOs and business owners are by nature stubborn. We have to be. Our stubbornness helps us succeed. And overcome all the adversity. But we’re all different. I suppose some of us pursue the pleasures of success and achievement more than we pursue escaping pain, but every CEO and business owner I’ve ever known has a healthy drive regarding them both. 

From engineering to marketing to sales to top-level leadership…that diversity issue comes up over and over again. People in every area of a company can speak to how valuable it is when we’re talking about communication, culture, and INNOVATION. Fact is, growth, improvement and transformation are especially important in the C-Suite. And that’s where those things are often most lacking. Because it’s so easy to be complacent. It’s easy for top-level leaders to grow comfortable with themselves. No, rarely will we be comfortable with the performance of our people, or with whatever success we’ve achieved. But we can reach a point in our lives where we just want to avoid any fear of pain. Life is good, and so our attraction to pleasure may remain fairly constant. Taking chances isn’t something we’re likely to embrace though — because that would mean change. Most of us hate change! 

That’s why we continue to do what we’ve always done. Our meetings this week look and feel just like the ones we had last week. And last month. 

The way we approach challenges and opportunities hasn’t likely changed in a long time. We’ve found a rhythm and formula that worked, and we stick with it. No matter that it’s not working as well as it once did. It’s still comfortable for us. So we stay the course. Mostly, because it’s what we know. 

Okay, so we’re all chasing pleasure and hoping to avoid pain. That’s precisely why we get stuck! Comfortable with whatever level of pleasure we’ve achieved. Comfortable with avoiding serious pain. 

You’re constantly looking at the performance of your people, especially your direct reports. Sometimes you know you’re judging them more harshly than they even deserve. But you figure it’s your job. You’re the boss. You can make it be however you want it to be. Ownership has its priveledges. 

I’m asking you to take a moment to exam yourself. Don’t think about your team. Just think of yourself as the CEO or owner. 

What’s holding you back? Why haven’t you innovated in your own work? Are you still doing what you’ve always done? In much the same way?

Be honest. 

Are you stuck? Listen, sometimes we get stuck in some pretty good places, but we’re still stuck. Being stuck in a pretty good place may be the most dangerous place of all because it makes us vulnerable. Susceptible to a big loss. Open to attack. Complacency is always dangerous.

Sometimes we need a jolt, but we don’t want a jolt. Sometimes we just stay the course until or unless something forces a change. But we’re the number 1. We should be pushing ourselves. Welcome to the human race. CEOs and owners aren’t exempt from being comfortable, even if we know (deep down) that we’re hiding or avoiding necessary improvements. 

Diversity may provide some insightful answers. We’re listening to the same voices. Reading the same trades. Following industry trends. All things remain as they’ve always remained. This rut we’re in is liable to become our grave if we’re not careful. Maybe it’s time to expand our outlook. Maybe it’s time to get some different perspectives and viewpoints. If only to debate what we assume is true. And to have people challenge us in all the best ways.

We’re busy pushing people and our business. We’re constantly urging people to grow and improve. What about us? What’s stopping us from doing the same thing?

Will you look back and wonder why you didn’t foster these same things in yourself and your leadership? 

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Thank you!