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HOW TO LOVE YOUR WORK | Simon Sinek


thank you so here’s a little issue we
have in America today there are
currently about 250,000 people a year
who were dying in our hospitals due to
due to preventable deaths and I’m not
talking about negligence I’m talking
about little accidents right I’m talking
about the doctor in the morning not
properly briefing the doctor for the
evening you know I’m talking about
things that you know we can’t sue
anybody there’s nothing there’s nothing
that we can see that’s wrong but there’s
250,000 preventable deaths every year
that’s about 20 747s going down every
single week that’s what’s the equivalent
to and the confusing thing is that we
have the best doctors in the world we
have the most advanced technology in the
world some of the medical equipment we
have is the best in the world the
medicines we have are the best in the
world so you start asking yourselves why
are these things happening and the
reason is not because of any of those
things the reasons are actually
something vastly more simple and
something very very human five percent
of hospital administrators are doctors
most of them are number crunchers
hospitals are run like businesses
hospitals are run by the numbers and the
problem isn’t the people who are giving
the care they’re very highly trained the
problem is the way those people are
cared for because what we’ve done is
we’ve created cultures and hospitals
where the people who are doing the
caring aren’t cared for and so all of
these little preventable deaths are
happening because they don’t feel like
they’re a part of anything they’re just
doing their jobs and they don’t get
along that well and there’s not a lot of
camaraderie and the impact is death
right now I use this example because
it’s exaggerated because the impact is
so powerful but the problem is the same
in our own companies right which is we
come to work and we’re told you must
care for your clients you must care for
your customers you must make them the
focus of all you do and yet why aren’t
the people who are managing us from the
top caring about us
yes in a hospital the impact is worse
but the impact that we’re having on the
outside world is just as bad in other
words we’re not working at our best we
don’t care for the things we’re doing
we’re not helping each other is the most
important part and the residual impact
is that we are unfulfilled by the work
that we do and when we run fulfilled by
the work that we do we focus on the
details and when we focus on the details
we retract from each other when we track
from each other we feel lonely and when
we feel lonely cancer goes up heart
disease goes up diabetes goes up in
other words by going to work we’re
killing ourselves literally there’s
another study that was released not that
long ago that says that parents who work
late the negative impact that it has on
their children is little to none they
may feel guilty as parents but the
negative impact that it has on the
raising of the children is little to
none however parents who come home from
jobs they hate or don’t love their kids
are more likely to be bullies at school
and now you think about the bullying
epidemic we have in America right where
there’s this disturbing number of young
children who are killing themselves
suicides because of bullies the problem
is not the schools and the problem isn’t
even the parenting the problem is the
jobs the parents have this is the
importance and this is the power of the
work that we do in the places we go to
work right most of us mean like we
listen to the the unemployment
statistics they say you know we’re
all-time high record high nine to ten
percent unemployment right and people go
Mike oh that’s terrible
and I hear that number and I go well
that means ninety-one percent still have
a job right now granted we want to get
that employment number up but that means
ninety-one percent is still going to
work the question is how many of them
about coming home fulfilled by the work
that they do and how many of them are
waking up inspired to go back to work
the next day if we don’t love our works
we don’t look out for each other if we
don’t look out for each other we feel
lonely if we don’t feel lonely all these
negative things happen so what example
can I share with a creative audience
about how to change this the United
States Marine Corps I had the great
honor last week of spending a week with
the Marines I spent a couple days at
Camp Lejeune
and then I went for a few days to Parris
Island to watch them go through boot
camp and this isn’t a remarkable
remarkable human experiment that they’re
doing and even though they know what
works they don’t know why it works but
they don’t need to know why because they
know that it works right but what’s
happening is they’re taking a group of
strangers people who don’t know each
other who were showing up and within a
very very short period of time learn to
trust each other so much that they would
give their lives for each other right
and we know everyone sort of anyone
who’s ever worn a human reform knows
that no one runs into battle forgotten
