Dan Cullum

There is an old and rather fanciful story about J.P. Morgan.

It is said that a man approached Morgan with an envelope which contained a guaranteed formula for success. The man said he’d sell the formula to Morgan for $25,000.

Morgan gave his word that if he liked what he saw, he’d pay the man.

When Morgan opened the envelope, he took out a single piece of paper, spent a short moment reading its contents, and promptly paid.

Two things were written on the piece of paper:

1. Every morning, write a list of the things that need to be done that day.
2. Do them.

Regardless of whether this story is true or not, it’s a helpful reminder that it is often the simple tactics that 1) help us clarify what’s important, and 2) ensure we only focus our energy on things that bring us closer to our goal.

Back in 2011, I spent 3 weeks traveling the Gulf of Mexico with Mike Horn as part of his Pangaea expedition.

Mike is a force of nature. He’s considered one of our world’s foremost explorers, with his achievements including a 2-year unmotorised circumnavigation of the world along the equator, a 6-month swim down the Amazon River, and the first expedition to the North Pole in winter.

Just a touch over 50 years of age, Mike is halfway through his next challenge: a circumnavigation of the globe via the north and south poles.

I’ve been following his updates, and the latest one shocked me.

His boat, Pangaea, a 135ft icebreaker that will drop him off on the ice caps of the far north, is the closest a boat has ever come to the North Pole.

This is a sad record; one that Mike and his crew are lamenting.

As our earth continues to warm, scientists predict that within the next 20 years, the Arctic’s ice caps will completely melt during the summer; having untold consequences for the region’s wildlife.

Mike’s expeditions have always served to communicate, in some way, the beauty and fragility of our planet. But we shouldn’t have to see records broken in this way to make us understand the urgency required for a global climate turn around.

I’m not going to end this post with platitudes, but I hope this story serves as another example in the undeniable body of evidence that something must be done.

This is a week of reflection for me. And in doing so, my mind has found itself repeatedly returning to a theme: Breadcrumbs in the forest.

Most readers of this blog will have people in their lives who are 1) a few years further along life’s journey, and 2) role models for a good life.

These people are often parents, mentors, colleagues, and grandparents.

Although these people can’t provide an exact blueprint for how to live, because each of our circumstances and experiences are unique, they can provide a guide for how to approach each phase of life.

Their ideas on how to live a good life are like breadcrumbs in the forest. They are hints, gentle nudges, and quiet words of wit and wisdom left on the trail for the next generation to find and follow. These ideas help us avoid the pitfalls so we can experience more of the good that life has to offer.

Today, I’m remembering Grandma’s breadcrumbs. In particular, her consistency of spirit, kind-hearted care, and simplicity of living.

Are there people in your life who’ve left breadcrumbs in the forest for you to follow?

Consider letting them know, and thanking them, for the gift they’ve given you.

Early this morning, my beautiful Grandma Audrey passed away.

Today is not a day for writing, but one for reflection, remembrance, and sadness.

Today is a quiet one.

When Columbus landed on the Bahamas in 1492, he thought he’d reached India.

And I don’t blame him. Up until that point, all of the great thinkers, scholars, and scriptures had only pointed to the existence of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

However, what I found most surprising about this story is Columbus maintained the opinion that he’d found India until his death in 1506. He was convinced he knew the whole world, and could not accept that he’d discovered a new continent.

There are a number of lessons I took away from this:

1. Just because we believe something, it doesn’t mean it’s true. If we want to hold an erroneous opinion all our lives, no one will stop us. Recognising the possibility that we’re wrong is a huge step toward developing humility and an open mind.
   
2. The greatest thinkers and leaders were wrong in the past, and they’re likely to be wrong again in the future.
   
3. We remember people for what they contribute, even if they set out to achieve something different. We remember Columbus for his discovery, what he took to the grave is irrelevant to us today.

H/T: Yuval Noah Harari and his delightful book Sapiens for this anecdote.

When are you at your best? Could it be when you’re:

• Having fun
• Spending time alone
• Laughing with friends
• Working on interesting problems
• Appreciating nature
• Learning new things
• Taking care of your body
• Helping others

We’re all different. We each have a unique recipe for rest and rejuvenation.

Multiple conversations this week have opened my eyes to the importance of 1) knowing which activities help me be my best, and 2) scheduling time to make sure those activities happen. No excuses.

What’s your recipe?

Warren Buffett has a maxim on praise in the workplace that I’ve tried to practice this year: Praise by name, criticise by category.

