Paradoxes at Work
A few paradoxes I’ve been reflecting on.
People can be both smart and incompetent.
Some of the smartest people I’ve ever met were terrible at their jobs. Unmotivated by the work, they procrastinated and delegated beyond reason. Ignited by ideas, they were great thinkers but not great doers. Effective strategists, yet lacking the fortitude to make decisions. Being competent at work isn’t just about knowing. It’s about being able to get the thing done and being able to work with or lead others to the outcome. Figuring out these two things is a career superpower.
Busyness can lead to stagnation.
You can do a lot of work and get nowhere. Teams burn through time, money and morale on activities that don’t move objectives forward. Busywork is one culprit. Nice to haves consume resources. Mistaking motion for action is another issue. Planning is important but planning alone won’t bring success. A rudderless strategy may perhaps be the cause of stagnation. It leads to doing work that zig zags but never compounds. Busyness is a distraction tactic, one that often hides the avoidance of a greater issue.
Focus can still lead to failure.
Split focus is a limitation. There is only so much we can do well at any one time. Deciding to focus on, commit to and thoroughly extract learnings from a narrow path of deliberate bets with unknown outcomes can be a winning strategy. But sometimes it’s not. Failure is a common reality. Knowing what you’re optimising for in the long term and engaging in rational decision making helps increase the odds of success. Finding a way to enjoy the journey is the only way to ensure you win even when you lose.