country it doesn’t happen it’s for the
guy to the left of me and the guy to the
right of me that’s the reason they do
what they do right and these sort of
remarkable stories of heroism where
people rush into very very dangerous
situations to save others and they
always ask the question why did you do
it why would you risk your life why
would you put yourself at risk for them
and the answer is always the same
because they would do it for me
in other words what gives them the
confidence to put themselves at great
risk is the knowledge that someone would
do the same for them we would put
ourselves a great risk for our companies
if we knew that our companies would put
themselves a great risk for us but they
don’t so we don’t now one of the things
that’s remarkable about the Marines and
if you go read and you know this is the
most I asked these young and they’re 21
22 years old some of these of these
lance corporals the grunts you know the
guys the infantry I mean this is the
lowest of the low the ones we actually
send in to battle the frontlines and I
asked them are you misunderstood in
America and they said yes unanimously
they all nodded I said what what do
people think of you and one stood up and
says they think we’re baby killers I
said how does it feel he says it hurts
and when I say we’ll tell me a story
then that captures to you what it means
to be a Marine the feeling you have of
being a Marine tell me a story that
captures it and I expected to hear
stories of I took a hit and somebody
saved me or I ran into a firefight and
pulled some it I expected these stories
of heroism not a single story like that
came out and I’m sure those stories
exist but those aren’t that all the
stories they told me that capture what
it means to be a marine one of the
stories they told me was a young
boy in Afghanistan who would come around
every morning and sell kebabs to the
Marines and then one day he showed up
and he was all beaten up and he didn’t
go to his parents for help and he didn’t
go to his friends to help he came to the
Marines for help
because he trusted them more than anyone
else they told me a story that captured
how they feel of a sevilla JH that had
been overrun by the Taliban and the
residents of the village could couldn’t
go home because they would be killed by
the Taliban and so they were just living
by the river the problem was winter was
coming and one of the the elders came to
the Marines knocked on the door and said
I need you to come down to the river and
kill us and the Marine said what are you
talking about he says if we go back home
we’ll be killed by the Taliban and if we
stay out there we’re gonna die slow
deaths this winter it’s easier if you
just come and kill us please the Marines
overran the Taliban village pushed the
Taliban out a year later they went back
to this village and people were playing
volleyball these were the stories they
told me that capture what it means to be
a Marine
they believed in doing good for others
and the fulfillment they get when they
put themselves at risk so that others
may prevail is overwhelming this is not
unique to the Marine Corps this is all
human beings the feeling of fulfillment
comes from doing something for another
the feeling from fulfillment comes from
the exertion of time and energy for
someone else if you are walking to work
and you throw a few pennies in a cup and
you come to work and you say to your
friends hey guys I gave a dollar to
somebody homeless this morning what are
your friends get it to say yeah good
right I gave 20 bucks to somebody
homeless they’d be like yeah good for
you right
what have you come in in the morning you
say hey I gave up my Saturday night I
went and paid missus painted a school in
the inner city people go whoa cool wow
cool and all of a sudden not only are
they inspired to do something good
themselves but the feeling that that you
have persists the amazing thing is that
when we do good for others it actually
inspires others to do good for others
this is provided for us prema to
logically anthropologically it’s a all
part of
survival the species you know sex feels
good so that will do it so we can
procreate and perpetuate the species but
we’re social animals and so we have to
provide for the fact that we’ll maintain
strong bonds and build cultures right
because that’s what humans do we’re
cultural animals and so when we do good
for others and we look out for those in
our tribe we look out for those in our
group it actually feels good
biologically releases oxytocin this
chemical that’s released when you do
good for others is released and it makes
you feel good the amazing thing is the
more oxytocin and you have in your body
the more you want to do good for others
the problem is we’ve replaced this
feeling the exertion of time and energy
with digital communications we’ve
replaced it with headphones we’ve
replaced it with money right think about
the invention of money right it used to
be money used to be like you go to
someone’s house you cook them dinner and
the deal was they’ll do the dishes time
and energy exchange for time and energy
and someone said I’ll give you an IOU
