The Friday Thing #685

T-minus 90 minutes to a Guinness for me, so let’s get on with this…..

The Friday Thing #685 is something old and something new this week – along with a collection of other things I just stumbled across. Let’s start with the old. I’m working through a 5 week online course (aka MOOC) at the moment as part of a manager training we’re doing here at Microsoft. On first glance, it’s quite daunting to think about 5 weeks of training in a world where 5 days feels like 5 months….but it’s been great. I thought I knew a lot about coaching but there is always more to learn and I love the approach the course takes of using plain spoken language. Another part I love is that you are paired up with 3 other people to practice these coaching techniques. I will confess that this is pretty uncomfortable….for about 90 seconds. I’ve met with two of my cohort already and it’s a breath of fresh air to spend time with people from totally different parts of the company. They have no idea what I do (and vice versa) and thus discussion about coaching in our work comes with few if any biases. It’s energizing and illuminating. On especially illuminating conversation was around saying “no” – a topic I touched on back in #442 of the Friday Thing and so I’d like to return to that as I really didn’t do it justice at the time.

Saying no is a superpower. In fact it’s like a super-super power and honestly not one I am great at (sorry, Tanya). But, I am going vow to get better because honestly, it may be the key to the focus I have been searching for a bit of late. I love being involved in many things – it’s one of the gifts of the work I do and the team I get to lead that there is soooooo much variety. Yet, over the last two weeks, I have really focused my energy on two key projects – and it has paid off, I think. And what that comes down to is saying no to things more often. My teaching moment here comes from Jonathan Ive who talked about his relationship with Steve Jobs and his ability to say no. I saw this discussion live in San Francisco back in 2015 and it sticks with me today – the power of saying no. It’s not about being rude or impolite, it’s just about focus. Here’s Jony Ive on for 90 seconds on focus. 

….and with my mind on focus, I am not going to share the collection of “other things” I mentioned above. In the spirit of Steve Jobs, just ‘one more thing’. It’s a brief story I read this week in the program for Banksy’s Dismaland “bemusement park” – also in 2015. In the back page of the program is this manifesto that I love so much I actually read it aloud twice this week to different audiences. They seemed bemused as to why I found it so compelling so I thought I’d share here to offer some Friday bemusement. The full text is below the image…

A successful businessman travels to a secluded island for his summer holiday.

One afternoon he is strolling across an idyllic golden beach when he sees a cluster of fishing boats pulled up to shore. In their shade sit a group of fisherman dozing. The businessman then spots a lone fisherman sitting on the prow of his boat staring out to sea. He strolls over and engages him in conversation.

'What's going on?' he asks

'I like to just sit and enjoy the view' the fisherman replies

So the businessman asks - 'Instead of sitting here enjoying the view, why don't you take your boat and go out fishing while these other guys are asleep?'

'Why would I do that?' the fisherman asks.

'Well, I assume you'd catch a lot more fish if you were the only person out there' explains the businessman.

The fisherman nods and asks 'And then what?'

The business man smiles 'With the money you make from catching more fish you could buy a bigger boat and get some bigger nets - then you'd catch even more fish'.

The fisherman nods 'And then what? he shrugs.

The businessman frowns 'My friend - if you kept working hard and saved and invested every penny you earn, one day this whole beach could be filled with people working for you. You'd be the most successful fisherman in the whole area. You'd have fleets of boats working day and night - you'd be rich'.

'And then what?' asks the fisherman.

'Well then' says the businessman 'you could do anything you like...you could just sit here on the beach in the middle of the day and enjoy the view'...

Take from that what you will….

Okay, that’s it for this week. Fish and chips to go with my Guinness, perhaps?

 -Steve