see the ship through the eyes of the crew

The key to being a successful skipper is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew. Only then can you find out what's really wrong and, in so doing, help the sailors empower themselves to fix it.

A simple principle, yes, but on the Navy applauds in theory and rejects in practice. Officers are told to delegate authority and empower subordinates, but in reality they are expected never to utter the words "I don't know." So they are on constant alert, riding herd on every detail. In short, the system rewards micromanagement by superiors - at the cost of disempowering those below. This is understandable, given the military's ancient insistence on obedience in the face of chaos, which is essential in battle. Moreover, subordinates may sidestep responsibility by reasoning that their managers are paid to take the rap.

A ship commanded by a micromanager and his or her hierarchy of sub-micromanagers is no breeding ground for individual initiative. And I was aiming for 310 initiative-takers - a crew ready, able, and willing to make Benfold the top-rated ship in the fleet.

D. Michael Abrashoff

It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by D. Michael Abrashoff. Grand Central Publishing. 2007. p.13, 14

being funny

How effective is humor as a leadership tool?

Being funny is one of the ultimate weapons a person can have in human society. It might even compete with being really good-looking.

Daniel McGinn and Jerry Seinfeld

"Life’s Work: An Interview with Jerry Seinfeld" by Daniel McGinn. Harvard Business Review. January-February 2017.

the right way is the hard way

You and Larry David wrote Seinfeld together, without a traditional writers’ room, and burnout was one reason you stopped. Was there a more sustainable way to do it? Could McKinsey or someone have helped you find a better model?

Who’s McKinsey?

It’s a consulting firm.

Are they funny?

No.

Then I don’t need them. If you’re efficient, you’re doing it the wrong way. The right way is the hard way. The show was successful because I micromanaged it—every word, every line, every take, every edit, every casting. That’s my way of life.

Daniel McGinn and Jerry Seinfeld

"Life’s Work: An Interview with Jerry Seinfeld" by Daniel McGinn. Harvard Business Review. January-February 2017.

set your priorities by design

“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.” -  Viktor Frankl

The great and unfortunate reality of life is there are vastly more things expected of us, asked of us, and hoped for by us than we can possibly do with our limited time and resources. 

It is tempting to prioritize everything. But when we do this, we end up having no priorities. Instead, we find ourselves prioritizing whatever is in front of us.

This undisciplined approach leads to our priorities being set by default. The antidote, of course, is to set your priorities by design. 

Here are three steps (and the questions to ask) that can help you when you are trying to prioritize. They work when applied to your business, your career, or your family:

1. Realize I can’t do everything. (What’s Important to me?)
2. Focus on areas where I can do the most good. (Where will my effort be best spent?) 
3. List possible actions I can take that will make a difference. (What can I do?)

When we focus on just a few important things, our effort makes a bigger difference and is more meaningful. 

Greg McKeown

1 Minute Wednesday. October 5, 2022

what matters to you today?

Do you know what matters to you today?

Recently I spent time with 1,200 senior business leaders. During our discussion, I asked these leaders, "Who here today spent 10 minutes making a list of what matters to you and put it in priority order before you hit your day?"

Between all of those people, I would say less than ten people had done it. 

That's shocking to me. 

Greg McKeown

1 Habit That Will Change Your Day by Greg McKeown. The Essentialist weekly newsletter. September 28, 2022