Memorized Rules: How to give your life direction
A funny lie of adulthood is pretending we’ll act on the life advice we save. We don't revisit bookmarks. We don’t re-read Kindle highlights. We rarely re-open Google docs. I recently overcame this self-sabotage. If I have a superpower, it’s that I now turn advice into action. This post breaks down how, and it shares the best advice I've been given.
^ADJ: Some great reminders and a way of thinking about this - highly recommend the read
Resilience Is About How You Recharge, Not How You Endure
Summary: After working hard for long hours and toughing it out, we at least expect success. However, more often than not, at the end of the day we are exhausted and still have a long list of tasks to complete. Why does this happen? According to the authors, working adults have a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be resilient. Yes, resilience involves working hard, but it also requires one to stop, recover, and then begin the hard work again. Recovery is key to maintaining good health, but also preventing lost productivity. To build resilience, you need to be willing to stop. This means spending some time away from your phone, eating lunch away from your desk, and actually using your vacation time.
^ADJ: This ties nicely into the mis-understood concept of work / life balance - my view there is not a balance but a pendulum, and we owe it to ourselves to get the balance right over time and what works for you in terms of getting the basics right (great sleep, HIT exercise, deserved rest & quality connection).
The power of agreeableness
Agreeableness. It sounds like a likeable quality in a leader. But maybe a bit wishy washy? Professor Randall Peterson, academic director of the Leadership Institute at the London School of Business, says it’s a characteristic that boards need in their directors, and in their board culture, to improve decision making.
^ADJ: Ensuring the board dynamics are right is hard work, but ultimately you can create a higher more effective board, if you get the operating dynamics right.
Part II: The failure points from $5m to $100m
I had the privilege of leading PlanGrid to $100M in ARR before I stepped down as CEO and passed the baton to Autodesk Construction. I’ve had years to dissect the mistakes I have made in my first startup, and I’ve now taken my lessons learned to TigerEye.
^ADJ: Lots to learn from