Success Through Adaption

(Reposting my most often requested article from before I started this newsletter)

I judge companies based on how employees learn new skills. Specifically, I judge companies based on how employees learn to curl.

I've taught thousands of people how to curl for over 20 years. In Silicon Valley, our curling club raises money by team-building for many big and small high tech company. We also get the general public and non-tech companies, but the tech companies are the bulk of our educational revenue. Almost none of them have curled before.

Some show up late, in multiple groups or one at a time. Punctuality and team coordination are clearly not core values for these companies.

Some cannot stay focused through a basic safety talk or don't care to listen, so I've adapted a fake "history of curling" to grab their attention and ensure that everyone has at least basic safety instructions. Some don't believe that a random person can teach them something new. They've been told that they are unique snowflakes who are smarter than anyone else and can learn anything faster than anyone else. Proud, unicorn stallions who will unquestionably throw their first stone 150 feet to the button with no sweeping on first try. Their real lives exist to do one thing very well (write code, analyze data, design silicon chips), are valued for it, and so are paid enough to never have to do anything else.

Some demonstrate that they've never used a broom before by attempting to sweep with the hard part (non-pad-side) facing the ice. These privileged members of the aristocracy would normally have their butlers curl for them, but their bosses insisted that they personally attend.

Others come to learn, come to play, come to have fun, adopt a new skill, and build team coherence. They ask good questions about strategy, tactics, physics, and safety. They want to learn and are willing to fail in front of their colleagues to do it, because they value the process. The skill doesn't actually matter - they value LEARNING.

There may be an outlier or two in a group of 20 or 30, but usually behavior is pretty homogenous. Some pick skills up faster, are more athletic, or simply have better hand-eye coordination. Often, English is a second language. None of that seems to matter.

The attitude comes from corporate culture and hiring for a specific mindset. I wouldn't trust some of these people to pick up my dry cleaning. I wonder how they feed themselves. Others I'd hire without hesitation. They are lifelong learners who can fearlessly adapt to anything. These are the companies that can deal with bad economies, sudden changes in customer preferences, new technology - new anything.

A company of unicorns will do great if their skills are perfectly adapted to the market need. When environmental factors change, the herd will be culled and unicorn steaks will be grilled.

Market conditions change. Durable companies adapt. Companies that can adapt are comprised of people that can adapt.

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