Can I move the needle every day despite the chaos?

A few weeks ago, I gave some advice to a dear friend who is starting a similar and yet very different position to something I have previously done. This advice had nothing to do with the incoming pandemic, but it seems even more relevant for all of us today.

When she sent me a text last week to let me know that she's thinking about that advice every day, I realized that it was exactly what I needed to be thinking about myself each day. Funny how it always seem to work out that way.

Here's the question I shared with her:

"What is the most important thing that you can be focused on to move the needle for the business each day?"

Everything else is going to be a distraction.

In her position, it is likely she'll have several people in the organization asking for her help on different projects and assignments. She should be hyper diligent about where she is spending her time. If something isn't tangibly moving the needle forward, it should be delegated, deferred or flat out rejected.

And here I am. Being consumed by the COVID19 news cycle. Trying my best to help my family and friends stay safe and make smart decisions. Doing what I can to boost my immune system while being locked down in "shelter in place" mode for the foreseeable future. And that advice just hit me square in the face.

I will be asking myself each morning: "What is the most important thing that I can be focused on to move the needle for the business each day?"

While moving the business forward is only part of the bigger overall picture right now, I still want my work time to be as laser focused as possible. Now more than ever.

Is it ok to breathe again?

It feels like my default mode these days is for my body to be in a full-clenched, fight or flight mode. All. Damn. Day.

And honestly, I'm not even a little bit mad about that. It makes sense. That's what it's there for. To protect me during times like these.

But.

It's also not so great for creative work, deep thinking or strategy work.

One of my normal strategies of going for long walks in nature just isn't as relaxing as it used to be when there are so many other people around. So I've had to come up with some ways to let my guard down (when I'm in a fully isolated environment that has been thoroughly disinfected of course).

I've found some good tunes where I can jam out for 5 or 10 minutes and have a little one-man dance party around the apartment. I also do lots of handstands which for some reason helps to be inverted for a bit.

One unique little hack I've found. Whenever I read something on social media that suggests to "take a deep breath" I stop everything I'm doing and take an actual deep breath. It's been a wonderful reminder.

I'm glad to know that 1000s of years of biological programming is still doing it's job. And I'm also thankful for the deep breaths and dance parties during all of the chaos.

How do I unlock "anti-fragility mode?"

Professor Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a next level scholar. When I read about the concept of antifragility, I was simultaneously blown away and completely enthralled.

What is the opposite of fragile, Taleb asks? A first guess might lead us to believe that it is something that is durable or resilient, but that is not correct. The opposite of fragile is antifragile, a word that previously was not part of our english language.

Antifragile is the property of becoming stronger or thriving in situations of stress, shock or uncertainty.

What a beautiful quality to possess, especially in times like these.

This is what enabled me to lead mission-critical teams at an international bank during the financial crisis. This is what helped me navigate both the creation and dissolution of several fast-growing organizations. And this is what will serve me well during this global pandemic.

When things are at their worst, how can I be at my best?

There has been a call for the last several years that the world needs more leaders, particularly leaders who have been putting in the work. This call wasn't to help drive record profits. This call wasn't to grow organizations when capital was cheap and the world was pleasant.

The call for leaders who have been putting in the work is exactly for times like these.

The leader who can maintain their composure, who can separate what they can control from what they can't, who have confidence in their ability to navigate the uncertainty, is the one that we are all ready to follow.

How we show up for each other, for our clients, for our colleagues, for our friends and family, and for strangers during these times is the mark of a true leader. It's time to unlock new levels of antifragility and become even better not despite all of the uncertainty around me, but because of it.

What if we choose this?

I sent this Bonus Thought out to my newsletter subscribers on Monday. I thought it was worth publishing the entire piece, and since then have read several articles and posts that show the data behind this. Without further ado, here we go...

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I’m going to go a bit off the deep end here for a moment, so hang on.

I read something today that sparked an interesting line of thinking. If we look at all this forced isolation and economic shutdown from a climate perspective, this is going to be a super healing time period for our planet.

What if we all collectively decided to do something like this once a year. We all shut it down and reduce travel, manufacturing and consumption for some short period of time. It could decelerate our carbon footprint by years.

Also, the added bonus of choosing to go into “shelter from home” mode is that we are making the choice. And when have the mindset of making the choice ourselves, it’s much more agreeable and acceptable than someone else forcing it upon us.

So from now on, I’ve decided to take the mindset of all of this isolation and self-sheltering is not only to help flatten the curve and save lives, but to help heal the planet. Times two multiplier for the win!

How can I step up as a leader during massive uncertainty?

Despite all of negative emotions that I've been feeling since the beginning of this global pandemic, there is one thing that continues to brighten my day each and every time I see it.

People, friends and strangers alike, are coming together to comfort and support each other.

It's inspiring to see this virus bring out the best in people. While the knee-jerk fear reaction may initially be one of scarcity, selfishness or individualism, there are more and more stories emerging of people choosing to lead with compassion, support and unity.

Global stories like Jack Ma, the richest man in China, donating 500,000 testing kits and 1,000,000 face masks to the US. Stories of neighborhoods singing to each other. Stories about international cooperation where a team of health experts left China to head to Italy to lend a hand. Crowd funding stories that spontaneously happen on Twitter to support those less fortunate.

This type of compassion and support is happening at the local level too. Countless stories of people helping their elderly neighbors buy supplies. Stories of helping friends and family understand the severity of our situation and prepare properly. And stories of supporting local businesses and providing extra tips and payments to service workers.

We need more of these stories during the coming weeks and months.

One question I continue to ask to all of my coaching clients is:

"How can you show up as a leader even more during these times of uncertainty?

I ask myself this every day.

For me, the answer is typically:

• connect with friends and loved ones
• help people to be as prepared and safe as possible
• express gratitude
• offer to help support others wherever the opportunity presents itself
• ensure that I'm taking proper care of myself and keeping my immune system as ready as possible

Am I going to be as productive during these times as I would be under normal circumstances? Absolutely not, and that is 100% fine with me. I've broken almost all of my personal, self-care and social routines. I'm doing my best with what I've got, and that's really all I can do for now.

It's important to remember what we are optimizing for in any given moment. I am not trying to minimize disruptions to my personal life, business world or daily routines. I'm optimizing to stay healthy for as long as I can to flatten the curve and at the same time show up as a leader for everyone I can.

If there's any way I can help, even if it's just a 15 minute virtual coffee, I am here for you.

We are all in this together.