ARE STORIES BETTER THAN TRUTH?

*The power of a good story.

We all like a good story. But what if the story is more convincing than the facts? What if, even knowing that the facts suggest otherwise, we still find it easier to believe the story? It seems implausible.

A campaigner who tried to prosecute Boris Johnson over his claim that the UK sends £350 million a week to the EU has lost a bid to take the fight to the Supreme Court. The judge previously said the ‘problem of false statements in the course of political campaigning is not new’ but, she added, there are already laws in place to deal with political statements that cross the threshold into ‘illegal practice.’

In his book WTF? by Robert Peston, it is noted that the £350 million Brexit Bus fallacy was in fact the single most persuasive story. More powerful then even the Cambridge Analytics style manipulation of social media. This story was simple, plausible, memorable, believed..... and untrue.

Goebbels said “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

We may readily accept that the above is all true, there is plenty of history, science and evidence to show this and many more expert people than me have said it. So what?

*The implications for business and strategy.

The power of a good narrative is unquestionable and its persuasive force unstoppable. Business Leaders do well to follow this and the concept of authenticity and trust is substantially based on character and we all like a story with interesting characters.

Stories with the hero, victim and villain are simple to follow and understand. Stories of good guys and bad guys, cops and robbers, are great at galvanising teams into action and unifying them against a common foe, shared concern, or mutual interest.

So business and strategy based on the customer story, the employee experience, the supplier journey and their scrapes and escapades, explanations and justifications are all likely to be more easily believed than boring data.

As an example Tom Peter's book In Search of Excellence told a great story of excellence and success. It was really convincing. A best seller.

Within 2 years after publication it was apparent, to certain analysts, that the book's choice of companies was poor to indifferent. Rick Chapman titled his book on high-tech marketing fiascoes, In Search of Stupidity, as a nod to Peters's book and the disasters that befell many of the companies it profiled.

*The need for a reality check

Like the boy who saw the emperor had no clothes we also need to be cautious of stories without substance: It is important to avoid the rhetoric so many leaders rely upon to put on a good show and sound great.

Trust, but verify is a Russian proverb. The phrase became internationally when used by President Ronald Reagan on several occasions in the context of nuclear disarmament.

So whilst narrative is a powerful tool we need to be much more savvy and hard working with our analytical and critical thinking.


FEEDBACK

I am interested in your thoughts and experiences. Maybe you agree. Maybe you do not. Maybe you can recommend some other books, blogs or videos. Do not hesitate to get in touch, and if you are in Jersey I will happily buy you a coffee if you would like to talk about your experience.

LINKS

https://metro.co.uk/2019/08/14/campaigner-loses-bid-take-350-million-brexit-bus-claim-supreme-court-10571302/?ito=cbshare


RELATED READING

WTF? by Robert Peston
Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis by George Monbiot

AUTHOR

@TimHJRogers +447797762051
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/
http://www.timhjrogers.com
MBA (Management Consulting) Projects & Change Practitioner,
TEDx & Jersey Policy Forum, Public Accounts Committee,

HASHTAG
#STORY #STRATEGY #LEADERSHIP

SHOULD WE ABANDON IT REQUIREMENTS AND FOCUS ON CURRENT NEEDS

The problem with REQUIREMENTS is that they represent what we think might be useful some time in the future and are written in anticipation of needs rather than on the basis of lived experience.

When we add up all those REQUIREMENTS the project becomes large, costly and time consuming. Inevitably delivery (which may take years) often reveals that what we thought we wanted and what we actually need are different.

Maybe we anticipated wrong, or maybe circumstances changed, or maybe new better ideas emerged. 

The solution is to ADD to the project scope, cost and time with CHANGES.

CHANGE is not a bad thing. It is learning. There is no point in slavishly delivering the original requirements if they are out-of-date or not fit-for-purpose.

The problem however is that it often takes until the project is almost finished to actually see the gap between what we thought we wanted and what we actually need.

Perhaps a better way is to abandon the long wish list of REQUIREMENTS and focus on CURRENT NEEDS and just deliver those. One at a time, not as part of a long project (a marathon), but as part of short experiment (a sprint).

