Seen.
No simple answers
This week we were inspired, and maybe deflated, by a range of stories that made us wonder how you manage when there are just no simple answers.
Many founders are confronting this right now. Either there are so many options it's impossible to choose, or because the situation is such that action and consequence seem to bear no discernible relationship.
Although we debated there might be circumstances in which doing nothing was a valid choice (if it is a decision rather than a non-decision) we concluded that picking something is almost always better than paralysis. Action trumps inaction, even if it isn't clear whether it's the right action.
Movement generally provides more data than being stationery. So moving provides a better chance to see a connection you hadn't before, or spot a pattern that was hitherto unclear.
Read.
Simple answers
We usually don't share much output from big consulting types. A lot of their thinking can feel so abstract that most founder led companies struggle to make sense of it.
But this article from McKinsey we thought was quite good.
A lot of businesses seem to be struggling with where to focus right now, given the relentlessness of this past year and the never-ending lists of problems to be confronted. Decisions, decisions.
McKinsey presents some simple thoughts, gathered from businesses large and small about what might be best to focus on as we get our first tantalisingly fragrant whiff of the post-pandemic world.
Worth a read.
Learned.
Over the hill
Big decisions are all well and good. But some people would say that the millions of little every day decisions that happen in our lives and in our businesses are potentially a bigger deal.
This week one of us decided it was time to get fitter. A year of lockdown had left it's mark, and mostly those marks were extra inches, and were mostly around the middle.
So, he agreed to complete a 100km hike over two days in July.
The learn thus far has been that the big decision to do this was not the most important decision in achieving the goal of being fitter.
The important decisions were going to be in the day to day. The small decisions.
The decision to down tools at 6pm in order to fit in a run, rather than working til 8pm, and realising it's too late. Of organising the diary in such a way as that would become possible to do this 3 times per week, regularly. Of what to eat. Of what to drink.
All these micro decisions are of course essential.
It's just like in a business. The power in a clear, unavoidable and un-negotiable commitment is not necessarily in the commitment itself, but in the myriad micro-decisions it can unlock for everyone in the team.
What big commitment could unlock brilliant tiny decisions for your team?
And finally.
The astute listener may have noticed the occasional audio distortion on our podcast.
This is because one of us has been building a house, right next to his current abode. For some reason it has been entirely and exclusively constructed using hammers.
At least, that's what our editor has concluded having spent months trying to extricate our voices from the many and varied tones this humble tool has contributed to our podcast recordings.
So, this week's good news is that one of us is moving into a brand new shiny house, and our podcast editor may retain rather more of his hair in future, when applying the finishing polish to our audio efforts.
It's a win:win.
Don’t forget to check out the accompanying podcast version of #founderhacks for a tantalising live experience of team atomex!
