Crippled CEO Blog #074:
I think a lot about, and talk pretty regularly, about this idea I live by that I describe as “AND versus OR”.
Author and legend Jim Collins describes this concept as rejecting “The Tyranny of Or” and embracing “The Genius of And”. (If you own a business, his books are essentially required reading. Highly recommended.)
Have a job you love or make great money?
Nice employees or productive employees?
Happy workforce or disciplined workforce?
Details or big picture?
Succeed short term or succeed long-term?
Build a company that does good in the world or build a company that is really profitable?
Close friends or lots of friends?
Humble or confident?
Smart girlfriend or hot girlfriend?
Cake or ice cream?
The answer to all these, and so many other “or” questions that we are presented with, is BOTH. You don’t need to choose. In so many cases, both is not only possible, it is the best option. You don’t need to settle. You can have your cake and eat it, too. Hopefully with ice cream.
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.“
And I have proven this over and over again. I’ve proven it at Life Saver. Life Saver is a company that makes the world a better place — we are actively reducing the number of child drownings each year, both by physically making pools safer and by deploying a thorough and comprehensive educational campaign. We also make money, because being profitable is necessary to keep doing the things we do. Profitability is like blood or oxygen. It’s not the point of life, but you need it to keep going. And we are successful at it while simultaneously serving another purpose.
At Life Saver, we have happy, kind, thoughtful employees who are treated well and who enjoy flexibility and freedom. They are also super productive and efficient. Someone might tell you that you have to choose. But you don’t. You can have both. And they didn’t have to choose, either. I believe most people at Life Saver rather like working there, but they don’t have to take a pay cut to enjoy that privilege. They got both.
And this doesn’t just apply to business. I’ve done it personally as well. Hot and smart lady friend? Check. Awesome home and cool neighbors? Check. Love seeing my friends and love being alone? Check. Being intelligent, hilarious, successful, good looking, AND humble? Checks all around. Especially that humble part. I tell everybody I know how incredibly humble I am. I’m very proud of my humility.
In life and in business, stop settling for one thing or another. Embrace the power of AND. You really can have it all. I promise. Especially cake and ice cream.
(When I’m with your mom, she embraces the power of AND, also. I won’t even tell you the choices that we don’t make — in an order that would surprise you. You know what other choice you don’t have to make? You can subscribe to the weekly text message notifying you of the latest blog by texting the word CRIP to 484848 AND you can share this with a friend. You don’t have to choose. You can do both. And you should.)
Be First to Comment