This is a post I’m writing for my friend Jesus, who’s taking on a leadership challenge…
To thrive in chaos and adapt to change requires the mental preparedness to modify one’s thoughts at a moment’s notice. As an entrepreneur, I’m well adapted to chaos. I actually want it. Most people don’t. They love that they have a routine and structured day. Any chaos drives them crazy. It drains their energy. But life is chaotic. So how do you deal with chaos?
Innovation is messy and hard. It’s not for everyone. Mistakes will be made, and you will have to try more stuff to find a way forward. A couple of years ago I was part of a team that developed a static ground effect vehicle.
I recently witnessed a manager use fear as motivator with someone who’d rather not have a lot of responsibility on his hands. Frankly, this is the wrong person to challenge. But the bigger problem is this manager, and every other higher up in this company, uses fear to motivate people all the time!
There are many businesses that start out filling a need for a specific type of customer. Sometimes this leads to the creation of a new industry or segment that was ignored or unserved by incumbents.
If the business does everything right, they will be the leader for that new category, segment or industry. The problem arises when that leader stops paying attention to what started it all: the customer.
Gapingvoid delivered this question in their daily newsletter, and I believe how leaders answer this question determines how they view their company now and tomorrow.
Just because others slack off doesn’t mean I will too…
Mistakes. We all make them. We wouldn’t grow without them. I used to be overly critical with myself when I was younger, and would get pissed whenever I made a mistake. Today, that isn’t the case. I realized that we all make mistakes, especially when you take an unknown path.
