Weekly Wisdom #289 - What we see is never the full story

The Map is Not the Territory, Feedback, Getting Married, Cliffside Retreats & Digital Leashes

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Happy Monday!

Last week I listened to an excellent podcast, an interview with Wade Foster, CEO of Zapier, the automation tool.

Many of the things he said resonated with me:

Not hiring until it hurts

Always prioritizing customer feedback

And most of all, how the company always had a single focus, that they pursued until completion.

I recommended the podcast to several colleagues (and it was recommended to me by a colleague originally).

The funny part was, when I asked someone else I knew who previously worked at Zapier whether those ideas were accurate, particularly the singular focus idea, they just laughed:

"Exec focus was a huge issue at Zapier."

This is a particularly tricky issue when you are trying to lead or guide a team; if their perception of reality is vastly different than yours, you're going to have a problem.

It reminds me of the mental model "the map is not the territory":

The high-level view of something misses a lot of the details.

The CEO may think the company strategy is extremely focused. But if those tasked with executing it don't see it the same way, it's obviously a problem.

That's why questions like "what am I missing?" and a constant focus on seeking out concerns is such a critical component of leadership.

You don't want to make the mistake of assuming the map is the territory.

Have a great week!

Graham

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Links

📚 Book Notes: Radical Candor - Kim Scott - I'm re-reading my notes on this one after having some discussions with colleagues about giving feedback this week.

It's still one of the most difficult skills—both giving and receiving—for humans, yet critical for environments where team performance is important.

📖 Take a Wife...Please! - Olga Khazan - The Atlantic - Various studies have shown that married people tend to be happier than the rest of the population...why? This presents the two main arguments, and leaves you to decide for yourself.

Try this link if you hit a paywall. Thanks Gavin for the recommendation.

🎧 Building Zapier from first principles | Contrarian takes on growth, hiring, fundraising | Wade Foster (Co-founder & CEO) - First Round Review - Despite the differing perceptions of reality, I did think this was great podcast.

Zapier is now worth over $5B, but they took on very little funding, built the company fully remote, and founded it in Columbia, Missouri, which means there are lots of lessons for people like me who are interested in building startups from smaller places.

📷 Opal Tadpole webcam - I almost bought one of Opal's first webcams during the early pandemic days, and their newest offering looks even better: cheaper, more portable, and more useful in terms of features.

I still think in the hybrid/remote world of today that appearances matter, and a great webcam is one of the ways you can enhance that appearance.

🏠 The Nami Project - This stunning hotel in Ucluelet, on Vancouver Island in western Canada, got served to me on Instagram this week, and it looks absolutely stunning.

Lots to love about the designs, from the Scandinavian interiors to the dark exteriors, and the location perched on the edge of a small rock cliff.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BRADEN | LUXURY TRAVEL (@bradenstanley)

Tweet of the Week

I haven't been nearly as disciplined about this as I'd like, but whenever I leave my phone at home, I catch myself going to reach for it whenever there's a brief lapse in conversation or thought.

It's shocking to realize, but also a good training aid to remove that compulsion.

Tim Ferriss-->

@tferriss

Take at least one day off of digital leashes per week.

I do this on at least Saturday, and I recommend you leave the phone at home if you go out for dinner. So what if you return a call an hour later or the next morning?

As one reader put it to a miffed co-worker who worked… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1723031216729768367

12:33 PM • Nov 10, 2023

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