Theme.
Let's face it, we all encounter injustices in our lives and businesses on a regular basis. In #founderhacks this week, our 50th edition no less, we dissect the thorny issue of how, when and if we chose to fight them.
Seen.
Losing the Battle to Win the War
Recently I was being hounded to pay a parking fine via a stream of delightfully written emails, and equally poetic supporting letters, for something I believed clearly wasn't my fault. I'd just come back from holiday when it all kicked off. Drowning in a seemingly endless ocean of unread emails and overdue tasks I decided to bite the bullet and just pay the damn thing to make it go away.
A cowardly act of betrayal to all that I stand for? Or, an elegant, pragmatic solution to make a mindless piece of stress disappear?
Sometimes, as founders, would you achieve more of your goals if you let go of your instincts to fight on principal? Is it better to focus on the outcomes that you want for yourself and your business instead?
Read.
The Agents of Doom
Ben stumbled upon an article on the BBC's website recently about people who might be creating the apocalypse and why they might be doing it.
Quite why Ben reads this stuff is anyone's guess but that's perhaps another topic for a future edition of #founderhacks.
As founders how and when should we confront our own agents of doom? There will always be things out there that could destroy our businesses but do we plan for this and what do we choose to simply ignore? Should we plan for them or only focus on things that we can control?
Learned.
"Go to bed a genius. Wake up a novice"
Lastly, our learned. Ant shared a great story about a swim coach called Mel Marshall - Olympic champion Adam Peaty's swim coach no less. Her approach to creating excellence was based on a mindset of going to bed a genius and waking up a novice. This really struck a chord with us.
When it comes to leading a business, and growing as a leader, everyday can feel like a fight. But can those daily battles be a source of inspiration sometimes? Maybe it really is all about going to bed a genius and I waking up a novice. Committing to leading each morning with whatever success or failure that might bring and ending the day satisfied with our efforts whatever the outcome – is this a path we all need to take?
And finally.
Often when you fight for something you believe in you can end up upsetting people. Victor Hugo had the following to say on this subject, "You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life".
Don’t forget to check out the accompanying podcast version of #founderhacks for a tantalising live experience of team atomex!