right someone says I don’t feel like
doing the dishes so I’m gonna give you
an IOU that I promised to do them
another day right and that’s what money
is it is the promise for future goods or
services the promise of future goods and
services in other words we’ve replaced
our own time and energy with promises
for someone else to do it another day
right in other words there’s no exertion
of time and energy and so the feeling
people get is that I did something for
you and you did nothing for me you
replaced it with a piece of paper with
an eye are you with a promise for future
goods and services the way we find
fulfillment is by doing good for others
so how did the marine zoo how do you get
people to do good for others we all know
this intellectually we know that it’s
good to do good for others but why don’t
we do it then why don’t we do it and
what the Marines learned is something
that I completely did not expect they
can’t just yell at these guys to help
each other that’s not what happens
there’s a few things that they have to
do first so we all heard of the obstacle
course right the Marines have a thing
called the obstacle course and this is
where they they build an aerobic
strength and Arabic strength muscle
strength and it’s timed and all of this
good stuff they have another course
called the confidence course and it’s
never timed and most of the obstacles on
this course cannot be completed by
yourself
they must be completed in teams you have
no choice that’s just how it’s designed
and what they say is the first two weeks
of boot camp everybody’s there to outdo
each other and prove that they’re strong
just kind of like when we start in a job
with proof we want to show how great we
are we’ll work a little harder we’ll do
good work look how good my design is
right it’s all about us and how good we
are right but they keep putting them in
situations where they can’t do things by
themselves and what starts to happen
very slowly they said after about two
weeks they start cheering for each other
now they get in trouble when they do but
they start cheering for each other and
then before too long you see them
organically start helping each other and
what happens is if there’s one person
who’s weak and refuses to help each
other the others or even if there’s one
person who’s strong who’s you know I was
the star college athlete and they get to
every the end of every obstacle they
just stand there and wait for everybody
to finish and they don’t help each other
what starts to happen as organically the
group starts to ostracize that person
organically they get ostracized until
they learn that the only way that they
will get through this thing the only way
they will survive boot camp is if they
ask for help because they have no option
the problem is no one will help them
until they’re willing to help another
it’s the deal we have to make
it’s called vulnerability and risk we
have to take the risk to make ourselves
vulnerable yes you might do something
for someone else and they may not do
something back for you that’s the risk
you run that’s the risk you run it’s not
about it’s not about giving everything
to them and sort of huge big
overwhelming risk it’s about little
things and little things it’s like going
on a date right it’s like if I went on a
date with somebody I came home and I
said after one date I said I’m marrying
her people like what are you nuts
I’d be like I’m in love they’re like but
you’re you this is crazy I’m like I know
I’m in love
she feels the same way and we both know
it’s nuts right now you know that you’re
gonna be like go on a couple more dates
right we know instinctively that the
strong bond
that’s create that that needs to be
created first takes more than a week
right we know that right but if I’ve
been dating somebody for seven years and
we haven’t you know married you’ll be
like dude what is wrong right in other
words we know that it takes more than
seven days and we know that it takes
less than seven years the problem is we
don’t know how long it takes somewhere
in the middle all human buns are the
same like when you show up at work when
you show for the first time when you’re
new don’t expect that people will look
out for you and they won’t expect you to
look out for them in seven days it won’t
happen but if you’ve been working at a
job for a few years and you don’t have
the uh that the sort of the absolute
confidence that if you turn your back
you will not get stabbed you can rely on
somebody you can give them something
nothing will go wrong you will share the
credit no one will throw you under the
bus if you don’t have that in a few
years something’s wrong something’s
wrong I don’t know how long it takes but
I know that’s more than a week and I
know it’s less than seven years and the
Marines fundamentally understand that
before anyone is willing to put
themselves out for another they have to
have self-confidence real
self-confidence you have to be confident
in yourself and your own ability before
you’re willing to help another if you’re
insecure at all about your own ability
it’s an oxy it’s sort of a paradox right
how am I can I overcome my confidence
