3 ms·

Anecdotally, I've found I do my best work when I have periods that average to roughly 85% pressure (ballparking that). It's okay to have 110% days, but they nee

Anecdotally, I've found I do my best work when I have periods that average to roughly 85% pressure (ballparking that). It's okay to have 110% days, but they need to be offset by some lower-stress days. I think this is well-known, but that "slack" time gives me space to think about what I'm doing. I have time to think smart and execute better. I can afford to take small-ish risks to deliver faster/better/quicker knowing I have space to recover if I fail. When I work at 110% pressure all of the time, I need to choose safe solutions. Safe solutions take longer, but they always ship. * Mentally, I don't have the capacity to think about what I'm doing. If I'm just churning out cogs in a machine, that's fine. If I need to come up with a creative solution, I'm going to find the mentally easiest one (not necessarily the best one) * For Bandwidth/Time, I don't have time to take any risks. I can't explore possible better solutions because the risk of being wrong pushes me back even further. Without Slack, I have absolutely no time to catch up.

FooBarBizBazz 3y ago
This. This. This. When you imagine that people are machines, feed them OKRs, put a lot at stake, and stack-rank them, you are systematically stamping out the heavy tail that gives rise to spectacular things. Only with mediocrity can an individual "consistently deliver on commitments". The solution is portfolio thinking. Stop demanding that each employee be a Treasury Bond, and have a portfolio of growth stocks instead. Speaking of portfolios, we know what active management does, do we not? Additionally, there is a rhythm to things. The field lies fallow, and then there is planting, and then it bears fruit. It's not just constant visible output.