The advantage is that the accumulation of sprints may well deliver a marathon outcome, but each and every effort is short, focused and flexible to a change in direction, change of tools or change of approach.

This is not new to anyone familiar with Agile, LEAN or DevOps. But how do we persuade the Board or the Exec Team that abandoning their marathon goal, significant time-table and huge budget is a good idea. How do we stop huge, expensive, Digital Transformations in favour of building an Enterprise Asset of incremental improvements in people, process and technology.

Perhaps the answer lies outside the IT Team. Sales and Marketing for example do something every day that advances the cause of the organisation. And it does this as a revenue cost. Sometimes campaigns will be successful. Sometimes not. But all the experience is learning and none is so large that it puts the organisation at risk.

What if we run IT like Sales and Marketing?

What if IT improvements were like short campaigns with incremental improvements to people, process and technology which could be measured in reduced costs or increased revenues at the end of each campaign.

FEEDBACK

I am interested in your thoughts and experiences. Maybe you agree. Maybe you do not. Maybe you can recommend some other books, blogs or videos. Do not hesitate to get in touch, and if you are in Jersey I will happily buy you a coffee if you would like to talk about your experience.

RELATED READING

War and Peace and IT: Business Leadership, Technology, and Success in the Digital Age By: Mark Schwartz
A Seat at the Table IT Leadership in the Age of Agility By: Mark Schwartz
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations
The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership: Achieving and Sustaining Excellence Through Leadership Development
Thinking in Systems: A Primer
Critical Chain: Project Management and the Theory of Constraints
The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win 5th


AUTHOR

@TimHJRogers +447797762051
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/
http://www.timhjrogers.com
MBA (Management Consulting) Projects & Change Practitioner,
TEDx & Jersey Policy Forum, Public Accounts Committee,

CULTURE OR DATA – WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT?

CULTURE OR DATA – WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT?

In a previous posting I noted that the book The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable the author argues that data is better than narrative. This is because we can always create a story to account for the data but in fact the explanation may not be correct. We are better accepting the data than explaining it because the explanation smooths over the rough edges and exceptions which may turn out to be really important.

I also noted that we are overly influenced by people, characters and charisma because of a bias toward trust which Malcolm Gladwell notes may expose us to risk, but perhaps is a necessary price for a workable society.

The Black Swan concludes that we should not predict but prepare.

The book A Seat at the Table argues that Chief Information Officers CIO should abandon the old [1] command and control,[2] customer service and [3] waterfall approaches to technology delivery which [a] create well intended but unhelpful barriers and boundaries, [b] focus on technology being a servant of the business rather than a leader or enabler and [c] focus too heavily on projects which plan too far ahead and inevitably fail to hit the moving target of business needs.

Here too the emphasis appears to be on ditching the adherence to plans which seek to predict and slavish commitment to requirements that are ill defined, out of date and short on vision. Instead we should be more agile and prepared to embrace small, frequent rapid and incremental change in the face of uncertainty.

It is great when theories align and compliment each-other because it gives confidence that they might be right.

The old Mission and Command and Control of 1950’s is as dead as Central Moscow planning and yet Business Planning and IT Strategies still feel obliged to talk with the certainties that offer exact budgets, delivery dates and outputs somehow ignoring that the objective is not spend but value, not a delivery date but a capability, not an output but an outcome.

A Seat at the Table: IT Leadership in the Age of Agility by Mark Schwartz pretty much turns IT on its head and is a compelling read, especially if you believe in LEAN, Agile and perhaps have read either The Goal, or The Phoenix Project, or if you are really serious about IT and business transformation all of these!

However…..at this point the tide appears to turn.

As soon as we abandon foolish and optimistic plans and embrace uncertainty with experimentation we move from the concept of Intelligent Design to Evolution and the latter seems more about connections, randomness, culture and back to being about circumstances and character than precision or data.

In the book A Seat at the Table it is noted that code paring, working together, sometimes literally with one programmer at the shoulder of another, instead of doubling the cost of delivery will reduce errors and increase productivity by 30%.