you know my self-confidence and we all
have ego issues at all times you know we
all do right but if I’m not confident
myself I won’t help another it’s a
paradox because then we need someone to
look out for us before we’re willing to
help our peers right this is what
management is supposed to do the drill
instructors the school they are they’re
our parents they are there for one
reason and one reason only to help us
feel strong and good about ourselves but
look at the way we talk to each other
but look look look a budgets been cut
and so what do you get told I need you
guys to do more with less right that’s
what we’re told hey guys I need you guys
to do more with less that’s we’re told
by our clients by our bosses by our
parents this is what we’re told right
that’s like your parents telling you
when you’re young I know you’re stupid
figure it out right you’re not as smart
as the other kids what do you want me to
do right it’s the exact same thing I
need you to do more with less
right what we need to be telling people
is I need you I need you to do more with
what you have right you have capacity
you have strength you have talent you
have kapap ability I need you to do more
with what you have we don’t celebrate
what we’ve got we criticize for what we
don’t have this is the responsibility of
management to take us under their wing
and help us understand our own value to
ourselves close your eyes and think back
to high school and think of that one
teacher who took you under their wing
and cared for you and looked after you
and helped you realize that you are
capable of more than you thought you
were and you and you you probably are
the person you are today in some part
because of that person right you have
that name what’s the name tell me the
name tell me the name of the teacher
okay give me the name okay I can point
to anybody and you can tell me that name
now tell me the names of all the other
teachers you had that day can’t remember
them can you
this is the power of those who teaches
confidence we will literally carry their
names around with us for the rest of our
lives wouldn’t you want to be that
person wouldn’t you want to be the
person that twenty years from now 30
years from now 40 years from now I can
do this exercise with somebody and they
will tell me your name this is the power
of helping others realize their own
strengths this is what management and
leadership is supposed to be doing
they’re supposed to be caring for us and
helping us realize our own value and by
the way if you have anybody who reports
to your works for you your
responsibility is not to make them meet
the deadline your responsibility is not
to make sure that they do as you say
your responsibility is to make sure that
they understand their own strengths
their own value and that they are way
way more talented than they think they
are and the only way they will learn
that is if you put them in situation
in which they can fail and you hold them
and you support them and you give them
talent and you give them skills and you
give them education and you watch their
backs and if they fall over you
encourage them to get back up and if
they follow the you carriage them to get
back up and if they fall over you
encourage them to get back up until they
figured out themselves
it’s called confidence it’s your
responsibility to help others find it
into others responsibility to help you
but you find yours and the amazing thing
is as soon as you start feeling
comforted in your own ability you
naturally help each other that’s what
happens it’s called trust in the
military they give medals to people who
are willing to sacrifice themselves so
that others may gain in business we are
willing to give bonuses to people who
will sacrifice others so that we may
gain we have it backwards and then we
complain about how we don’t love our
jobs and we complain about how the work
is suffering and we complain about how
budgets are being cut and we can
complain complain complain and the first
thing we do is blame each other and
become more selfish and worried about my
pay and my benefits in my this and this
is what happens when we are unfulfilled
we look at the metrics and we say
they’re not good enough when we are
fulfilled we don’t care about the
metrics this is why when you have a job
you love and you get a call that says
I’ll offer you tons more money and great
benefits you like I’m not interested I’m
not interested I I’m not interested I’m
very happy here but we’ll give you more
that’s not the reason I’m here I’m here
because I love it I’m here because I
care for the people I work with and I’m
here because the people I work with care
for me this is the world I imagine this
is the world I imagine and here’s the
great thing if you take little risks I’m
not talking about big things little
things if you start doing little things
for each other
the amazing anthropological response is
other people will start doing little
things for others – I was walking down
the street two days ago and a guy’s
backpack was open and a whole bunch of
paper fell out as he was walking down
the street and I happened to be behind
him and so my friend and I just sort of
