Finding a way in the Great Reset

Two weeks ago, I ran a poll to source this newsletter topic.?

"Life is Short" vs Ambition.? This topic was the top vote getter, and twice as popular as the second runner up.? It struck a chord.

In this issue, I'm going to share methods to reduce the tension between ambition and the principle that "life is short."

Especially now, we are wrestling with tension between ambition and the understanding that "Life is Short."?If you live on this planet and have the luxury of choice, this is the fundamental question of the moment.?You?can't escape daily reporting on The Great Resignation and 20 Year High in Job Movement.??We're in a period of reflection for many in the workforce.?Because the tectonics plates are shifting,?you may be wondering whether to alter your gameplan.

Overall, I believe the reset is great news.?People are open to reflecting on priorities to reduce the chance of regret down the line.??

When you have new clarity on priorities and shift them, that's a tremendous moment and you should not look back. Let the old priority stack melt away.?And most of all, don't let doubters convince you to look back.?

The Dilemma for Ambitious People

At the same time, I've found ambitious people tend to stay that way.?It's how they are wired.?Whatever the path, it generally requires stretching uncomfortably to capture the upside of?your vision.?Even when working on things connected to your north star, the tasks ahead can seem daunting.?

I often find myself in a?situation of stack overflow, trying to make it all compile.??

Even when you live on the principle that life is short, a healthy relationship with ambition is necessary. A healthy relationship exists when you can maximize the chances of achieving ambitions while keeping emotional downside to a manageable level.

In this issue, I'm going to share some methods to reduce the tension between ambition and the principle that life is short.?These methods have been available for many years but the pandemic has made more people open to them.?

You may have read about the idea of non-attachment.??

I've been practicing this for over a decade and want to explain what it means in practice.??I read about it in 2006 and there have been many scientific and productivity hacking works written about since then.

First, there's nothing contradictory between ambition and non-attachment.??

There's nothing contradictory between ambition and non-attachment.??

Ambition is trying to get something to it's highest?possible height.?You envision a possible future state, and use ambition to fuel the effort.?

Non-attachment is more related to end outcomes - or what you will get out of it.?It's about being okay whatever the final results turn out to be.?

This is a tricky rope to walk given human psychology.?

The mind wants to connect what we're putting in with what may be the end result.?Because effort comes before end?results are known, this?can be a roller coaster ride.?

Let's go further into that.?If we invest a ton of effort, we want to see a material result.?When that doesn't happen, there can be a period of disappointment (or even disillusionment).?

To protect against let-down, sometimes we may set low expectations on the outcomes.?But that's not ideal either.?If you don't expect a great result to be a possibility, that could introduce self fulfilling?behaviors like settling.??

For example, let's say you have a new project.?If you study the ingredients necessary for a great result and place efforts into bringing those ingredients to life, you may achieve it.?But if you limit the effort into the project to avoid let-down, then why would the outcome be amazing??

It's important to have a high ambition in order to identify what it would take for it to be realized.

If this seems like a tough mind game to?crack, don't worry there is a solution.?

Let's step back to a framework you can tap into for almost any ambition.?

Framework for Non-Attachment

The?framework starts with separating inputs from outputs.?

Inputs are what you put in - time, creativity, research, planning, openness to feedback.?Outputs are end results that show up later and depend on a string of inputs that can be hard to trace back.

Inputs are within our control.?We can put in effort, observe what's working or not, adjust and tune our projects to work a little better with each learning.?

It's easy to tell someone, focus on the inputs over the outputs.?I'm guilty of that - it's a phrase I drilled into my organizations as a leader.?

Let's take a minute to explain how that works in practice.

Outputs are the end results as opposed to small results along the way, which are signals.?For example, if you started a company, an output may be answering the question: is there a real market for the product??Some signals along the way could include:

• whether customers are willing to trial
• the stickiness of their usage
• the growth within those customers; and
• how easy it gets to make the next subsequent sales.?

If each sales?or pitch is going better than what came before, that's a positive signal.??

Creating a loop between your inputs and the signals is the best way of increasing the chances of success.?

And that's the heart of non-attachment.?

Non attachment brings attention to what matters most -- the input-to-signal loop.?The efforts you apply (inputs) are responsive to what you're learning or observing.?When this is done repeatedly for your ambition,?the chances of success go up.?Success isn't always in the cards and may not materialize but at least you know the approach was optimal.?

Portfolio Thinking for Life

Now that may not sound like a bullet proof way to achieve success.?But at a portfolio level, I believe it is.?When you approach a bunch of things in this way -- from parenting to company building to skill development and pursuit of hobbies -- a pattern will emerge.?You will learn how to become an input-to-signal expert, and start to see better outcomes in general.??

Some projects may not work but more will start to get off the ground.?And you may find it becomes a skill to harness ambition (however small or big) into real momentum?in a healthy way.?

When things in your portfolio don't work out - you'll likely be more resilient because of non attachment.?And for things in the portfolio that work out, proof points around the focusing on inputs can be motivational. You may bring non attachment into more spheres of life.?

More resilience, and a higher conversion rate on ambitions can be a powerful combination.

Summary

Two more considerations around non-attachment.?First there's only a certain amount of total energy you can bring to your ambitions. If ambition is overheating, take a knee and replace some of it with?rest, reflection, and things that bring joy. Relax the timeframe on ambitions when things overheat.

Second, workplace culture obviously?influences whether you can operate with non-attachment.??What does company culture have to do with non-attachment in your work life and responsibilities? Read on.

Many companies are output cultures, but the highest performing?ones lean the other way.? Do you recognize your company's focus in the chart below?

High performance organizations tailor collaboration, meetings and processes to focus UPSTREAM.? Before racing ahead to KPI's, outcomes and execution they spend time intensely exploring the inputs that influence project success or failure.

The?idea is to surface real signals on the opportunities and modify efforts based on what's being learned.?

This kind of upstream focus is the hallmark of a high performance culture like one finds at Amazon.?

Yes they are very attached to great outcomes, but have learned the best chance of getting them is to attach to inputs over outputs.

Is your company trying to bring more upstream focus?

If so, please share ideas and comments.

And if you'd like to get build support for upstream focus in your organization, share this issue.