These are the principles that I have built my personal and work life on
In 2013, I was worried that I was working without any kind of direction or structure. I was not mortally panicked, but I was certainly aware that if I was going to have a long career, I needed to create a context for my working life.
I needed to find some kind of framework for decisions.
A few months ago, I shared doopoll’s operating principles. The idea itself is one that I have used in almost every project that I have worked on both personal or corporate.
But I haven’t ever really explained why I believe the things that I do.
And seeing as I’ve been sharing what I can of my management experience recently, I thought now might be a good moment to share the most important principles to me: my life principles.
So here they are.
1) Do good work
I recently had to make a CV for a voluntary advisor position that I wanted to take on. It was really the first CV that I’ve had to do because I’ve always been self employed since I graduated university.
The best CV that you can have is your portfolio. The best personal brand strategy is to generate a good number of significant, high quality projects that you can put your name to.
This is my most important professional principle.
2) Don’t work with a human who shouts at their secretary
I once got a meeting with a guy who could help me accomplish a goal that I had. It was a brilliant meeting. He had the resources I needed to take a significant leap forward in my career.
Sat across from him at the board table, he asked me a question about my project. Halfway through my answer, he got up and left the room. He went directly to his secretary and started to berate her in a loud voice for the taste of the cup of coffee she had just prepared for him.
I got up and ended the meeting. If he treats his staff like that, I thought, I can’t expect him to respect me or potential customers.
Social capital means a lot.
3) Have a good time, all the time
Life is short. You should enjoy it. Will you have a great day, every day? Unlikely.
As humans, we suffer from a number of biases. One of the most significant for me is the availability bias. This is when you take the most readily available piece of information and form a view based on it with little regard for the additional information available to you. Combined with the well documented tendency to feel losses more keenly than gains, this can be a dangerous way to evaluate life.
If I am having a bad time consistently, I need to be aware of my circumstances and my innate tendency to fall prey to biases (like everyone else) and reset my mind to focus on having a good time.
And while I’ll still have bad days, I should generally be able to look at my days/weeks/years and say, ‘That was a good thing. I had a pleasant experience then.’
4) Interest over money
It’s probably a very middle class concept but I think that money is a very poor indicator of success and an even worse motivator over the long term.
So I focus on being interested by things.
My personality lends itself to curiosity about life. And my skillset benefits when I explore ideas outside of my own ability and understanding.
I believe that the most sustainable way to conduct a career — and ultimately the most rewarding — is to follow interests over economic choices.
That’s how I ended up where I am today.
5) Sit on new ideas for at least a week
Ideas are ten a penny, dime a dozen. They’re easy. Talk to me about a problem you’re having and I’ve got three ideas for you within an hour or two.
Are they all helpful?
Probably the opposite. The valuable thing is to allow your ideas to germinate. To germinate you must give something the opportunity to die. The best killer of ideas is empty time.
So I always give an idea a week to die before I talk about it with other people. If I’m still interested in it after a week, it’s a good indicator that I’ll have the sticking power to see it through.
6) Read widely
I have written and talked about this extensively. I believe strongly that reading widely is one of the reasons for my success.
It allows me to understand complex situations because the act of reading broadly forces my brain to create mental models for understanding new and difficult concepts.
The other benefit of reading is that it has a compounding effect for knowledge and parsing ability. The more you do, the better you get. It is an exponential relationship.
7) Lunch at every opportunity
Imagine how boring life would be if food was purely functional. Lunch affords us an opportunity to step back and savour our food.
Food is best when it’s shared around a table with interesting people.
What makes an interesting person? That’s certainly a topic for discussion the next time you and I have lunch!
8) Holy, holy 5pm
Previously, I saw work as a means to an end. A way to facilitate a better family life and more freedom to explore ideas.
Now I feel a little differently. For me work is about producing something that you are proud of and potentially generating some money while you do it.
That said, if it becomes the main part of my life, I’ll quickly burn out.
I hate the concept or presenteeism and it’s all too common in our world.
I’ve been rebelling for years now by actively cutting my day off at 5pm. Occasionally I’ll check my e-mails or speak to a colleague on the phone after that time if it’s really important — but most things are not that important.
Can you contact me 24/7? Sure. As long as you don’t mind a response between 9–5pm Monday to Friday.
9) Family over work
I grew up in a close family. I love them. I love the family that my wife and I are building and I want to give my daughter the same experience of a beautiful childhood that I had.
So I prioritise family over work.
Not everyone has as good a family life as I do. I feel privileged. If you can invest in your family life, I think you’ll see great ROI.
10) Time for people, always
People who say they are consistently busy are, in my experience, not actually busy. They’re mostly prioritising the wrong things or being ineffective.
They may be having a busy moment, of course.
I’m the CEO of a quite successful SaaS business. I have a lot on in my day. But I will always make time for a conversation over the phone, e-mail or a coffee.
It does my heart, mind and soul good to relate to other people and if you have a genuine need for my attention. Just ask. I’ll find the time to speak to you.
It’s the way I’d want other people to treat me. I should reciprocate.
11) Do work for good
Work for money is fine. Work for reputation is great. But we can probably all point to people we’d help out for neither of those reasons.
Rather, we help them because they are working on something important to the world. I help charities and people who are just starting out in their careers think about problems they are facing. That’s my contribution.
I believe deeply in using talents and abilities for the general Good (capitalised on purpose).
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It’s nice looking back on these principles five years on and still believing deeply in each one. I’m genuinely proud of the personal brand that I have built because it’s authentic.
I’d love to see your principles. Think about sharing them publicly. Accountability is a great thing.
