One Page Digest

09/07/2024

Clayton Christensen reminded us that the root cause of every business disaster is mistakenly pursuing short-term goals ahead of long-term ones.

02/03/2024

POLL - There is considerable disagreement over the question...is lots of short-term planning the same / better / worse than a single long-term plan?

You have an immediate answer, but after some thought, you may wonder if it's true...

Join the poll and share your current thoughts!

05/02/2024

As a high achiever, you likely gauge success by the scope of your accomplishments. Your career advancement, financial security, family growth or other goals are realized through diligent work and conscious effort. When you attain those tangible targets after years of strain and sacrifice, it validates your talents and grit.

Or so it seems initially. But in time, you may come to a sobering realization – hitting each milestone does not equate to an enduring sense of happiness or contentment. After each hard-won promotion, the thrill fades within weeks. Upon hitting your net worth targets, your appetite for more remains. Settling down with your dream partner or having kids fails to fully satisfy for long.

You find yourself needing to establish the next set of ambitions and goals once the euphoria of the last ones dissipates. It becomes an endless cycle of achievement followed by newly uncovered voids to fill. You chase the next rung up the ladder, hoping it will be the one to provide lasting fulfillment, once and for all. But it never does.

This phenomenon is perfectly encapsulated by insights into the psychology of the ultra-wealthy. In interviews, numerous billionaires admit that regardless of their princely bank balances, they do not feel truly carefree. Asked how much money it would take to make them happy, most respond “just 20% more.” Even those with more money than they could spend in a hundred lifetimes feel they require a bit more to be content.

Clearly, there are dangerous pitfalls in deriving your sense of happiness and accomplishment strictly from ambition. Yet modern society offers few viable alternatives. We feel frustration and dismay when our goals – whether career, finances, relationships or other benchmarks of “success” – are not attained on the expected timetables. If only we could get that promotion, save up enough to retire comfortably, find our soulmate or start a family, then we would be happy. Or so we tell ourselves.

Happiness as an Obligation

When voicing disappointment over missed goals or setbacks on the road to ambition, there is no shortage of well-meaning people willing to remind you that, “You should just be happy and grateful for all the blessings in your life!” They will recite all the accomplishments you’ve achieved, the comforts and security you possess, the people that care for you and advantages you were lucky enough to be born with. Just be content with what you have, they insist.

But simply telling someone they should derive happiness from their existing circumstances is rarely effective beyond temporary lip-service gratitude. It also implies there is something wrong with you for not being perfectly content and cheerful at all times, regardless of setbacks. This just reinforces unrealistic expectations of constant joy.

Yes, cultivating gratitude and perspective around what we already have can be highly beneficial. But this is most effective as an intentional, proactive exercise, not a passive obligation. The path to genuine fulfillment requires examining our relationship with ambition itself. It means understanding the neurological roots of concepts like greed, desire, and suffering. This enables consciously shaping habits and mindsets rather than being controlled by them unconsciously.

Two Modes of Wanting

An enlightening distinction made by some languages is between two different forms of “wanting” things. In English, we use the same term to convey both varieties. However, they represent distinct neurological states:

Wanting (a) refers to craving continuation or permanence of positive conditions and experiences. It manifests as ambition, greed, lust, attachment, or addiction. There is an insatiable quality, where fulfillment is always contingent on something not yet obtained. This ties your happiness to external conditions and goals not under your control in the present.

Wanting (b) means embracing and appreciating the positive elements of your reality in the moment, without requiring them to persist indefinitely. Think of deeply savoring an ice cream cone without any expectation or need to continue eating it forever. Or admiring a beautiful sunset without wishing it would never end. No attachment to continuity – simply gratitude for the gift of this ephemeral experience.

Practicing Intentional Wanting

Wanting (a) has its place in moderation. Ambition provides forward momentum and drive. But problems arise when Wanting (a) becomes excessive and grids out Wanting (b). Every positive experience gets taken for granted or leaves you needing more.

