Signs of Rot

Double Standards are a sign of rot. When those in charge are not held to the same level of accountability as those to whom they delegate responsibility but not authority. Responsibility without authority is meaningless. With every degree of separation from where the impacts of a decision are felt, information is lost. This is the heart of the reason why empowerment beats Central Decision Making. Why “Boardrooms” should be where obstacles are removed, not where decisions are made. And certainly not where accountability disappears. We talk of not giving hand-outs to those without money because of Entitlement and Dependency. We want to add conditions. We forget the bosses and talking heads higher up the chain who don’t roll up their sleeves. Who don’t get their hands dirty. Who don’t fall on their swords when their decisions don’t work out. Who do so well in the good times when “interests are aligned”, that they have a bottomless buffer to ride out the bad times. There is no Solution. There are only decentralised Solutions. Make more decision makers.

Wooden beam with significant fungal growth

Productive Performance

The deal most of us have is that we work to survive. Some of us get to do work that fulfils a deeper purpose than that, and some of us enjoy the benefits of paid work we really connect with. Most of us have to deal with being productive assets. Life as a job description. The first insurance I bought when I started working (my first post studies job was in Risk Product Development) was Disability Cover, Severe Illness Cover, and Future Cover (the ability to get cover I hadn’t thought of without medical tests). All these protected my ability to earn an income. If I was still alive, but was no longer “a productive asset”. I kept this cover until my Engine was bigger than the amount I would get if something went wrong. Part of my decision to stop working for money in 2014 was a distaste at being a productive asset. At being weighed, measured, and paid. Capital is far better suited to paid work than people. Not everything that counts can be counted. The biggest strength of Capital is empowering people to choose the nature of work that they do. Perhaps work that can’t be simplified into performance measures.

The Loss of Accountability (by Samir Bhana)

Guest Post: Samir Bhana

I took two years off between school and university while my brothers finished university. When I got to Smuts at the University of Cape Town, there was a great bunch of guys from various years at Westville Boys' High. I often wonder how awesome it would be if schools didn't divide people up by year group. A lot of learning in my class went on between students helping each other. It would be great if that could be extended across years. At university I once had to repeat a rather tough subject and by helping tutor my younger classmates, my second attempt was a success. Those struggling may learn more by realising how much they have conquered.

One of the great guys I got to connect with again was Samir. Samir now lives in Dublin and works for Twitter. Fortunately we don't have to wait to be plonked in the same building to connect with interesting people anymore. I am glad he seized the day and chose to write a guest post.

9 Westville Boys in Smuts 2001 - Gary must have been 'busy'

The Loss of Accountability
by Samir Bhana

When my old schoolmate Trevor asked me if I was interested in writing a guest post for him, I automatically said yes. The idea of writing a regular blog has always been interesting to me, and yet I've never actually done it.

So, as we do with so many things, I said "Sure!" without committing to a specific deadline or topic. It was in itself a commitment without a tangible penalty. I'll write something at some point, I thought. And then promptly forgot about it.

Trev then messaged me a few weeks later, asking if I was still interested in writing a post and I realised the penalty had just become tangible. I was being held to my fleeting commitment by a friend whose respect of me would diminish if I reneged.

When I think back to how I achieve my goal in life, it is generally driven by accountability to someone else. My boss, my parents, my friends, my girlfriend. I don't like letting people down and so a lot of the time I find this easy (for a separate therapy session).

But what I lose in that way of thinking is accountability and, more importantly, accountability to myself. Don't wanna brush your teeth tonight? Well no one will know except me. Want to wolf down a slab of chocolate? No problems if no one is around. Stay up till 2am watching movies on a weekday? Who will know?!

This loss of accountability to myself has led to an interesting pattern in my life over the last few years. In a year where I start a new role or job, my health goes out of the window because all of my energy and time goes into not letting my boss and colleagues down. But once I've settled in and have my routine down, I try to reclaim what I've given away. A type of sinusoidal existence that surely can't be good for me.

