3 Thoughts: Sam, Shaping & Sea-Swimming
Sam
When Sam Altman was fired most of OpenAI’s 770 employees pledged to quit and follow him to Microsoft unless he was reinstated. I’d hazard in most organisations if a leader was let go in mysterious circumstances employees might be shocked, feel for them on a personal level and perhaps have a hunch as to why it happened. In too many organisations there would be a sigh of relief. Very few people would blindly follow their leader into the corporate battlefield. So what makes Sam and OpenAI so special?
As an outsider I can only guess but looking at OpenAI they appear to have the three ingredients I think that most driven people want from their jobs but are hard to find even in the well-funded-build-your-own-future world of tech: 1) an ambitious and positive mission, 2) a talented team and 3) organisational velocity.
Creating safe AGI that benefits all of humanity is certainly an ambitious goal. While there are risks, if achieved the future will hopefully be a very positive one. OpenAI is a talent magnet. Deep pockets help but so does attracting a dedicated people. The best operators tend to want to work with those who want to collectively achieve great things. They also want to work in organisations that get things done. OpenAI ships. Its velocity has been incredible over the past year.
Many organisations can offer one or two of the above. The UN for example has an ambitious and positive mission, but is stunted by its own bureaucracy. Consulting will give you talented team mates with a not so inspiring mission. Startups often profess to have all three but finding the trio-mix is rarer in reality.
Drive and VC funding (which many startups often have in surplus) doesn’t make this combination magically happen. Great leadership is what brings it all together. A great leader/leadership team creates and aligns teams around an ambitious mission. They attract great talent as people are excited to work with them. They build organisational structures and processes which optimise for outcomes and urgency, unblocking and adapting quickly when necessary. They are relentlessly focused on achieving their version of success and understand the mechanics needed to bring it together. It may sound simplistic but it’s amazing how many organisations are weighed down by their leadership rather than being uplifted by it. Whatever your view on Sam Altman and OpenAI, it appears the organisation has an abundance of the right leadership qualities.
Shaping
I came across this post and thought how true it is. It’s a commonality I’ve seen in people who’ve had accelerated trajectories in their careers. They tick the boxes needed and then focus on areas where they can unleash their unique flair. Reflecting on my own experience, the happiest I’ve been in roles is when I could shape them to my strengths and interests in a way that I felt I was having an impact on the business. This view also ties in with my scepticism around career frameworks. A great job is not going to be found in an expectations matrix. A great job for you is not likely to appear in a job description but may be one you can mould along the way.
Sea-Swimming
I’ve recently become a regular, now slightly addicted, sea-swimmer. Like all sports it lends itself easily to life analogies so here are a few:
Hard things are made easier if you decide to do them *and* actually want to.
Wading into the cool Atlantic water has been easier than expected, not because I’ve developed a secret warming technique or nerves of steel. It’s because I’ve 1) decided I’m going to do it - there is no negotiating with myself and 2) I enjoy it. It’s easy to fall into the trap of overthinking decisions that don’t really matter, especially to avoid something uncomfortable. Too many of us have experience brute forcing the completion of an activity we have limited interest in. A lot of peace, and I think success, can be found in just making the decision and optimising for activities/roles that you’re interested in.
The right tools enhance the experience which in turn enhances your performance.
Buying a thermal hat and gloves has been a game changer. It’s allowed me to stay in the water for longer and (slowly) improve my performance. You don’t need the “right” tools to take the first steps. Just getting started is enough. But if you want to become proficient in a skill then buying the right tools/gear can help you by reducing friction to enable you to get the reps in. To get the work done. My thermals are helping me become a better swimmer by reducing friction. Investing in specialised software helped me become a better podcast editor. Spending money on the productivity tools your teams actually want to use often pays dividends in ways that don’t appear neatly on the balance sheet. A poor craftsman may blame his tools, but you rarely see a great craftsman work with substandard products.
Not all progress can be externally recognised but it’s still progress.
I’m a slightly better swimmer than I was a few weeks ago. Stronger. Measurably faster. But more importantly to me, I’m less fearful. I feel far more comfortable swimming further from shore. I’m less likely to panic when caught in a wave. This element of progress isn’t visible externally. It can’t be measured neatly on a scale. It’s entirely subjective. Progress might not always look like progress to those around you. Sometimes it’s a series of small wins, of finding ease in what was once difficult, in taking micro-steps towards your desired path. Sometimes it’s measuring progress on a scale that is completely unique to you.