Companies often leverage Wanting (b) during strategy sessions. Teams accept current weaknesses in the business to diagnose issues before working to change course. But individuals have difficulty applying Wanting (b) to appreciate life conditions in the present.

The next article in this two-part series will explore daily practices that strengthen your capacity for Wanting (b). This helps short-circuit the dissatisfaction loop of unending ambition and anchors you in gratitude. By consciously focusing Wanting (a) only on select priorities, you gain control over your happiness. Your contentment then stems from within, not hostage to external conditions. This inner footing provides the stable base to sustainably grow and evolve.

Posted on January 21, 2024 by fwadmin_chronTranscending the Ambition Trap As a high achiever, you likely gauge success by the scope of your accomplishments. Your career advancement, financial security, family growth or other goals are realized through diligent work and conscious effort. When you att...

12/08/2023

As you look ahead a few years, you see an unavoidable encounter...with CSRD's requirements for strategic planning reporting. The new EU standard can't be simply ignored, and you imagine a raft of complaints as companies drag themselves to minimal compliance.

But you also don't want your company to be known as a greenwasher - a pretender. Or worse...a violator. You actually do want to make a contribution to the wider social and environmental good. How can that happen if the whole CSRD exercise turns into a dreadful, hated affair?

In this webinar we'll explore ways to use CSRD as a transformational catalyst. Most organizations have short-term cultures, lurching from one emergency or crisis to another. Driven by stock options and short tenures, executives have lost sight of what's most important.

But CSRD can help change all of that. Come to the webinar to uncover emerging ways to use the new standard for the betterment of your company, nation and planet...to play the game of *transformational CSRD* rather than one filled with resentment and resistance.

Time: Aug 30th 12:30pm Eastern Time UCT -5
Link: https://bit.ly/csrd-esg-strategy

The host will be Francis Wade, two-decade veteran of over 50 long-term strategic planning retreats. He authors the JumpLeap Newsletter for interwoven short/long-term strategic planning. Francis recently spoke (twice) at the International Strategy Professionals Association 2023 conference.

Checkout this event on Airmeet

26/06/2023

Almost everyone who time-blocks manually for enough time, starts to wonder what it would be like to automate some of the overheard. Wouldn’t it be nice to click a button and see everything instantly assigned to an optimal time slot in their calendar? But does such software even exist? The good new...

05/06/2023

Basic time management - No such thing https://goo.gl/53BY8E

As a manager, you may have advised subordinates that they need a basic time-management programme.While this advice is probably well-intended, it turns out to be flawed. Today, a more nuanced picture has emerged.Your intent might be pure. Many...

05/06/2023

Key skills for managers to become executives https://goo.gl/6DxnCZ

Why do managers sometimes flounder when they become executives? One reason: their new role requires them to create a corporate strategy. It's a task for which they have never been trained.The tale has often been told of the just-promoted manager who...

04/06/2023

Would you Hire a Patty? A Tasty Take on Innovation https://goo.gl/laVfVm

Most corporate executives and entrepreneurs would agree that true innovation is hard to come by. It's easier to copy what someone else is doing.In this article, I share an approach that opens the door to innovative product thinking. It starts with...

04/06/2023

Why Rising Executives Sometimes Never Find a Real Mission - Mission Failure http://bit.ly/2ujvdqD

03/06/2023

Ban the SWOT from your next strategic planning retreat http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20190519/francis-wade-ban-swot-your-next-retreat

03/06/2023

podcast - How to gamify employee engagement https://Framework.podbean.com/e/how-to-gamify-employee-engagement/

This is quite a different take on the topic of employee engagement. If each corporate culture is different, how does one learn from the example of other firms which have empowering cultures? In this article, I answer that question.

02/06/2023

Productivity book of the year - my book gets named http://goo.gl/DqvsRG

Would you like to get more done this year? Start by reading these 6 great productivity books.