In the book The Culture Code it is noted that putting a difficult, lazy or negative person in a four person team will cause the whole team to under-perform by 30%. But that having someone enthusiastic and collegiate brings trust and social cohesion that can reverse the effect. This is not about the person being inspirational or a great leader. To have an effect the positive person only has to smile and listen. This is about social and emotional safety bringing trust that Malcolm Gladwell notes as being essential for a workable society.

So maybe data is great for history, markets, economies and government but culture and connection is vital for the sub-structures of people, process and technology that underpin these.

Gladwell in his boot Outliers notes the importance of connectors and connections to be the catalyst of change and notes both the Dunbar Number (that most people can only really maintain about 150 relationships ) and those rare Outliers who like the six Degrees of Kevin Bacon seem to be able to be both a super connector and use that to be a catalyst for community and change.

These communities for change whether Open Source evangelists or part of an Arab Spring seem to defy data and achieve the impossible though connection and cohesion, pairing and splitting, evolving and learning.

The company Valve literally put wheels on desks and abandon hierarchy to allow people to move to the projects and people they most believe in. In the book A Seat at the Table, reference is made to the Allen Curve suggesting that connection, communication and potentially culture breaks when you are more than 8 meters away from your colleagues.

Let’s bring all this together and consider the implications.

It appears good to measure data because explanation is generally self-serving. One can often seek to offer an explanation that is more comforting than correct. This can result in group-think, error and wilful blindness. (I recommend Wilful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious by Margaret Heffernan)

Put more simply: It is good to measure data to really see with evidence the position or the situation at hand, rather than allowing people justify the situation to their liking.

However working in groups appears essential to getting anything done. There is more allegiance and cohesion to a colleague or partner than a plan. Anyone training for a marathon knows your training buddy is more likely to get you out on a cold and windy night than the schedule pinned to the fridge.

It should be noted that well aligned teams very often outperform more skilled teams who do not work together well.

Increasingly we need to give-up the 5 year plan and focus on 5 weekly improvement and that requires a combination of character, connection, colleagues and culture, but also some impartial, objective, challenging and possibly confusing data.

Long term plans can be a waste of time, but we have to have clear objectives in mind from which we develop potential paths for achieving them. Remember The Black Swan concludes that we should not predict but prepare.

We need to embrace uncertainty and rather than trot out a revised Gantt chart or updated budget accept that we are not there to serve solutions to an expectant CEO or demanding customer but instead become a trusted partner who delivers benefit by intelligent experimentation, feedback, learning and growth.

Perhaps we should not be measured by delivery on-time, on-budget, to-specification but instead by rapid response, adding value and delivering outcomes, whilst all the time learning and improving at all these things through dynamic teams rather than static department.

Ultimately, if a department or individuals do not add business value they become waste.


FEEDBACK

I am interested in your thoughts and experiences. Maybe you agree. Maybe you do not. Maybe you can recommend some other books, blogs or videos. Do not hesitate to get in touch, and if you are in Jersey I will happily buy you a coffee if you would like to talk about your experience.

BOOKS

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
A Seat at the Table: It Leadership in the Age of Agility by Mark Schwartz
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Anniversary Edition by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox, et al.
The Phoenix Project: A Novel about It, Devops, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim and Kevin Behr
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Wilful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious by Margaret Heffernan

LINKS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon
https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/apps/valve/Valve_NewEmployeeHandbook.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_curve
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink


AUTHOR

@TimHJRogers +447797762051
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/
http://www.timhjrogers.com
MBA (Management Consulting) Projects & Change Practitioner,
TEDx & Jersey Policy Forum, Public Accounts Committee,

DATA IS HOW YOU MAKE DECISIONS, CULTURE IS HOW YOU DELIVER THEM
#DATA #DECISIONS #BOOKS #BUSINESS #CULTURE #TEAMS #CHANGE
https://timhjrogers.blogspot.com/

HOW HAVING MORE DATA MAY INCREASE ERROR

In his book The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable Nassim Nicholas Taleb [NNT] argues that it is better to start with ‘real life’ and then read books than to start with books and try and apply to ‘real life’.

His point being that if we start with a theory and then go looking for an example to fit our model we end up finding something that fits our pre-conceptions. Taking the opposite approach should mean we come up with an explanation for something that is true in ‘real life’.

