A New Source Code

In my view, there are two types of people. Fast thinkers and Slow thinkers.

Society has trained us to be fast thinkers. These are people who hear of a problem and immediately come up with 20 different solutions for it. Usually this is beneficial for our day to day activities. And it’s fun. We enjoy quickly coming up with solutions.

But sometimes, we need to become slow thinkers and marinate on a problem for years. Because not all problems are easy and can be solved quickly. Some problems are ridiculously complex. Problems like the broken healthcare system in the United States or the drug trade are big thorny problems. And they require lots of time and brainpower to come up with an elegant solution.

As fast thinkers, we don’t train our ability to think slowly. We don’t see the need on a daily basis. There are too many distractions that we can focus on, now.

But slow thinkers move the world. Slow thinkers are people like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Or Angela Merkel, Eleanor Roosevelt, or Oprah. They think deeply about any problem before they come up with a solution.

Einstein said that if he had an hour to solve a problem, he would spend 55 minutes thinking about it. And then he would spend the remaining 5 minutes thinking about the solution. Think of that: He spent 92% of his time thinking about the problem. How often do we spend 92% of our time concerned about any problem?

So here’s my suggestion: Get engrossed in a problem. Pick one and stay with the discomfort and ambiguity for a few weeks. Ignore the shallow solutions and wait for the deep ones to bubble to the surface. It is the only way to get better at this key skill.

Are you a slow thinker?

 

 

Let’s say you’re angling for a promotion in your company. You’ve been the best performer on the team for the last three years. Your team members have started to praise you openly; in fact, some are even starting to hate you because of how good you are. You go to meet with your boss for the promotion you’ve been dreaming about…

And he decides to give it to another teammate. He says you’re just not ready for the role. Yet.

What do you feel at that moment? Righteous anger? Indignant? “How dare he…?”

Bingo. You’ve got an ego.

Everyone has one. We have developed an inflated sense of self (or ego) from our society. It’s hard not to. From the time we’re born, we have been conditioned to think that we are special. That we are unique. Then as we progressed through our education system, we learned to equate receiving praise with feeling good. And feeling “better than”. Finally, we were bombarded by stories of ego. We learned to revere athletes and musicians. We saw politicians and CEOs enjoy the fruits of society. We learned that unless you’re first, you’re last in this society. So naturally, we want all that too.

And that creates an ego inside all of us. One that wants all the fame and wealth. One that thrives on disparaging other people to inflate ourselves. One that won’t allow us to take jobs that are “beneath our level”. One that wants us to be “better than” in what ever we do.

Your ego whispers in your ear constantly. “Don’t talk to him – he’s not the CEO”. Or: “Well, at least, you’re skinnier than her.” Or my personal favorite: “How dare they get angry? Don’t they know who I am?”.

And that’s a problem.

The biggest challenge of your life is to keep your ego small. To become humble and stay humble. Because your ego keeps you back from growing. From serving. From becoming a true leader.

You begin to defeat your ego when you recognize that, at its essence, we’re similar. That there’s no separation between each of us. Everyone loses their parents. Everyone will die. Everyone is a success and a failure at something. And at the same time, everyone has something of value to give.

When you focus on the commonalities, you realize that we’re all in this boat of life, together. And there’s no room for your over-sized ego. It’s just weighing us all down.

So, how big is your ego?

 

I’m going to invent a metric. Let’s call it TLI.

TLI stands for your Team Laugh Index. It is a measure of the number of times that you hear spontaneous genuine laughter during work hours per week.

Now why should you care about your TLI number?

It’s because genuine laughter is a good proxy for your team’s chemistry. You can’t really fake a genuine laugh. So if your team is laughing regularly, then they feel safe in their environment. They can let their guard down. They can be themselves. They can take risks and be creative.

This is important if you want your team to do great work. Great work requires team members to feel safe. Great work requires risk taking. Great work requires their whole selves on the job.

If your team isn’t laughing regularly, that’s a warning sign. Maybe they aren’t comfortable with each other. Or maybe the team is working too hard and is close to burnout. Or maybe people only see their work as a paycheck and won’t go the extra mile.

But, as with all good things, there is a sweet spot. A high TLI means that the team considers themselves “best friends”. But they might be refraining from delivering difficult feedback to each other. And that is a key problem. On the other hand, an extremely low TLI number is a problem. It means that you should start counting down the days before someone quits.

Make it a habit to measure your TLI number regularly. It is a good “smoke detector” for team problems.

What’s your TLI number?

Think of any of the greatest leaders of all time. How do you think they became as good as they were?  If you’d guessed that they probably worked really hard, then you’d probably be right.

But they also had a secret. One that we must use if we plan on being the best we can be.

Here’s the real secret they had:

They hit the refresh button everyday. 

Hitting the refresh button means that they upgraded themselves and their skills. And their secret is that they made upgrading a daily habit. For example, CEOs like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos read over 50 books a year. Some, like Warren Buffett and Ryan Holiday, read over 100 books a year!

They understand that if their refresh rate is high, they’ll dominate their competition. So they don’t leave it to chance. They make learning quickly their competitive advantage.

What’s the rate at which you refresh your skills or learn something new? How often do you read a book or listen to a podcast related to your work? Or better question:

Do you even refresh, bro?

