Weigh and Measure

Wealth is made in containers. We often share those containers with very real human voices. Not just the voices in our heads, but also other people. We have our own vulnerabilities. 

We like each other. We dislike each other. We get on each other's nerves. We can talk about ourselves all the time. We can be difficult to manage, difficult to work with, and difficult to understand. We bring our whole selves to the work we do. 

I have had lots of people that I loved working with, and a (fortunately small) handful where... it was probably just best we worked with others. 

There is something deep inside me that gets rattled when I feel misunderstood. When I feel like they have drawn their conclusion... unfavourably, and unfairly. The emotions that come up when someone effectively believes you are not good enough. 

One response is to want to self-promote, “I am actually quite a big deal”. Another response is to tear the other person down, like one of those rap battles. “YOU think I am not good enough. That is rich. Well... XYZ” in a way that leaves them sobbing in a foetal position. The skill/desire of treating people with kindness and respect can get lost. 

Often to see people’s strengths requires understanding their stories. Engineers might hire engineers. Architects architects. Stock pickers may believe they can do anything, because they pass judgement on businesses... but don’t believe anyone can be a stock picker. 

People hire people because they admire the things they like about themselves. Self-reinforcing what they view as strengths. 

Letting go of the idea of work as a tool to weigh and measure your soul is essential.

Hero Job

Being well-rewarded for your skills and knowledge doesn’t make you irreplaceable. Typically, commercial projects are not pushing the boundaries of human thought. Money is very pragmatic. Breakthroughs are normally collective. 

We like the idea of heroes, and we provide massive rewards to be those heroes (when the monetary stars align). When planning your own career, you need to have a view of the broader context... beyond a specific "hero job". 

If the job is in a publicly listed company, you can look at the investor relations pages to see the company report (for example, Google’s Alphabet is at https://abc.xyz/investor/). You can see what the company is doing beyond your role. Beyond that, look at the industry structure. What are the competitors doing? The wider you look, the more resilient you are going to be if you start getting an idea of the generic skills and knowledge needed. 

The less you make it about you, and defining “who you are”, the more you can listen and respond to the needs of the broader container. Gradually you can be less attached to the specific grade, role, boss, or performance review cycle that you have or are in, but that can’t last. 

When you talk to people about work anxiety, whether you are in academia, a business owner, an employee, or a consultant... the stress often boils down to people dynamics. How do you get along with the hierarchy you are a part of, and the relationships you have? 

Even though good business ideas are very much about containers and counting, they include a human element that can’t be separated. Vulnerable voices in our heads grappling with a sense of self-worth, and fair treatment.