Friends of Dave #81: Born of Frustration
You can thank LeBron, James and one of my kids for this week's preamble.
I have a weird process when it comes to writing these intros. Sometimes I make my mind up in advance on what I am going to put down and other times I procrastinate until Friday night. Often a simple series of events inspires me or gets my mind tying things together over the course of a few days.
That's what happened here -- so bear with me. First, strangely, was the news a few weeks back that LeBron James was leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to join the LA Lakers. Look, like many of you, I am not a huge basketball fan. I may watch occasionally during the playoffs, but don't really follow it closely enough to care.
That said, the events that unfolded and lead to this change struck a chord with me -- here was a guy who brought his talents back to his original team (his HOMETOWN team) with the sole purpose of being the guy that delivered a championship and glory to a historically maligned city. While he previously had differences with ownership and management, he put those aside, not so much for the money, but to help build a winning culture on an inferior team in the town he loved. It seemed that if everything went as planned he would end his career where he started. Compelling and atypical in today's day and age no question.
And things did go as planned.....for a little while. Just two years after returning to Cleveland, they won their first NBA Championship and the first sports championship for the city since 1964. LeBron lead teams have been in the NBA Finals for 8 consecutive years. He is in his early 30s. Clearly the stage was set for a long run, right?
But then, just as quickly as things ascended, it all went south....because while team ownership had pledged to make modifications to it's approach to get LeBron back, it really didn't change. It couldn't change and, long term, it wouldn't change. LeBron realized he would continue to fight battles on the court, against better teams, largely on his own without a committed investment in a good supporting cast. All you had to do was watch the painful last seconds of regulation time in Game 1 of this year's NBA Finals to see LeBron's frustrations boil over. He had put the team on his back and positioned them to win a game against a much better opponent.....only to have careless mistakes by coaches and other players derail it. You do not have to be a basketball fan (or even like LeBron) to feel bad for him in this moment.
Fast forward to earlier this week -- I'm in the car and have just gotten off the phone with one of my teenaged children. It was one of those conversations one has with teenagers that seem to be a repeat of a number of previous discussions where they were complaining about something silly going on at work or school. The answer usually lies in them acknowledging that they need to make modifications to their approach to ensure a different result -- but they don't. They were frustrated because they didn't like what was happening. I was frustrated simply because they are a teenager and I had to listen to this goddam story for the umpteenth time....
As I hang up, the song "Born of Frustration" by early 90's alt-rock group James (coincidence?) happens to come on the radio. You may not know it off hand, but you have probably heard parts of it at some point in the past -- it has a distinctive horns/yodeling sound that is used in commercials from time to time. As I listened, the following lyrics caught my attention:
Stop talking about who's to blame, when all that counts is how to change.
All of this got me thinking -- there is no shortage of things that cause frustration for us in our lives. Whether you are LeBron James, a crazy teenager, a harried parent, or just someone going about their day, it's not hard to find something that pisses us off at any given moment (particularly if you indulge in social media these days). We can choose to devote a lot of time focusing on who the cause of the frustration is or analyzing why it is causing the frustration for us in the first place. We can shout, point fingers, or affix blame all we want. But in the end, it doesn't matter. It won't end the frustration -- it just prolongs it. Life is way too short to feel frustrated all of the time. What really counts is focusing our energy on making the necessary changes, in ourselves or to our situation, that end our frustrations once and for all.
I guess, that's why LeBron ultimately decided to leave his hometown for Tinseltown. His decision was born of frustration. Instead of wasting time pointing fingers, he just made a change. And when you think of it in that context, it's a good lesson for us all.
Friends, just because this was a longer preamble this week don't think you can sleep on the links. Some great stuff to check out below -- feel free to scan and click. I selected articles specifically with you in mind -- you will not be disappointed. Have a great weekend!
XOXO
Dave
Think on This...
The Difference Between Amateurs and Professionals — fs.blog
A great look at the key differences between amateurs and professionals and what improves the prospects of success. A bunch of interesting supporting links here too.
Why Your Brain Tricks You Into Doing Less Important Tasks — www.nytimes.com Yet again, your brain is working against you, and it’s because of a phenomenon called the urgency effect.
For Your Day Job...
The Empathy Economy: Emotional Intelligence in Customer Service and Customer Experience — www.xconomy.com
The “empathy economy” will help define the new reality of human and machine interactions in the customer service industry.
6 Organizations That Are Using Alternative Data — medium.com
What do Walmart, Colgate, RR Donnelley, Electronic Arts, Unilever, and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in India all have in common? They get that every business is a data business.
What You Think is a “Sales” Problem is More Likely a Marketing Problem — medium.com
Hiring your first salespeople won’t really help in sales until there are enough leads that the founders just don’t have time. That’s probably 25+ qualified leads a month, potentially more.
When is the right time to ramp up sales? While this is a great article for startups, I'd also suggest those of you at more established firms check it out as well -- it's a good look at the importance of marketing as a strategic tool to drive lead and demand gen before adding more sales headcount. From conversations I have had recently, I think lots of bigger firms have not yet adopted this more modern mindset.
Your Weekly Dose of Randomness...
A Brief History of the Straw — www.bonappetit.com
Oddly, no mention of the one that broke the camel's back....
Scientists discover world's oldest color
HINT: It may be old, but it's also the new kinda lingo.
And The Last Word....
Much like syncing Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album with The Wizard of Oz, I found that playing this 1992 James alt-rock song in the background while watching the GIF above makes for a much more entertaining listening experience.....