02/06/2023

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20200322/francis-wade-learning-disruptions COVID-19 has become a huge disruptor. Can your business prepare for the next one?

01/06/2023

6 Productivity Podcasts of the year - my show gets named 2Time Labs http://goo.gl/SQYOJl

Listen to podcasts that will inspire you to get more done. Check out six of the top podcasts here.

01/06/2023

Audio version of How your business can sell a transformation https://Framework.podbean.com/e/how-your-business-can-sell-a-transformation/

31/05/2023

http://bit.ly/2vDYqdB How can you use defects to improve corporate performance?

31/05/2023

Jamaica's Economic Engines - how to get them firing http://goo.gl/RAz0vV

Does Jamaica's economic development rely on radically reducing the barriers to doing everyday business? On a recent trip to Florida, I had occasion to ponder this possibility.The bank. Wal-Mart. Lunch. And if I needed to, Michael's (a craft store.)...

30/05/2023

Bigger is Not Better https://goo.gl/563YhX

I was recently called by a company interested in having 60 attendees at their one-day strategic planning event.As they described the desired outcome, I decided to give them the bad news up front. They had unwittingly put their goal in jeopardy.In...

30/05/2023

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20210207/francis-wade-overcoming-covids-communication-gaps COVID has put distance between employees and managers that has created communication problems

29/05/2023

Why strategic thinkers leave leaders stranded https://goo.gl/rKH85i

In today's turbulent financial and economic environment, there's no doubt that companies need strategic thinkers at all levels. However, most do little to develop employees who have this skill, leaving it to chance. What should your firm do...

29/05/2023

How to get your business out of a rut http://goo.gl/pv22sW

One way that leaders in local companies get stuck in a rut is by refusing to accept the current business world as it is.While it sounds obvious, there are many who are losing profits by complaining incessantly that the local environment isn't the...

28/05/2023

How can you inspire demotivated employees? http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20200906/francis-wade-inspiring-paused-employees

ADVISORY COLUMN: PRODUCTIVITY As a result of the pandemic and the recession, are many of your staff members unconsciously ‘working to rule’? In other words, have they reverted to doing the minimum possible to keep their jobs? If so, what can you,...

28/05/2023

How to avoid the trap of too little me-time https://goo.gl/xMtFtl

As a knowledge worker, you aren't alone if you find yourself running out of "me-time" - the time you need to spend taking care of yourself. If the amount is far below your expectations, here's why.

27/05/2023

Why executives should make it easy to get feedback http://goo.gl/MxtvWD

High-level executives live in a rarefied world of extreme competition and ambition, but the longer they stay at the top, the harder it becomes to get the kind of advice that overturns their thinking.Here's what they can do early in their careers to...

26/05/2023

Why executives need to push hard on t heir direct reports http://goo.gl/CCLShs

While top executives are known for their unearthly ability to push themselves, it often isn't enough.They also need to demand high performance from their direct reports that is, persons who report directly to them to prevent their organisations...

26/05/2023

Easy first steps to become an enlightened leader https://goo.gl/nJZmFL

Do the skills required to be a great leader spring from an inborn set of traits? Or can they be developed over time?Here's a surprising answer - not only can they be grown, but they all come down to a single, rarely talked-about ability that isn't...

25/05/2023

Boosting temporal IQ https://goo.gl/quxhkf

We may laugh along with our leaders about our personal productivity and constant overwhelm, but those who have worked in developed countries know that top organisations take time seriously.It's no coincidence. Corporate success relies on individuals...

25/05/2023

What to do if you are on of only a reliable few in your company http://goo.gl/VHmaoY

Executives, managers and board members are always on the lookout for the handful of employees who are completely reliable.

24/05/2023

Chief Transformation Officer https://goo.gl/JjPG6Q

Why is the average Jamaican company stuck in a rut, five to 20 years behind the best global firms?It's partly because their information technology or IT professionals are locked into junior levels in their companies, unable and incapable of adding...