I found his book clever, difficult, inspiring and rude but never dull.

He is scathing of people who create models and spreadsheets that predict next month, next year, or next decade when we know that its difficult to predict the weather tomorrow. Take for example financial predictions.

Did you know that 50% of the price volatility in the markets is down to 10 days over the last 50 years. Can any of us predict the market behaviour for every-day for 50 years in the knowledge that miss just those 10 ‘special days’ and you’ll be out by 50%. Here is another thought: Did you know that for many banks all the cumulative gains of 50 years were lost in 1 week of trading.

Nobody 3 years ago would have predicted how the Brexit saga would have turned out. Indeed its difficult to predict next week let alone next month, next year, or next decade.

NNT notes that having more data confirms confidence, but not fact.

In his book Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know Malcolm Gladwell notes many instances where computers get facts right based on very little data (example offender record, age, offence) whereas people get it wrong ostensibly because of too much data (they look innocent, they dress well, they speak with an accent).

Faced with all that extra data we are bound to find something to justify our notion. Again, more data confirms confidence, but not fact.

In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman explains both the merit in quick thinking and the risk. This simple categorisation based on past experience, values, beliefs means we suffer “confirmation bias” – looking for things to confirm assumptions rather than go through the hard work of fresh and independent thought (potentially challenging or changing our experience, values, beliefs)

So, what are we to do if too much data confirms confidence, but not truth. And hasty thinking leads to false assumptions?

All this came to me today in a practical situation about risk. Looking at GDPR and Cyber Security there is a real risk that we suffer analysis paralysis: lots of data confirming how scared we should be, which ostensibly comes from the people who earn a living from these risks. Warren Buffet is alleged to have said “Never ask a barber if you need a haircut”.

We need to understand the context and maybe NNT is right. Maybe we need to start with ‘real life’ and then look at data rather than become too obsessed with what the spreadsheet or check-list says and be blind to the reality and practicality of it all.

As a guy who is data-driven and more about process than personality this is a new way of thinking for me. Like I said, NNT’s book was interesting because it challenged me and my assumptions. But when you put it in the context of all the other literature it seems clear: too much data blinds us.


FEEDBACK

I am interested in your thoughts and experiences. Maybe you agree. Maybe you do not. Maybe you can recommend some other books, blogs or videos. Do not hesitate to get in touch, and if you are in Jersey I will happily buy you a coffee if you would like to talk about your experience.

SOME LINKS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Swan:_The_Impact_of_the_Highly_Improbable
https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Strangers-Should-about-People-ebook/dp/B07NDKVWZW
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Impact-Highly-Improbable/dp/B000VXBVN6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=black+swan&qid=1569264880&s=digital-text&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-and-Slow/dp/B005Z9GAJG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=thinking+fast+and+slow&qid=1569264938&s=audible&sr=1-1

AUTHOR

@TimHJRogers +447797762051
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/
http://www.timhjrogers.com
MBA (Management Consulting) Projects & Change Practitioner,
TEDx & Jersey Policy Forum, Public Accounts Committee,

The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
Great book summary by James Clear
https://jamesclear.com/book-summaries/10x-rule

I found the book interesting: There were sections I really disagreed with but it is valuable to see a different perspective. Equally there were large sections I strongly beleive to be true. Read with an open mind.


The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
The Book in Three Sentences

The 10X Rule says that 1) you should set targets for yourself that are 10X greater than what you believe you can achieve and 2) you should take actions that are 10X greater than what you believe are necessary to achieve your goals. The biggest mistake most people make in life is not setting goals high enough. Taking massive action is the only way to fulfill your true potential.
The 10X Rule Summary

This is James Clear book summary of The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone. These notes are informal and often contain quotes from the book as well as my own thoughts. This summary also includes key lessons and important passages from the book.