Public. Specific. Individual. That kind of praise is powerful.

Public. Specific. Individual. That kind of criticism is destructive.

Mistakes and errors are unavoidable. But when they happen, we always have a choice as to how we communicate our disappointment.

We have control over whether we build up, or tear down. Whether we blow up, or listen. Whether we protect someone’s self-esteem, or destroy their confidence.

By discussing mistakes at the level of team, product, or project, rather than at the level of the individual, it affords a safe space to reflect on what can be done better next time.

It invokes reflection and introspection, rather than a defensive response.

It’s a long term investment, rather than a short term bet.

There’s always the certainty that the opposite of what I might believe in might also be true
-Ken Burns

There is a profound depth to this quote by documentary film extraordinaire, Ken Burns.

Certainty.

Opposites.

Might.

True.

No matter how learned we are, there is always the chance that we could be completely wrong.

What would happen if we entered into every conversation, debate, or disagreement with this level of awareness and humility in mind?

Ready to go on a (2 minute, fun) journey?

I promise, at the very least, this will give you something fun to show your (nerdy) friends at your next hang out.

Go to any Wikipedia page. Any. It could be the page for the Big Mac, the Boston Red Sox, or Brexit, it doesn’t matter.

Next, click on the first link in the main text of the Wikipedia article.

Now, repeat this process for all subsequent articles.

After about 10-15 clicks, you’re going to arrive at your final Wikipedia destination: Philosophy.

Every time. Ok, well, about 97% of the time.

I wish there was some (philosophical) explanation to this phenomenon, but it’s really quite simple.

There is a Wikipedia Style Guide, which covers how the lead sentence in each article should be written. The first link in each article should always take the reader to a broader subject area. Eventually, the read reaches the topics of Mathematics, Science, and Language. Following on from those, we eventually get to Philosophy, the mother of all sciences.

No meaningful reflection today. Just a cool fact, and something to experiment with.

The Rugby World Cup starts in less than 2 weeks, and coming from New Zealand, it’s inevitable that the odd rugby-related post will make it into this blog over the coming 6 weeks.

Every four years, all of New Zealand, a stadium of 4 million, watch with bated breath as their sporting pride takes the field.

The national rugby team, the All Blacks, are the most dominant professional sports team, in any sport, ever. They have an astonishing 84% winning record in the professional era.

Given this, it’s understandable that there is massive pressure for the All Blacks to perform, and win, at every World Cup.

This past weekend, the All Blacks trotted out to face Tonga in their final preparation match before the World Cup begins.

What astonished me, and what I wanted to share today, was a decision made by the coaches in the 65th minute to create what I call “Artificial Pressure”.

With 15 minutes left to go in the match, and with the game already in hand, they decided to pull a player off the field and play one man down.

Why place your team under unnecessary pressure? As the coach, you know if any player gets injured in these final 15 minutes, you’ll be destroyed by the media. Why take such a risk?

Well, there may be some method to the madness, but a bit of back story is required.

Despite winning the first ever World Cup in 1987, it took the All Blacks 24 years to win their second. In the years between these two victories, when the All Blacks failed to win rugby’s most coveted prize, they were criticised as being the best team in the world that simply choked in the do-or-die games.

The lesson here: consistently being the best in the world doesn’t matter when you can’t win the games that matter most.

The All Blacks developed a reputation as “chokers”, one which was finally relinquished in 2011 when they broke the 24 year World Cup drought.

However, there is still a fear amongst New Zealanders that the All Blacks could choke again in the high-pressure moments.

One such high-pressure moment is playing with 1 man down. In rugby, playing with 1 man down is a very plausible scenario. One high-tackle, or repeated infringement, could see a player given a yellow card, meaning they are sent off the field for 10 minutes. This can completely shift the momentum or score of the game.

In my mind, this decision to play a man down in the warm-up game against Tonga was a masterstroke by the coaches.

With so many young and new players in the team, who haven’t had a taste of the World Cup, the coaches created Artificial Pressure to help their players acclimatise to the do-or-die environment.

This decision made headlines around the rugby world, and sent a message to all other teams that the All Blacks are mentally ready for battle.

Bring on the World Cup!

Note: There is definitely a lesson in here on how we can create Artificial Pressure for ourselves when we’ve got something important on the horizon, like a presentation or negotiation.

I won’t drone on about it though, the actions of the All Blacks’ coaches provide a good blueprint to experiment with Artificial Pressure in our own lives. Namely, creating, experiencing, and thriving on the pressure before it’s real.

