Relationship Power at work

Notion.AI did this automatically from my notes for for this year. +in the audio I share some of my own thoughts reading this myself. **1. Embrace Empathy as Your Foundation** Recognize that almost everything demands practical empathy - understanding that others don't see what you see, want what you want, or know what you know.  This acceptance is crucial for meaningful connections. **2. Play the Infinite Game** Approach relationships as infinite games rather than finite ones. Focus on sustaining and growing connections rather than "winning" individual interactions. **3. Understand System Dynamics** Recognize that relationships exist within larger systems. Consider how networks, communities, and environments influence your connections with others. **4. Create Value Before Expecting Returns** Build relationships by first considering what you can contribute to others' success rather than what you can get from them. **5. Acknowledge Time as a Critical Factor** Remember that relationships evolve over time. Today's interaction is not the same as tomorrow's - build with patience and long-term perspective. **6. Develop Strategic Flexibility** Be prepared to adapt your approach as relationships evolve. What works in one context or time might not work in another. **7. Focus on Mutual Enrollment** Look for ways to align interests and create shared goals, making sure both parties are invested in the relationship's success. **8. Build Resilient Connections** Accept that relationships will face challenges. Design your approach to weather uncertainties and changes rather than expecting perfect conditions. **9. Maintain Authentic Communication** Be clear about your intentions and expectations, but remember that authenticity doesn't mean sharing everything - it means being truthful about what you do share. **10. Create Conditions for Growth** Instead of trying to control relationships, focus on creating conditions where positive connections can naturally develop and flourish. Remember, these recommendations aren't about manipulating relationships but about creating genuine, sustainable connections that benefit all parties involved.  The most successful relationships and results are those where all parties grow together over time.

A slight shift of just a few percent recurringly in how you prioritize and thus allocate your time, focus, energy, and effort will make a big difference in your relationships. Thus, it will significantly lift those you keep showing up for (and with)

Seth Godin is back on your podcast for a conversation about Strategy, Time, Empathy, Games & Systems. And his new book "This is Strategy."  Hopefully, it will guide your own compass, decisions and actions today so we can serve those it's for in a way they want remarkably repeatable. Want to get Seths book? https://seths.blog/thisisstrategy   Curious on the Udemy course? https://udemy.com/course/this-is-strategy-with-seth-godin The other book mentioned The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists by Richard Rumelt https://amazon.com/Crux-How-Leaders-Become-Strategists/dp/B09WRTFWNZ   Quote: What am I stalling right now because I'm afraid?

Results, Relationships and actions over time that matter for both.

What do you want to create and for whom? Find someone, organize something and help others by creating a space where you talk about it

