Disrupt Thyself

Organizations face unpreceded threats from disruption. With the rate of change increasing almost daily, via innovation facilitated by technology, we cannot deny this reality. We have to routinely rethink almost everything we do: how we work, what we sell, who we sell it to, infrastructure, the tools we use, our competition (known and unknown), etc.

This is a fundamental shift in how we work. It means that mastery of process, individually or collectively, becomes increasingly out of reach as we are forced to continually rethink our processes. Instead we must gain mastery at disrupting ourselves in a healthy way. 

Unhealthy disruption can destroy companies. If you tear apart your car and rebuild it after every drive there is little chance of getting anywhere. Organizations may be forced to build their own disruption dashboards to monitor and tweak the disrupt/mastery mix.  

I believe that every organization must find a way to institutationlize disruption. Building in the necessary time for disruption has to be carefully weighed against the damage it will do. Because it can do real damage. But if done right, it will be short lived and lead to sustainable growth. Like pruning a tree.

related: at SmallBox we have bi-annual Factory Weeks where we take a week off from client work to focus on internal projects. Most projects start with us asking "how can we do x better?" We find that every six months works for us. It creates a place for ideas that would be damaging (the negative sides of disruption) if acted on during regular business periods.
Factory Week on SmallBox site
Slideshare Factory Week Presentation: How To Guide

(re)Building My Religion

Some of my friends think it's weird I send my girls to a Catholic school. When I was in high school I was the only Protestant in a class of Catholics. I had fun going to war with my classmates over the virginity of Mary or some random epistemological minutiae. But I never really believed in what I defended. It was just youthful jousting. 

As I grew older I began to challenge my Christian heritage. I realized that my allegiance was more a cultural one than spiritual. I never believed, I just participated, like an actor playing a part. Breaking with my childhood religion was mildly traumatizing. Essentially I felt I was betraying my family and friends but on a deeper level I felt dishonest in continuing the act. I'm not a good actor.

I spent the following years stripping my beliefs like layers of paint. When the dust finally settled I was just north of atheism. I began calling myself an agnostic- one that does not claim to know whether God (or any deity) exists. It felt honest and I was at peace with it. 

Over recent years I have begun to rebuild my beliefs. I now believe there is some larger force or energy which is tied into our existence. I have never heard this force speak to me or present itself as a conscious entity. When people speak about a "personal savior" I cannot relate. The idea of salvation is foreign to me. Same with heaven or hell. In my opinion they are interesting fictions we have told ourselves to make sense of things.

I have come to believe that most of the attributes we ascribe to deity are essentially anthropomorphic. We are channelling our human condition into a non-human being. No wonder God seems to favor whatever culture he shows up in. But I also came to realize that I'd committed a baby/bathwater error. There are many good things to be found in the religion I worked so hard to discard. 

I have come to see organized religion as an excellent starting point. If you think of religion (or philosophy/law/etc) as an operating system then starting with an existing OS is much more effective than starting from scratch. The holy scriptures of this world are filled with wisdom and great advice. Who can argue with "do unto others as you would have them do unto you?" It's simple and perfect. 

But every good operating system needs to be versioned and personalized. Same with religion. I have come to believe that we must challenge the codes we live by to continually refine and improve them. We must make them meaningful and relevant to our individual and collective lives. Essentially I feel we should all be encouraged to build our own religions. I'm hoping that's what my girls will do as they begin to challenge their Catholic education. I'm sure their father will provide a little nudging. 

The Modern Workplace Is A Prison System

I've come to believe that many employers think like prison wardens. A prison warden, in order to keep their job, need prisoners. No prisoners, no job. Essentially, their goal, like many business owners, is to attract and retain. 

Too often "retain" turns into "imprison". Reducing turnover becomes a major focus when it should be accepted as a natural state of things. People grow and change, so do businesses. Holding an employee back from their personal growth is not healthy for the organization or the employee.

Many well paid employees talk about "golden handcuffs". A bad job that pays well. Their employers know that they are essentially paying a premium to torture talented people. Maybe they wouldn't characterize it that way but there is often an undercurrent of "well I'm paying them enough, they shouldn't complain." 

The outcome is talented people trapped in jobs where they only realize a fraction of their potential. It also results in organizations that fail to realize their potential, held back by underperforming employees who would leave the moment they could. Often they would leave for a job they love even if it meant a serious pay cut. I've seen this with a number of friends and associates. Some have taken jobs at 50% of what they were making before. I haven't heard one of them say they regret it despite a good deal of personal hardship.

Until employers realize that passion is as important as talent this cycle will continue. In my experience a passionate employee can be transformative for an organization, as long as they are given the freedom to realize their passion. 

The days of work/life separation are, for the most part, over. Technology has enabled this quite nicely whether we like it or not. Work and life must flow together seamlessly, each bringing meaning and value to the other. Employers that maintain this prison mentality will soon find themselves disrupted by companies that put together passionate teams that will do whatever it takes to realize the purpose of the organization they serve. It's time to set your people free.

