Work Will Never Be The Same

November 22, 2021 Nate Anglin

This was from the latest edition of The Optimized Report newsletter, a collection of actionable ideas to help small business teams improve their performance, profit, and potential without sacrificing what's most important.

Change is inevitable.

And for a lot of us, embracing it is a persistent struggle. We like things how they are. Or we've been complacent with the status quo. But life is about ebbs and flows.

There's no growth in the comfort zone.

Now, on to this week's optimized ideas: 👇

1/ Work Is Changing

"The number of hours your team works doesn't translate to the value they create. Hours do not equal effort."

All managers must begin to make the migration from time-based management to results-based management.

It's what David Finkel calls the Value Economy.

You become the leader of results, not the dictator of time.

2/ Build A Great Team

"Every person hired should be better than 50 percent of those currently in similar roles."

A business is nothing without a great team.

But as "the founder, CEO, you have one job. Look at where you're spending your time and fire yourself from that position," says Jeff Seibert.

Jason Calacanis talks through 10 points to building a great team in his startup checklist.

But here's his general rule of thumb:

If you have less than 10 employees: Hire GENERALISTS.
Once you have more than 10 employees: Hire SPECIALISTS.

3/ Disrupting the Internet

"Facebook's recent focus on acquisitions in VR and interfacing, as well as a recent blockchain acquisition hints at where they see the future of social interactions headed, as well as how they intend to maintain dominance."

All you need to grasp is that the future will be decentralized.

Chris Rempel's blog posts The Internet Is Having a Kodak Moment and Creating the New Frontier do an excellent job stating this fact.

He does an incredible job taking you on the journey from web1.0 to web3.0.

"Web3 is the digital reincarnation of the New World. And it similarly offers its early pioneers an unprecedented opportunity to own – and shape – the next global superpower."

4/ Presence & Patience

"The sooner you welcome uncertainty and not-knowing as normal ways of being, the better off you'll be."

My mom was right!

Patience is a virtue. But there are principles to patience. One of the best ways to learn to be patient is to embrace presence. It's not easy when you live in a hyper-connected digital world which makes it all the more necessary.

Over my thirty-plus years on this planet, I'm confident that patience and presence are my two biggest life lessons.

5/ Question Everything

"A great question asked at the right time can be a gift to someone and make us look smart in front of an important person."

Every great answer starts with a great question.

Questions help you think more clearly, even if the best answer doesn't immediately present itself. You sit with the question. You brain dump on it. Over time the question reveals the truth — the answer.

Here are some great questions from Julia Saxena:

Is that so? (to challenge a belief)
Can this situation be seen in a different way?
What answer am I missing because it seems too stupid?
If your life was a movie, what would the audience be yelling at you to do?
How am I making things more complex than they need to be?
What would the you in 10 years' time advise you to do now?
What keeps you up at night?

If you want powerful business and leadership questions, read The Road Less Stupid (10/10).

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