Notable
My 12yo son, Jasper, finishes primary school forever at the end of next week. This transition might seem like no big deal to us, but on reflection, do you remember how that graduation to secondary school felt?
At that age, you can’t remember much before you went to primary school so, in a way, it’s the first really big life transition. My son’s not anxious about a new school where he knows nobody, but he’s a little emotional about leaving familiarity and friendship: the cocoon of his early years.
One of the clever ways in which Jasper’s school prepares them is a ritualistic Year 6 presentation called “Night of the Notables”. Each child picks a public figure, researches them, prepares a poster, props and a costume, and speaks in first person as that character, while parents walk from stall to stall. It’s frankly exhausting for them (2 hours!) as they’re in character the whole time.
This week, we had obvious notables like Elon Musk, Walt Disney, Princess Diana, John Lennon, Florence Nightingale, and less obvious ones like Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stan Lee and Nancy Wake (look her up). My son was Nelson Mandela and the task was complex enough to require him to assemble the best of his organisation, presentation, artistic, narrative, logical sequencing, and public speaking skills.
Was it stressful? Yes. Was it adrenalising? You bet. Was it also a good way to send young children on their way into the semi-adult world, understanding something about the characteristics of people who have made a notable contribution to the world? Absolutely.
Question: Whom do you admire, and what lessons can you consciously draw from their life and apply in your own?
Utilisation
Back in my days of shared-house living in inner-city Melbourne, I had a housemate, Emma, who had an amazing superpower.
She could take the contents of our fridge, however ‘end of the week’ it was, and turn out a meal for the five of us. I recall numerous delicious pastas, stir-fries, and curries Emma made from indeterminable combinations of protein, vegetables and the dregs of spice jars and the olive oil bottle. She even enjoyed doing it, and saw it as a challenge.
Emma did what the best of my clients do. They adopt a mindset of ‘we don’t need more, we need different’. They avoid ‘If ___ then ___’ thinking (e.g., “If we make a profit of 8%, then we’ll invest in a new CRM system”).
Instead, they practise utilisation.
They say: “We have just broken even, but we need to engage with our customers better, so let’s find a no-cost way to do this, using our current best customers as linchpins, or ambassadors”.
Not long ago I asked a corporate services group of one of my clients, a multi-billion dollar public entity with 25,000 staff, to pose this question: “Imagine your entire function was being outsourced. Come up with two bids: (i) current service levels at 25% less cost; and (ii) current cost, but 25% added value”.
Even though necessity wasn’t the mother of invention here, they nevertheless acted as if utilisation was paramount. And, guess what? They discovered efficiencies and value-adds easily. They implemented these in the following year, to the delight of their leaders and board.
Question: What do you have now, that you can do more with?
Nurture, not nature
A young woman on my wife’s staff, let’s call her Cleo, has recently started fostering kittens from an animal shelter. These are tiny babies, a few weeks old, either motherless, or abandoned. Cleo’s job is to hand feed them, keep them warm, and give them affection and attention until they’re old enough to be handed to full-time owners.
This time-bound commitment to nurture, which makes an out-sized positive impact on an animal’s future life, is fascinating to me. In just a few weeks, Cleo makes a contribution, at some sacrifice to herself, but also one that’s inherently rewarding.
Cleo says, “I do it because I love it. And, second, because it helps an otherwise helpless creature. Not because I’m paid. Not because anyone gives me recognition for it”.
I frequently view leadership in organisations in the same way. Senior people are mentoring, coaching, advising, not because there’s something in it for them, but because it fulfills something essential in all of us: to nurture potential in another living being.
Question: Whom can you nurture, and why would you do it?
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During the week, enjoy learning about someone notable, and applying their life lessons to your own, and your team’s, and I’ll see you same time next week.
Andrew
Andrew, I love the utilisation story, and especially the task you set your client – simple but effective! And it's relevant not just to multi-billion dollar companies but even to a small charity, where better utilisation of their limited resources is critical in fulfilling their mission.
Loved the Jasper story
JJ