we were in mid conversation and in mid
conversation we never even stopped
talking
we just bent downs would have helped him
gather his papers and them back to him
sort of pointed out that is that book
bag was his you know his backpack was
unzipped and he said thanks and we
walked out it was like no
big deal right we get to the end of the
the street we stand at the that we’re
waiting it to cross the street we still
talking we haven’t stopped talking and
the guy in front of us turns to us and
says I saw you help that guy that was
really cool but here’s what’s great
about that the guy will go do something
for someone else simply because he saw
us bend down and pick up paper for
someone else he will actually go do
something for someone else because of it
right he he won’t give to charity
because I he sees me put a dollar in a
cup but he will actually help someone
because he saw someone also helps
someone little things hold a door open
for someone say thank you to the person
who holds the door open for you smile to
the barista little little things you’re
you know put your foot in the subway
when the door is closing so someone
who’s running will make it hit the open
or pretend you didn’t see that’s the
best one you know uh I wouldn’t think I
saw sorry all right do it a little time
and a little energy and you’ll find
around work that people give a little
time and a little energy back to you and
you’ll give a little more time and a
little more energy you go for a coffee
with someone then you go forth to our
coffee then you go for a coffee and a
lunch then you go for a lunch and a
dinner then you go for a dinner in a
movie and then you sleep over and then
you sleep over two nights and then you
go on holiday together and eventually
you get married right it’s slow it takes
time and we can’t rush it you know if
when we rush it it’s all fake do things
for others and watch watch how much
others do for you but you know go you go
get yourself a cup of coffee from the
coffee sheet machine in the morning make
one for someone else it takes a little
extra time it takes a little extra
energy that’s the point that’s the point
and here’s the best part you will feel
so good at the end of the day so good
thank you very much
thank you it’s a great question how do
you convince someone how do you know to
order the metrics how do you convince a
skeptical audience of this trust metric
you don’t you don’t right you can’t
twist anybody’s arm to do something that
they don’t want to do and you know the
law of diffusion which I obey you know
as hard as as much as I can which is you
don’t need the majority you need those
people who believe what you believe in
other words if you buy if you you know
when you go sort of when you do some
nice things for people they may not do
something nice back because they may be
you know we live in a world in which you
do something for somebody they think you
want something from them right that’s
unfortunately the society we’ve created
but but that’s the risk that we keep
taking I’m not saying you should keep
doing it for somebody who keeps doing
nothing and keeps sort of you know
crapping on you because of it then at
some point you’ve to be like all right
my bad my bad
right and you back off you know I don’t
believe in helping everyone I do not
believe in it right this is not you know
let’s do good for everyone in the planet
that’s not what I’m talking about
mother Teresa who’s the poster child for
giving selflessly to all who need at the
end of her life started questioning
existence of God and by the way hated
her life serious okay in other words
giving to others unabashedly is actually
self-destructive
it doesn’t help right and it’s just like
going on dates with people you don’t
like
doesn’t mean you’ll eventually click and
Matt right the there’s there’s only one
machine that I found that really
accurately measures trust better than
any other sort of metric it’s called a
human being it’s really good at it
right and so those feelings you get
trust them in one way or the other you
know it’s it’s the little risks it’s the
butterflies it’s the unsure you know
it’s the it’s the backwards and for it’s
the dance
it’s dating it’s the dance it’s the
nerves like I you know it’s that so if
there if there are cynical bastards at
your office who or who don’t get it
ignore ignore him don’t worry about it
because eventually you’ll get enough and
those people either come along or leave
or be pushed out you know ostracized
remember when the group starts helping
each other they
besides the ones who refuse to help
whether they’re stronger whether they’re
weak they get ostracized until they
learn until they learn that they cannot
survive without the help of others and
they learn that the only way others will
help them is if they if they help the
others right the order matters the order
matters I’ll just I just thought of
something that sort of we is pervasive
in our sort of you know digital world
the order matters you know so to speak
honestly about what you want right if
you are doing don’t do things for people
when you want something from them just
ask them what you want from them and
