fewer things done better

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner sees "fewer things done better" as the most powerful mechanism for leadership. When he took the reins of the company he could easily have adopted the standard operating procedure of most Silicon Valley start-ups and tried to pursue everything. Instead, he said no to really good opportunities in order to pursue only the very best ones. He uses the acronym FCS (a.k.a. FOCUS) to teach his philosophy to his employees. The letters stand for "Fewer things done better," "Communicating the right information to the right people at the right time," and "Speed and quality of decision making." Indeed, this is what it means to lead essentially.

Greg McKeown

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. Crown/Archetype. 2020. p.239.

power in steadiness and repetition

My experience has taught me this about how people and organizations improve: the best place to look is for small changes we could make in the things we do often. There is power in steadiness and repetition. 

Henry B. Eyring

"The Lord Will Multiply the Harvest," Teaching Seminary.  6 February 1998. As found in Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. Crown/Archetype. 2020. p.194, 195.

the way of the essentialist

The way of the Nonessentialist is to go big on everything: to try to do it all, have it all, fit it all in. The Nonessentialist operates under the false logic that the more he strives, the more he will achieve, but the reality is, the more we reach for the stars, the harder it is to get ourselves off the ground. 

The way of the Essentialist is different. Instead of trying to accomplish it all - and all at once - and flaring out, the Essentialist starts small and celebrates progress. Instead of going for the big, flashy wins that don't really matter, the Essentialist pursues small and simple wins in areas that are essential. 

Greg McKeown

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. Crown/Archetype. 2020. p.194, 195.

to attain wisdom

To attain knowledge add things every day. To attain wisdom subtract things every day.

Lao-tzu

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. Crown/Archetype. 2020. p.185.

boundaries

Clayton Christensen, the Harvard business professor and author of The Innovator's Dilemma, was once asked to make... a sacrifice. At the time, he was working at a management consulting firm, and one of the partners came to him and told him he needed to come in on Saturday to help work on a project. Clay simply responded: "Oh, I am so sorry. I have made the commitment that every Saturday is a day to be with my wife and children."

The partner, displeased, stormed off, but later he returned and he said: "Clay, fine. I have talked with everyone on the team and they said they will come in on Sunday instead. So I will expect you to be there." Clay sighed and said: "I appreciate you trying to do that. But Sunday will not work. I have given Sunday to God and so I won't be able to come in." If the partner was frustrated before, he was much more so now.

Still, Clay was not fired for standing his ground, and while his choice was not popular in the moment, ultimately he was respected for it. The boundaries paid off.

Clay recalls: "That taught me an important lesson. If I had made an exception then I might have made it many times." Boundaries are a little like the walls of a sandcastle. The second we let one fall over, the rest of them come crashing down.

Greg McKeown

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. Crown/Archetype. 2020. p.165.