1. The biggest mistake most people make in life is not setting goals high enough.
2. The 10X Rule is based on understanding the level of effort and the level of thinking required to succeed.
3. Operating at activity levels far beyond the normal is 10X action and execution. It will take you far.
4. Set targets that are 10X the goals you would ever dream of.
5. Your thoughts and actions are the reason you are where you are right now.
6. In order to go farther than you ever thought possible you must both think and act at levels 10X beyond the norm.
7. Why keep working once you have achieved a certain financial level of success? Because you can be happy while accomplishing things, not while resting and doing nothing. If you loved your wife and kids yesterday, should you just stop at that? Or should you build upon it? Same way with your work and legacy.
8. Limiting the amount of success you desire is a violation of the 10X Rule.
9. The 10X Rule: You must set targets for yourself that are 10X more than what you think you want and then take 10X the action you think is required to get there.
10. Common mistake 1: setting your sights too low.
11. Common mistake 2: underestimating how much action is required.
12. Common mistake 3: spending too much time competing and not enough time dominating their sector.
13. Common mistake 4: underestimating the amount of adversity they will have to overcome.
14. Any goal you set is going to be difficult to achieve, so why not set them higher from the beginning?
15. Most people feel like they are working – rather than chasing passion – because the payoff isn't large enough.
16. You will either work to accomplish your goals and dreams or you'll be used to accomplish someone else's goals and dreams.
17. Never reduce a target. Do not explain away failure. Always increase your actions.
18. Nobody wins when you diminish the importance of success.
19. People will say, “success isn't everything.” No shit. Of course success isn't everything. But it is important. And diminishing that importance with saying like “success isn't everything” gives you an excuse to limit your vision of success for yourself and the actions you take.
20. It is your duty to be successful. Do not view success as an option.
21. Being dependent on only one person or one solution for success is your fault. Winners bring in success from many different avenues.
22. Politicians make all these promises, but your success (or your children's success) is not dependent on politics. Whether one person gets voted in or not does not determine if you will win. As long as the system provides the opportunity to succeed, no one individual, politics, or president will dictate your success – except you.
23. Success by others is an indication that something is possible. It should inspire you.
24. Those who use blame as a reason for not achieving success will never be successful. Victim thinking doesn't benefit you.
25. If you're willing to take credit when you win then you have to be willing to take responsibility when you lose.
26. Even when bad luck or random events strike there is always something you can do to be better prepared next time.
27. If you were really legit, people would come to you. Stop driving and flying to everyone. Step up your game.
28. If people comment on your level of action, then you're doing something right.
29. The biggest business problem is obscurity.
30. Money and power follow attention.
31. Rid yourself of average thinking and average action.
32. Failing to think big in the beginning will lead to failing to act big.
33. Set your goals 10X bigger than you think they should be.
34. Top achievers don't copy or compete. They dominate. They set the pace.
35. How can you get an unfair advantage?
36. Never play by the agreed upon norms of your industry. Create new ways to dominate your sector.
37. You don't have to be the first to do something, but you should be the best at it.
38. Create “only” practices. What is something only you are doing?
39. You have to be obsessed. Nobody has ever accomplished something incredible without obsession.
40. The ability to be obsessed is not a disease. It is a gift.
41. What goal would cause you to be obsessed?
42. The saying “under commit and over deliver” is stupid. Instead, over commit and figure out how to show up at a higher level.
43. Don't follow the pack. Lead the pack.
44. Interesting trend: when people and businesses cut spending and focus on saving, they almost always save their energy, effort, and creativity as well. It is as if the mindset of dialing down spending naturally dials down activity in other areas.
45. Success is like a garden. You must constantly tend to it and care for it.
46. Most people never get close to being overexposed. Nearly everyone is hindered by obscurity.
47. Last minute preparation is just a way to delay and be fearful. Focus on training better beforehand and when the resistance comes face it and take action.
48. Fear is a signal to do what you fear right now. Do not feed fear by waiting and letting it build.
49. Don't worry about time management or balance. Instead, focus on abundance. Don't think either/or. Instead, think all/everything.
50. Time management is more about knowing your priorities clearly than finding balance.
51. When the author had his first child, he and his wife created a time schedule for his daughter's sleep that allowed him to spend an hour with her each morning, maintain the same work calendar. The bonus was the daughter was asleep by 7pm, which meant uninterrupted spouse time.
52. Nobody will save you or make you successful.
53. Weak and overwhelmed individuals resort to criticism.
54. Customer satisfaction is not nearly as big of a problem as “non-customer satisfaction.” People not knowing you exist and not buying your product is the real issue.
55. Create an exit survey for non-buyers. (Anyone who leaves sales page?)
56. Customer acquisition is the primary objective, not customer satisfaction.
57. Customer complaints are not to be avoided. They are problems you can solve.
58. Powerful companies and brands are omnipresent. You need to be everywhere.
59. The best revenge against your critics is massive success.
60. Duplicate the thoughts and actions of successful people and you too will become successful.
61. Approach everything with the attitude that it can be done. Believe that you will figure it out.
62. Losing money or a business never dominated your ability to take action.
63. The author told his whole staff they needed to make 50 sales calls. Then he told them they needed to make the calls in 30 minutes. He went and made 28 calls in 22 minutes. The point is to stop analyzing and paralyzing yourself with overthinking. Just act.
64. Challenge traditions and established ways of thinking.
65. Don't worry about how much work it is. Think about how great the results will be.
66. Commit first. Figure out the details later.
67. Reach up in your relationships. Find people better than you.
68. Taking massive actions is the only way to fulfill your true potential.