I’ll give you one little example it’s a
funny little example we’ve all received
emails that go like this dear Simon well
you wouldn’t get an email to your
assignment but I would dear
insert your name right dear Simon
haven’t seen you in years
hope you’re well congratulations on all
you’ve been doing it’s really amazing
we should get copy sometime if you could
do me a favor I’m if you could vote for
me on this website I’m hoping to win you
know some thousand dollar prize for my
design blah blah blah
hope you’re well talk to you soon Kenny
right we’ve all received an email like
that and how do we respond to it right
now what happens if you get the same
email that goes like this dear Simon I’m
hoping you could vote for me on this
website I’m trying to win some thousand
dollar prize for my design I haven’t
seen you in years I hope you really well
congratulations on all that you’ve been
doing we should get a coffee sometime
thanks Kenny
totally different in other words when we
know why you’re emailing and it comes
first it has a remarkable impact we know
that all those pleasantries are just
buttering us up to get to what they want
right but if you come right out with
what you want we’re actually very
grateful for the pleasantries right it’s
the same thing in human interaction
don’t give someone a cup of coffee if
you need a favor back just ask them for
the favor it builds trust I can’t trust
you every time you do something nice for
me I think you just something what you
want something from me
I won’t trust you and this is what
companies do to us right well we did
this for you why won’t you do this for
us
that’s not how it works generosity
bending down to pick up the papers
holding the door open for someone is
expecting nothing in return ever you do
not give you know this is what happens
in new business right we bit new
business is built on relationships and
so we build the relationship build the
relationship build the relationship
until we’re comfortable to ask for the
business in other words you were only
befriending me till the point you felt
that I would let down my guard and you
could ask me for something the whole
time you were just waiting for that time
it doesn’t work that way if you actually
want to build relationships you build
relationships without wanting anything
and that’s how you build trust you want
to know why the Marines gave me this
incredible access I mean literally they
said Simon anything you want to see you
got it anything you want to do you got
it you can go it we went past sign that
said no observers no civilians beyond
this point I’m like can I take pictures
like go ahead you should see some of the
pictures they’re unbelievable right I’m
like right in there Marines coming at me
we went out to the crucible and all like
you know they were like rolling in the
dirt and like you know going onto barbed
I’m not joking either they’re like you
know unprecedented access access that
journalists would be jealous of do you
know why they gave it to me because in
all the time that I’ve been visiting
with Marines and having meetings with
them I’ve never asked for anything I
don’t want anything and I don’t have
anything to sell
I just keep showing up and say what do
you need how can I help and at some
point they said when I called and said I
need a little favor because they know I
haven’t been waiting for the favor it’s
the time now that I have a little favor
they go absolutely whatever you need
it’s called human relationships
companies don’t do business with
companies people do business with people
you know your company didn’t win IBM as
a client somebody who like somebody said
will hire you and if they didn’t like
you they’re just you know they’re doing
they’re playing roulette well we’re
betting that you know this will work out
those are the weak relationships yes the
more we give the more it inspires others
to give but the more selfish we are the
more others become selfish around us and
so those are organizations in which
selfish behavior perfect prevails and so
we see the residual effect which is they
make decisions that ultimately screw us
they destroy our economy because of
their selfish behavior right we know
this is what what what happens same in
politics right and the answer is don’t
worry about it I know it sounds silly I
need you out you mean your first
question is do I talk about these things
to them I will talk to anyone who will
listen you know but I don’t talk to
people who don’t want to listen the good
news is there are some good eggs and
there are some of them who’ve had
conversions where they were the bastards
who believed in firing people and
screwing people to advance their careers
and something happens I just met a guy
recently he was a very senior executive
at a very very large company and
something happened and he like he got
like hit in the head or something
and he realized holy cow I have to look
after people right and they become
obsessed with it and they start sticking
their necks out and and we just need
those champions scattered around and
this is what I do the more I spread this
message the more it’s sort of it’s it’s
kind of like um you know in the in the