From Superhero to Servant

Theory: the leadership traits that can benefit startups are often the same traits that limit growth later on. 

Here's my thinking:

Startups benefit from agile, spontaneous leaders who quickly pivot when business models are challenged. I've been this kind of leader and it's an addictive buzz. So addictive that many leaders get trapped in that startup mentality which may well serve a startup but...

Mature organizations benefit from consistent, focused leaders who stick to the plan. Leaders that set aside their ego and do whatever is needed to serve their organization. This is when leaders must transform from superheroes to servants. Often this transformation requires them saying and doing the same things over and over. As Patrick Lencioni says in The Advantage: CEOs should consider themselves CROs- Chief Reminding Officers.

Being a servant isn't what most leaders signed up for. Being a servant doesn't sound very exciting. Sounds boring and, well, it can be. Like meditation, its meaning appears after you push through the skin of boredom and resist distraction (shiny objects). There is deep meaning and value in service but it requires leaving behind the ego and trappings of the superhero. What makes it harder is that these traits seemed so invaluable during the early days of a business.

Most leaders are easily bored. Many probably have ADD (guilty). They are like jazz musicians, always improvising. I'm one of the worst offenders. Routine is painful to creative people and most leaders are creative. That's often why they became leaders- they are creative problem solvers and most businesses begin by finding problems to solve. But message improvisations can mutate like a game of telephone as they echo through a growing organization. 

This is why I believe that the biggest threat to healthy, sustainable growth is bored leadership. Successful, sustainable companies do not allow themselves to become victims of distracted leaders but instead insist that these individuals serve the company. 

Saying and doing the same thing over and over is hard, really hard. But I believe, 100% believe, that is the difference between good and great organizations. 

Mastering the art of repetition must be the main work of leadership. I emphasis "art" because if there is no art to repetition, bored leadership will lead to an erosion of passion which is cancer to a healthy organization. Finding the art in repetition is no easy thing, I am still a ways off, but the more I practice the more meaning I find.

Conclusion: leaders must change their agility/consistency mix as their company matures.

My Health Story

I believe people should talk more about health. So I want to share my health story, where I am right now and how I got here. I hope it provides some value to you and I would love to hear your story.

I was raised by an extremely health conscious mother but did a rebellious 180 once I was on my own. Amish milk, eggs and chickens were replaced with Mac'n'cheese, pizza and bagels. I lived off bad carbs and didn't think much about what I ate. 

As I entered my 20s I slowly woke up to the fact that I had a body. I don't think I gave it much thought as a kid. I never connected my health to what I was putting in my body. I really started to make this connection when I was in my 30s. I know, not too bright, but that was how I lived and thought.

As my health problems increased I was forced to get serious. What were once annoyances were becoming real issues and I accepted that it was a problem I had to address.

One night last year I felt hot, swollen and sick after a big meal. This was not the first time a big meal had made me feel that way but I was finally fed up. I spent hours researching online and came to the conclusion I had to do a fast and cleanse. I had to hit the reset button. I didn't know what else to do.

I went 3 days without food, taking only fiber and supplements. It wasn't easy or fun but it felt good. My mind was clear even if my body was weak. As I began to reintroduce foods I became acutely aware of how they impacted me. I put myself in the mindset of a drug trial participant- is this a placebo or am I feeling something? I kept a food diary on my phone for a couple weeks to connect the dots. Then came the fateful bagel.

One day, about four months ago, I ate a bagel that changed my life. Yes, bagels can change lives. It was the first bagel since the fast. It felt like I had taken a sleeping pill. After I woke up from a nap I decided it was time to go gluten free. I'd done the research and all my conditions pointed towards a possible gluten sensitivity. 

I'm not one for diets and changing what I eat. I don't think my wife thought I was serious about staying gluten free. In fact, I've sucked at every attempt in my life to change what I eat. But this didn't seem optional. 

The change was almost overnight. Within a few days I felt better than I had in years. My energy levels were high, my mind was clear, allergies that had been getting progressively worse began disappearing, my digestion settled down and I started losing weight. In fact, I went from 225 down to 210 and have stayed there for months without worrying about anything but avoiding gluten. I do miss beer, bread, pasta, etc. But there are some good alternatives out there and many restuarants have gluten free menus or options. 

Not everything is better. I still struggle with Psoriasis, mostly arthritic, and I am considering giving up all grains and dairy for a while to see if that helps. Also, I have an arrhythmia that I take medicine for, but I believe I could address through diet as well. Which means I should probably cut back on caffiene and alcohol. Those two are the hardest for me to give up. Gluten is a breeze in comparison. 

My biggest takeaway is pretty simple: your digestive tract is the key to health. Or, to quote an old adage: you are what you eat. So many of our health issues start with what we eat. Also, so much of our immune system resides in our gut. They've even linked digestive issues to Parkinson's (which my father has) and other diseases seemingly unrelated to digestive issues. What passes between your digestive lining and your blood stream can have a serious impact on your health. 

So there's my health story so far. What's yours?