WTF – WHATS THE F that gives your life balance

About 2 years ago I took part in a PhD study of Mindfulness for Entrepreneurs and came to better appreciate that although success comes from almost mindless pursuit of a single goal there is real happiness in balance.

So success seems to be about focus and happiness seems to be about a diversity if interests and outlets, not least because it reduces dependency on one aspect of life.

Dr Alessio Agostinis had a great metaphor: think of life as a pizza and each slice as a different aspect.

I’m interested in understanding colleagues, community, country and cultures. As a change agent I am interested in people’s thoughts and motivations. So, as well as Mindfulness for Entrepreneurs I’ve taken an interest in CBT.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. It's most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems.

It seems to me that both Mindfulness and Cognitive behavioural therapy may be useful when managing change

Once of the CBT ways of tackling anxiety or depression is to increase the amount and diversity of positive experiences and a bit like Dr Alessio Agostinis’ life pizza the idea is to get out and do more (whilst recognising that doing this is a challenge, but essential for personal growth and happiness)

As a project manager and change agent I know simplicity is the key to success so here is my suggestion

Focus – have something that drives you: your job, vocation, beliefs
Friends – make time to see friends
Family – keep in contact with your family
Food – eat good wholesome food
Fitness – do at least 20mins three times a week
Fun – have fun, do something silly to make you smile
Following – follow your interests or hobbies
Freedom – have time “away from it all” to chill
Financial – work to have enough, but not at the expense of the above

So WTF – WHATS THE F that gives your life balance

Do not rush to leave something that is supposed to be fun.

I saw a meme on Linked-In that said ALWAYS LEAVE THE OFFICE ON TIME. Ostensibly this was about the futility of work and the need to have meaning in our lives beyond slavish efforts for the boss or the business.

Whilst I understand and respect the need for a work-life balance and the importance of Friends, Family, Fitness, Food, Fun and well as Finance my inclination is that if you are rushing for the exit at 5pm you are probably in the wrong job.

I’m not aware that great leaders or inspirational people delineate their time so precisely . Surely if you care for your colleagues, community, country or culture that isn’t something that is strictly between 9am and 5pm with a different set of values and behaviors at other times?

I am lucky that I like what I do, and what I do allows me to share ideas and help people and organizations achieve their goals. I realize I am lucky. However that luck is not without having to make difficult choices.

If you dread Monday or cannot wait till Friday then I suggest you make a change in your life because only living for the weekend means that over the course of your life you will slave for 50 years (five days) to enjoy 20 days (the weekend) that that is not a great return on your investment of time and effort.

Friends, Family, Fitness, Food, Fun are really important, but so is what you do. In many cases what we do defines us as a person, gives us identity and gives our lives meaning. It is great then to share the knowledge, joy and excitement outside of work. But I strongly suggest you find something that brings you the knowledge, joy and excitement for you to be able to share it.

Yes, you should have balance in your life but you should not be rushing to leave work any more than you would rush to leave a friend, family member or a fun party.