cartoons you sort of the whole of
justice you know
the message goes out they all sort of
like you know wherever they are like you
know that they poke their heads up it’s
that kind of thing the more we talk
about it the more we put it in our work
you know because don’t forget you’re
gonna help someone who goes home feeling
good and their husband or their wife
works in the bank and they’re gonna talk
how much about they’d love to and that
might inspire that / you know it’s it
has all of these residual impacts that
we don’t really know this is the funny
thing about the Internet which is we’re
so proud of the internet that we can
measure everything no you can’t you can
only measure one layer right so for
example you say Simon what’s the impact
you’re having I don’t know is the answer
right I know it’s it’s I know that it’ll
take more than a week and I will take
seven years but I don’t know when it’s
gonna happen and I don’t know how it’s
gonna get there right all I can do is do
it right but I have no clue how we’ll
win and so for example I can measure
book sales and I can measure how many
hits and I can measure how many people
have watched a TED talk and all of this
but I can’t measure you know that TED
talk being shown to a room of 50 people
and one of those 50 people doesn’t buy a
book doesn’t watch a TED talk doesn’t do
anything but goes out and does something
good for somebody else I have no way of
measuring that and so we’re so proud of
the Internet and its ability to measure
everything but we’re measuring one layer
where we used to measure no layers it’s
like you know this is how people work
it’s it’s it’s gossamer you know it’s
networked and so the answer is don’t
worry about them don’t worry about them
worry about the people who you can care
for you can give to and when we reach a
critical mass in society it will tip
right and if you don’t believe me the
reason it is the way it is now
is because it tipped the wrong way there
was no such thing as massive layoffs as
a business strategy prior to night in
the 1980s it just wasn’t done it was
done here and there but it wasn’t
strategy the idea of using layoffs to
balance the books is a relatively new
phenomenon that came for the increase of
selfishness in the Gordon Gekko Greta’s
good 1980s boom right and this was also
the same exact period the 1980s where
the theory the theory of shareholder
value was put forward right because they
had all of these people buying large
companies and installing professional
managers to run the companies that they
bought that they invested in and they
had a problem which is those
professional managers were paid for by
the company and those professional
managers cared for the employees and the
customers and so the investor said how
do we protect
our investments we’ve got an idea we’re
going to give them equity in the company
and bonus them based on the performance
right and so the shift happened where
the CEOs started caring more about the
investors and stopped caring about the
customers and employees those were
theories introduced by some Harvard
professor in the 1980s we can push it
back the other way
right we can push it back the other way
but we just have to and there’s just
there was a just the other day which
company was it one of the large banks
where the share hold is citibank
citibank yeah citibank the shareholders
voted majority shareholders voted
against a fat pay package that’s
unprecedented it has never happened even
in hard times even when the company’s
doing this the shareholders just it’s
just sort of a cursory thing where they
approve the fifteen million dollar bonus
for the CEO they voted against it it’s
non-binding but it sends a shot across
the bow saying shareholders now want you
to be bonus if you do something good for
all right the point is is that it’s it’s
starting to crack and so let’s just
stick our finger in the crack you know
make sure that it keeps cracking it’s
swung one way we can swing it back the
question was can I talk about
celebrating accomplishment while still
asking for more right tutu so so they
did a study on kids who are really
really smart like an older gifted
classes why is it when you smart you’re
gifted when you’re stupid you’re special
why is that I was told my whole life I
they took the gifted kids who are
constantly told you’re so good oh thanks
for that I knew you’d do well oh you’re
the you’re our best employee you know
you’re our best student you’re awesome
right and what happens is later in life
they actually suffer because they’re
very afraid of taking risk because
they’re very afraid of losing their
position on the mantle okay
kids who are sort of more average who
constantly are rewarded not for their
accomplishment but for their effort
great effort really proud of the
improvement you made what they find is
they do very well in life because
there’s no shelf there’s always more
there’s more effort right and so you
want to reward and acknowledge effort
even if they don’t hit the goal it’s
that the Delta but at the same time if
it goes backwards you’d be like dude
what what’s going on it’s like we don’t
get we shouldn’t be giving ribbons for