You have more options than we can ever imagine

In case you dont have time to listen: A quote or two. Quality creates Growth. Growth creates Bloat. Quality lets you do more with what you've got—forces you to focus. Bloat might be technical depth, doing things that are not in focus, or in ways you didn't intend/design. Often, bloat is a symptom of never deciding whom to serve, how, and why that matters to those specific people who care. Peter Drucker say "Results only happen outside the organisation; everything inside it is a cost."   Below is the full raw Descript Auto-transcription of this episode. raw = its not edited, and Descript isn't perfect. Continuous improvement and what you're unaware of control you. Continuous improvement is co-work. It's collaborative in nature. Yet quite often, we have countless books for self-development, and I'm quite sure wherever you've been working throughout your life, you have individuals who perhaps talk languages like self-learning, taking the initiative to learn.  And something happens. Usually, we have one or a few individuals in each team who are skyrocketing what they are able to achieve and what they're doing; they're embracing new technology, they're learning new processes, and they're adapting faster than most in a reorganisation.  Yet something happens with improvement when we have a team of, say, six+ people, when we have a team of 15 people, and you're trying to scale that, and I'm not talking Dunbar's numbers now. And the personal thing, an empathy thing.  I'm talking about focusing on improvement as requiring a lot of vulnerability and trust.  Yet,  quite often, we don't talk about it. We talk about it as helping individuals to better things.  We're talking about retrospectives and thinking, figuring out how we as an organisation become better.  it's important we actually think about this: what you're unaware of controls you here.  We can't talk about continuous improvement if we don't ask ourselves,  why are we here as a team? What's our promise to the organisation?  Here, I think it's vital that we embrace the fact that our hurry to get to say number three on a scale of ten is often what blocks us from actually getting to ten.  Ten being able to scale up. Ten is being able to automate instead of require or hire,  speed things up,  and let people be free for vacations. In the long term, ten means serve better, not just because what happens when I say in our complex enough to get 3, it often blocks us from getting to 10. What happens is, quite often, we have a KPI behind that we must get to.  And perhaps we're unwilling to "embrace reality", as Manager Tools discusses. So we're instead focused there on ONLY doing enough to reach "level 3", blindfolding us for what we know lies beyond. Because that's what we need to get done this month.  Sacrificing the future.  And we need to have empathy for that.  Empathy for that other team who does it "to us un-intentionally".  You need to realise you're most likely doing it, too.  You're most likely also in a hurry to get to three.  That blocks you from scaling up and automating more.  And the better we become at talking about it, the higher we can grow. If we can talk about that quality creates growth,  which is a good thing,  because then you have resources to automate, then you have resources actually to figure out a better way to serve. What is this team here for?  Who are our customers, who are, and what does the revenue look like?  And as that starts to grow, growth creates bloat and bloat is usually again, in the form of, okay, there's the journey of the urgent looking good in the KPI, in this specific thing that some of the team, especially if you're in a global organisation.  People are mindful of their own KPIs, and they're not really seeing the whole business.  And that's why when we talk about continuous improvement,  we need to start with, why are we here?  On a great day, what is our healthy boundaries? I'm probably making that a block of three instead of ten for some teams.  Then we need to talk about that with our manager and people up senior saying how can we  work on this together.  Then we need to go down again to look at our own continuous improvement saying why are we here again?  This is to who are we doing this for?  Probably, the continuous improvement will change.  Because not everything matter.  If we dare to be very specific,  who our team is here for, if we dare to be very specific,  what our promise is for the work we're doing,  the better we can become at it, the faster we can become really good at it,  figuring out how can we automate more, how can we save resources so we can do this better long term.  And another way of saying this  is focus. How can we focus on what actually matters and is worth improvement?  New shiny objects will always come along, so how can you stay committed to that?  And how can you be consistent with that? It's only with consistency that real improvement happens, especially if we go beyond ourselves and look at a team. Notice it gets more complex when we're talking about getting a team to do continuous improvements. There are a lot of negotiations and painting a picture,  and I am looking for that enrollment because no one exactly aligns with any one individual.  So you probably need to work on your very local situation, um,  on how continuous improvement looks like.  With trust, with transparency, with protecting your team. With this embracing that, reality is someone else isn't hired to get to three that will block you from getting to ten.  And how can you have empathy for your own situation with that? How can you have empathy with their situation with that?  And then when you have worked on improving your local situation,  And the resistance and the hard work of getting that to work beyond one.  Now, looking at the global,  how can we work with continuous improvement globally?  It's very different from what it's for. It's a very different who it's for.  And probably starts with empathy. Probably with yourself, with that, you have multiple accesses that will only partially align.  And when you do scale that up to 60 people, 100 people, perhaps thousands of people,  safety looks very different.  Especially if you're thinking of multicultural countries and stuff like that, you probably have one idea of what safety looks like. You probably have one belief and trust in that, that won't be exactly the same globally.  Yet safety and trust is really important for continuous improvement.  And we need to embrace ourselves too, that,  when we say who it's for,  it's quite, quite often, specifically,  if you're a freelancer, choosing your clients.  If you're an entrepreneur, choose your customer.  If you're,   an employee, choose your manager.  It's really, really important. And continuous improvement is really important for your next thing in life.  So,  and that also goes back to the core, be the one who lift other people, be the one who train other people, share what you learn, goes back to this three out of 10,  carve out some space to elevate the people around you. It does not mean picking up a new shiny object because there will be a new tool, a new reorg, a new thing, and daring to commit and focus,  daring to be specific.  And also again,  in the line of continuous improvement, sometimes the challenge is, are we supposed to do this?  And how does that fit into the trajectory this team is on?  How does this work with the other work we're doing?  And if we think we can fix our bubble and then ignore the rest,  the continuous improvement will fade,  will be less impactful.  So if you can start to embrace that it's actually very collaborative,  and other people see what you're unaware of,  there will be accesses that you will never see that are sort of coax grinding against yours,  the better you become at improving what matters for the people who actually care.  But it starts with you,  thinking about who you want to serve, what problem is worth solving,  and thus, if it's worth solving, worth improving on.  And then talking to other people around you about that.  About how that changes as you grow.   Thanks for stopping by, my friend. Have a great one.    [ Recorded with Audio-Technica AUD BPHS1 and Rodecaster Pro2, 2024-07-21 ]

use it to put some constraints on shipping what might matter today Remind yourself of it daily. On your decisions. On your effort. On your relationships. On those you choose to help get to where they want to go. On the internet. On Everything...

Easy is already taken. Great, since you don't really want to play an easy game. You want to play an interesting, worthwhile game with people who care and who want to come back the next time you gather the party.

You sure its yours? Please move your stuff where its protected, actionable and less costly for our future.