 

In the comedy Zoolander, Ben Stiller’s character was the biggest supermodel in the world. But he is challenged to a walkoff by his rival and he loses. He reveals after, that he lost because of his big weakness; a weakness he has been ashamed of since he was a baby.

He can’t turn left on the catwalk. 

To him, it is the biggest black mark against his name as a supermodel. At the end of the movie, he learns that he must push past his fears in order to become the model he believed he could be. He finally is able to turn left and save the day.

How often do we shy away from the thing we think we can’t do? The best leaders were able to “turn left” and do that one thing they feared most. Eleanor Roosevelt, the former US First Lady, was terrified of public speaking. But she turned herself into a formidable public speaker that inspired the hearts and minds of millions. Billionaire Sarah Blakely was rejected by every intimate apparel manufacturer in North Carolina before she found one to support her project.

You will have situations where you will be terrified to take action. You might be afraid to deliver that 10th pitch to investors after getting rejected the previous 9 nine times. Or you might be afraid to confront a colleague over some inappropriate comments made in a meeting. Or you might be scared to share with your team the real situation in the company.

But you must find a way to push past your fears. Because, are you the type that lets that fear define you forever? Or will you rise above it and do the thing that frightens you? In other words…

Can you turn left?

 

In major cycling races, e.g. the Tour de France, there’s something truly beautiful that happens in each race.

There’s a moment when cyclists join together to form a peloton. It is a swarm of hundreds of cyclists, all clustered together, to minimize air resistance. By doing this, the riders cut the wind resistance by about 90%.

It means that everyone in the peloton exerts less energy while they are in the group. They can only do this if they accept that they will go farther in the group than if they tried to do it alone. No hero mentality here.

Now, the best leaders form their own “pelotons” or mastermind groups. They seek out like-minded leaders and create their own safe havens. In these pelotons, they test each other, give each other feedback and relentlessly improve. They understand it is easier to level up in the group than if they worked solo.

You’re struggling with leadership challenges? Look around you. Who else is struggling with the same problem? Who can you reach out to for help in what you’re weak at? Who wants to go the same rate as you do? Bring them into your circle and get better. Together.

Found your peloton yet?

You’ve checked and double checked your list to make sure you have everything.You packed the car with all the food and drinks you’ll need.You have the camping equipment packed up in the trunk. Your friends are in the car, ready to go.

You’re walking out of your house to the car, when someone asks you:

Do you have enough fuel?

Because you’re not reaching anywhere unless you have enough in the tank. Now, this is the part of the preparations that most skip. Most believe that they’ll be able to refuel along the way.

But what happens when you get stuck in a traffic jam for hours? What happens when you make a wrong turn that leaves you miles away from your destination? What happens when life makes the journey longer than you think it will be?

The best leaders ensure that they have enough fuel for the long run. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically. Because the journey is always longer than you think. You can take that as a fact of life. Are you prepared?

Do you have enough fuel? 

Aikido is my favorite martial art. It differs from a lot of other martial arts because of its philosophical and spiritual components. I love its beauty and simplicity which can be summed up in two words:

Accept everything.

Aikido students are trained to accept being thrown by their attacker. They are trained to accept that they will fight 5 men at the same time. They are trained to welcome everything that happens, exactly as it happens. Any second that they spend resisting leads to injury or even death.

This principle of acceptance to life separates the great leaders from the rest. They waste no time complaining about what life should’ve been. They quickly and quietly accept what has happened and they come up with solutions. They “aikido” the situation and get the job done.

Are you the type that resists what is being thrown at you? When life hands you lemons, do you send them back saying you’d prefer oranges? Can you truly accept the situation that you’re in? Because contrary to popular belief, your wishes don’t change the situation. The situation is indifferent to your cares.

You must first accept it totally. And then act.

In other words…

Can you aikido?

In F1 Gran Prix races, the driver is not the person who decides who wins the race.

Yes, he is the one actually making the turns and driving at 200+ miles per hour. But he’s not the most important. So who is?

The pit crew.

The pit crew has enormous power to determine the success of the team. The time that the car spends in the pit stop is “make or break” time. If the pit crew don’t do their job, and don’t do it fast enough, the team loses.

And the most pressing concern of the pit crew is: Are the wheels aligned?

Everything else is moot. Because if the wheels aren’t aligned, then the car isn’t going where it needs to go. Even if the driver speeds along the track at 230 miles per hour. The car won’t go where it needs to go.

Now, are you the type of leader who ensures that you have alignment within the team? Are you getting everyone on the same page before you proceed?

Because just like the F1 cars, you might be able to go very fast. But it certainly won’t be in the direction you want to go.

So…

Are your wheels aligned?

Most leaders don’t ask this question.

Most leaders only see a gift when it’s wrapped in a bow. Most leaders only notice a gift when it’s accompanied by large fanfare. Most leaders only smell a gift when it’s been sprayed with nice perfume.

But you’re not like most leaders.

You’re part of the select few who can find the gift when it’s covered in garbage. When the gift truly stinks. When it’s torn and tattered.

And the difference between you and the rest is simple. You ask the question:

In this situation, where’s the gift?

Because if you’re not looking for gifts, there’s no chance that you’ll find them.

Start asking the question regularly and start finding more gifts. After all, who doesn’t like more gifts?