everyone who competes right because what
we’re teaching people is if you do
nothing you get a medal right and the
funny thing is is we start with creating
a generation that’s feeling very Hollow
and feeling you know this sense of
entitlement that people complain about
gen-y the entitlement is I don’t feel
like I’ve accomplished anything and the
funny thing is about human beings is we
we the way we feel accomplished is when
we exert energy and time and reach a
destination right and the more energy
and time that we have to suffer through
especially if we suffer together and we
get somewhere it is overwhelming think
about the best jobs you’ve ever worked
on was it the best design was it the
best results of the company
because of your your project or was it
an absolute hell project that you work
together and you came out on the other
end and that you got it done at the
deadline and you’re like that was
amazing it was the hell projects it was
the things that we had to go out of our
ways more do things for each other right
things we weren’t thinking of doing I
was wrapping packages I was doing stuff
that aren’t designers aren’t supposed to
do going you know this is what produces
that right and so the the the the the
thing is about measurement and
destination reward imagine we’re
standing in a big empty room right and
we’re standing in one corner and I give
you a simple instruction I want you to
go to that corner in a straight line
right off you go no big deal right
without telling you I slip a chair in
front of you what do you do you go
around the chair now you just disobeyed
what I told you to do I told you to go
to that corner straight line but this is
the amazing things about human beings
which is when we’re given a clear
destination we use our own creativity
and our own sense of innovation and our
own problem-solving abilities to
overcome obstacles to get to the
destination in other words the
destination is more important than the
route right we are flexible about the
route we’re obsessed with the
destination reset we’re standing in the
corner together and I give you a simple
instruction go somewhere in this room in
a straight line and you say to me well
where do you want to go I’m like I don’t
know you’re smart figure it out go in a
straight line and so you pick a point
and you start walking and without
telling you I put a chair in front of
you and what do you do you come to a
grinding halt I say what do you stop for
you go will you put a chair in front of
me or you’ll make a sudden turn and go
in another direction right and this is
the problem it’s the same obstacle the
difference is when you have a clear set
a clear destination the obstacles become
easy to overcome when you don’t have a
clear destination you keep coming to a
grinding halt and what we do in our
companies is we’re counting the steps
we’re taking along the route but we’re
never looking at the destination right
so company says made in million dollars
this year we were only planning on
making eight hundred thousand like we
took ten steps we’re planning on taking
eight where’re you going no clue right
we count the steps and so the point is
is that people want to feel that the
effort that they’re exerting actually
are moving somewhere and so successful
measurement successful recognition is
not just for the steps you take it’s not
just for the effort
it’s that the effort you exerted moved
us closer to where we’re trying to get
to and that get to should be some crazy
ideal my ideal is to live in a world in
which the vast majority of people wake
up every single morning you know
inspired to go to work and fulfilled by
the work that they do and the the couple
of measurements that I use are if the
book is selling and I by the way people
ask me how many have you sold I have no
clue I’ve never asked the publisher
because they don’t care I really don’t
care how many I’ve sold what I care
about is the Amazon rankings and that
those are going steady or up and not
plummeting because that means other
people right because I don’t have a
publicist I don’t have a marketing
strategy on purpose I didn’t hire one of
those companies to sell the book for me
and the reason is is because I’m not
interested in book sales I’m interested
the spreading of an idea and so I just
use that as a metric to help me
understand am I sort of marching in that
because the more I preach is it
resonating you know and so you have a
couple of these imperfect measurements
that help you understand are you going
along the way so it’s not just great
effort look what you achieved because
that’s what we’re doing now right our
goal is to increase top-line revenues by
50 million dollars for what reason right
which is we have to know the destination
and then we say amazing you took us that
much closer and if we go to the right
it’s because we were overcoming an
obstacle if we hadn’t gone to the right
we would have been stuck forever thank
you
you know it’s not always straight lines
it’s not always straight lines but it’s
it’s in one direction she’s pulling the cane out thank you very very much
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