Are you Creating and holding space for Questions? Are you pondering on what uncertainty to to you and those around you? Are you actively helping others reflect and ask themselves what if and other powerful questions?  

Autobot summary: We explore the concept of "after commitments," focusing on the impactful actions and efforts that would be missed if discontinued. It highlights the importance of ensuring others recognize the value of these efforts and continue them after our involvement ends. This concept is particularly relevant in project management and cybersecurity, where success is measured by reaching milestones and ensuring sustainability and continued relevance over time. Ric apologizes for missing last week's episode and expresses gratitude for listener feedback, emphasizing the importance of specific and meaningful communication amidst a sea of generic messages. The discussion underscores the necessity of embedding the principles of after-commitment into our work. This approach aims to achieve immediate goals and secure lasting benefits and value. It then addresses the challenge of recognizing the true impact of our work due to biases and the importance of viewing our efforts from others' perspectives. The episode touches on the necessity for empathy, humility, and the questioning of our contributions' long-term sustainability and integration within existing processes or habits. The episode concludes with reflections on the role of after commitments in assessing our work's relevance and effectiveness and the importance of facilitating a smooth transition for others to maintain and build upon our efforts. Listeners are encouraged to consider their areas of influence—whether topics, people, or values—and how they can contribute to sustained positive outcomes. The episode challenges the audience to think about the legacy of their actions and how their efforts will continue to be fruitful and relevant in the future. In summary, "After-Commitments" calls for thoughtful, enduring impact beyond completing a task or project, emphasizing the importance of building habits and systems that ensure continuity, relevance, and lasting value. Almost 100% of the world didn't notice last week episode not showing up as usual. Focus on the important people (select few) who missed what it brought to their lives.  Don't let the others distract you from you helping those who see, those who care. Those who benefit from your hard work. Those who would miss THEIR steps if they didn't get to engage with your work showing up for them.

Sharing some of my own fears and struggle

You're Not Ready, you're Intentionally Small & Meaningfully Bold. Auto-summary for those who don't have time to listen. The importance of starting before feeling fully ready, arguing that waiting for readiness hinders learning and helping others.  It highlights the struggle with uncertainty and the human tendency to seek certainty, which can lead to inaction and missed opportunities for growth and assistance.  Suggests focusing on small, meaningful actions that can make a difference now,  rather than waiting for the perfect conditions. I know it leaves less space to hide than a superb plan in your head. Remind yourself it's worth it when it feels too pressing to close.   By daring to take small steps, individuals can learn, help others, and eventually find a path that accelerates their ability to serve effectively. The overarching message is to embrace imperfection and uncertainty as opportunities for growth rather than barriers to action.

Barbara Oakley and I converse about Critical Thinking and Learning - recorded for those it might help. Barbara is the creator of Uncommon Sense Teaching, Learn Like a Pro, Learning How to Learn, and many other courses, books, talks, and business presentations. Want to learn more from Barbara? Here's a great start https://coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn https://barbaraoakley.com Books mentioned in this conversation The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li https://www.amazon.com/Worlds-See-Curiosity-Exploration-Discovery/dp/B0BSP29SQ4 The Crux by Richard Rummelt https://www.amazon.com/Crux-How-Leaders-Become-Strategists/dp/B09WRTFWNZ Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World by Scott Shigeoka https://www.amazon.com/Seek-Curiosity-Transform-Change-World/dp/B0C822WG9W Annie Duke's books "The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away" and "Thinking in Bets”? https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-in-Bets-Annie-Duke-audiobook/dp/B078SBSBW3 The Trusted Learning Advisor https://www.amazon.com/Trusted-Advisor-20th-Anniversary/dp/B095PSYBLC The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins https://www.amazon.com/The-Selfish-Gene-Richard-Dawkins-audiobook/dp/B004U8NB2M Everybody lies What the internet tells us about who we really are https://www.amazon.com/Everybody-Lies-audiobook/dp/B077XJ5QBB Play to Win by Roger Martin - What has to be true for this to be an effective strategy? https://www.amazon.com/Playing-to-Win-audiobook/dp/B00GRMUSOS Moral Mazes: The World of Corporate Managers by Robert Jackall https://www.amazon.com/Moral-Mazes-Robert-Jackall-audiobook/dp/B003ATPA1M Between the State and the Schoolhouse: Understanding the Failure of Common Core by Tom Loveless https://www.amazon.com/Between-State-Schoolhouse-Understanding-Educational/dp/1682535908 The article mentioned Curiosity's different stances. https://www.templeton.org/news/curiosity-has-two-faces General interest curiosity, Deprivation curiosity (Barb also said something new to me. predatory curiosity)