One of the things I love about living in Europe is the access to low cost airlines. Affordable flights for weekend getaways are a luxury when you come from New Zealand, a place where the closest country is a 3 hour flight away.

Ryanair is the leading low-cost airline in Europe, with 730,000 flights per year to over 200 destinations.

Despite being the market leader, they are horrible to travel with.

In return for a rock-bottom fare, you get safely from Point A to Point B.

And that’s about it. Everything else is painful.

• You must check-in online or face a £50 fee
• You can only take a small backpack the size of a laptop, or face a £50 fee
• You must pay £20 to be able to sit next to others in your travel party
• You must pay £20 to be able to take a carry-on bag on the flight

But despite the above, at least Ryanair are clear on where they stand. There are no illusions. They aren’t kidding themselves.

They don’t act like they offer both a great price and a great experience, but fail to deliver on both; like so many other airlines and companies do.

Through their product offering, they’ve communicated to travellers, “If you want a better experience, pay more to fly with British Airways.”

They’re like the movie villain we end up liking. Despite their faults, we still root for them. Because they’re real. Because their story is true. Because they’re not kidding themselves.

At Bulb we use Google Hangouts a lot. It’s a video conferencing service that connects seamlessly with Gmail and Google Calendar.

Given many companies rely on the Google Suite of applications, I was surprised this week to learn that Hangouts is headed to the Google Graveyard in late 2020, meaning the product and its services will be discontinued.

However, this is just part of Google’s circle of life: to cull applications that have little user uptake or monetisation potential.

In reading about Hangout’s demise, I came across an interesting resource called “Killed by Google”. It’s a detailed list of Google products that have been, or will be, discontinued.

It’s fascinating to look through this list and reflect on the innovative and fun products that have been scrapped over the years. I still hear people complain about the axing of Inbox by Gmail, which was a simplified inbox that aggregated emails from different senders. Google’s URL shortener was really useful, so I was sad to see that one go. And Wordlens’ live translation of foreign language images and text was an impressive piece of technology back in 2010.

This list of discontinued products also gives us interesting insight into Google’s fierce commitment to experimentation, and equally fierce disposition towards removing the deadwood. They’ve made an important cultural decision to avoid becoming bloated by systematically removing underperforming products and redeploying their people to higher yield ones.

There’s a few thought starters here for how we can apply this thinking to the products and services we work on.

I recently arrived back in London after a quick trip to New Zealand to visit my grandma who is unwell.

This was the first time I did the journey via Los Angeles, and the stark difference in travel time between the outbound and return legs stood out to me. The return flights were both 2-3 hours shorter, shaving almost 5 hours off an already very long journey.

I learnt that this shorter-journey phenomenon is due to the west-to-east jet streams at 30,000 feet, where pilots are able to use them to fly faster and with greater fuel economy.

It got me reflecting on how sometimes in life, regardless of how hard we try (or fast we fly), there can be tailwinds that aid us, or headwinds that slow us down, on our way to our goals. And often, just like the decision to purchase the best value airfare means we don’t consider the direction of travel, we find ourselves in circumstances with headwinds or tailwinds outside our control.

Most of the time, we can try and do something about our situation. Other times, it’s best to buckle up and be patient.

Early on in my time at management consulting firm, BCG, a partner at the firm gave a piece of advice to my group of new starters:

Take the work seriously. But don’t take yourself too seriously.

This outlook has stuck with me, and it’s something I try embed into the teams I’ve worked in since.

When we’re fortunate to do work that makes other’s lives better, we must approach it with great diligence and care.

However, we’re human, not robots. Having a laugh, and enjoying the company of those we work with, are important parts of maintaining a healthy and fulfilled work life.

As we approach the final third of the year, it’s a good time to reflect on what we’ve taken seriously in 2019, and if there are any improvements we can make to end the year better than where we started.

Is there something you’ve taken too seriously? Or is there a chance for you to lighten up and enjoy the ride a bit more?

Any fool can make something complicated —Woody Gutherie

A bloated product. A confusing policy. An inefficient process. That’s easy.

It’s easy because little thought or care is required. The creator only needs to think of their own needs.

Simplicity, on the other hand, is hard.

To simplify well, we need thought, care, judgement, taste, and insight.

Simplicity requires discernment to decide what’s important, willingness to say “no” to the superfluous, and guts to admit when we get it wrong.

But for all simplicity’s challenges, in return, it gives us a chance at making something much better.