The graphs of sine and cosine are sinusoids of different phases

Which all brings me to the other critical element of personal accountability - balance. Balance is one of those things that you can't truly understand until you haven't got it, but its so critical to making sure you last the marathon, and not just the sprint. Balance only comes when  you truly hold yourself accountable because you know its important for your own physical well being and mental health. When I was in my 20's, balance seemed like an unnecessary distraction - get the most of life! Carpe Diem! But now in my 30's, balance seems like exactly the thing I need to do that.

Seize the day

Understanding what I really need in my day-to-day life - my relationships, my job, my hobbies - has always been the hardest part of figuring out "happiness" for me. Holding myself accountable could be the biggest key to that.

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In writing a blog about several topics in which I admit to being a complete beginner, I am going to have to rely heavily on the people I am writing for who cumulatively know most of what I am likely to learn already. I would love it if some of you found the time to write a guest post on the subject of happiness or learning. The framework I use for thinking about these things is what I call the '5 + 2 points' which includes proper (1) exercise, (2) breathing, (3) diet, (4) relaxation, (5) positive thinking & meditation, (+1) relationships, (+2) flow. Naturally if you would like to write about something that you think I have missed, I would love to include that too. If you are up to doing something more practical, it would be awesome if you did a 100 hour project and I am happy to do the writing based on our chats if that is how you roll. Email me at trevorjohnblack@gmail.com 

Guilt and blame are useless emotions

What you do matters. Intentions not so much.

I am busy reading 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand, while at the same time spending a lot of time doing Yoga. I don't agree with all the sentiments of either, but there is a common thread that I find very appealing. That what you do matters. That you have control over far more than we are willing to let on.

A lot of religions or philosophies seem to absolve people of responsibility for their actions. They say that the circumstances in which we are found are something we must just accept/bear. I like philosophies that empower. One of my favourite quotes is from 'Starter for Ten' :

The people who care about you the most don't care if you make mistakes, it's what you do next that matters.

I don't think this absolves you, or says it is okay to make mistakes. If you make a mistake, you have to own it and accept the consequences. There is nothing that will magically make that mistake disappear. When you act, things are affected. Acting in the knowledge that forgiveness is available can be an escape route. What you do matters.

Guilt or blame after mistakes are useless emotions. You can however act. You can do something. While there are admittedly plenty of things that are out of our control, I think we tend to overuse that as an excuse.

The one thing we will always have control over is what we do next.

Papa was a rolling stone

The nature versus nurture debate is an old one. Though I am no expert, it seems logical to me that both play a big roll. A friend of mine who was adopted at birth is one of the brightest guys I know. When he turned 21, his biological parents were allowed to contact him and he discovered that one was a chemical engineer and the other a software engineer. Not a big surprise.

And yet obviously, no matter who your parents are, life's experiences shape you in many ways. In 'Outliers', Malcolm Gladwell talks of the influence of communities and opportunities that shaped the lives of many great people. Being born in New York versus being born in Kwandengezi matters. Warren Buffet refers to it as the 'Ovarian Lottery'.

But sometimes your responses are a reaction to rather than a continuation of. In spending time with my Grandmother today, she spoke of her Grandfather who came out from England with a BA from Oxford. He decided to take his kids out of school at age 12 to work on the farm, and so their education was in milking cows and building things. My Gran's Dad became a skilled butcher, a builder of bridges ... and a rolling stone. My Gran went to `about 20 different schools'. My Gran was also one of 9 kids. Her brothers may have been tradesmen like their Dad, but they also made other decisions. The brother closest to my Gran in age decided that unlike his Dad, he was going to work for one company... he wasn't going to be a rolling stone. My Gran also made a 'going another way decision'. She just had three kids thank you very much.

Another friend told me a common saying... If you want to marry a girl, take a look at her mother. That's what she will be like in 30 years. Also, take a look at how her parents interact. I reckon there is some, but not complete truth, in that (for chaps as well as gals, and fathers as well as mothers). We get a lot from 'the ovarian lottery', but we also get to make a lot of choices along the way.

I also think that most/all of the people who read this post won more in the lottery than 95% of the World. I think we get to pick from what we want, and are accountable for where we end up.