If being four years out of college has taught me anything, it is that even important lessons — which in the moment seem unforgettably vivid — can quickly fade from memory.
As a first-year student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, I’ve resolved to counteract as much of that natural memory loss as possible. (It’s an uphill battle. We have a beer pong league.)
After all, I was once a skeptic: An otherworldly amount of money for tuition plus two years of no income equals what, exactly? So as long as I’m here and racking up that sweet, sunny, Northern California debt…
I’d better write the important stuff down
The lessons I’ve learned three months into “the GSB” were at times obvious, at other times surprising, but at all times worth committing to memory. Here are five big ones:
#1, Decisions can fall prey to unconscious bias and sheer laziness
(Translation: Brain dumb sometimes.)
The GSB powers-that-be must love Thinking, Fast and Slow because it came up a lot. The basic idea is this: When we make decisions (or even moral judgments) our brains take shortcuts that usually produce the right answer but sometimes lead us astray.
As it turns out, these cognitive errors occur pretty reliably, and they come in all sorts of well-studied flavors: availability bias, confirmation bias, loss aversion, escalation, primacy and recency effects to name a few.
Beyond unconscious biases in decision-making, we regularly err when collecting data or incorporating input from peers. We conduct misleading analyses that “sample on the dependent variable.” We consult experts but rely blindly on their expertise.
There have been multiple moments these past few months when I’ve said something and then immediately thought, “but maybe that’s just my availability bias.” Thanks, school! I don’t trust my own brain now.
Being aware of these biases and tendencies is an important first step. But as leaders — as organizational designers — it’s just as crucial to build formal (e.g., processes) and informal (e.g., behavioral norms) interventions to eliminate the biases that inhibit our collective potential — such as the similar-to-me effect or any of the other prominent biases in hiring.
#2, Aspiring leaders need a good answer to this question: “Why should anyone follow you?”
This is the central question of the GSB’s experiential learning class, “Leadership Labs.” It is no easy task: finding a style that is not only effective but also authentic to who you are.
I don’t have a fully-formed answer, and I don’t expect to have one anytime soon. What I know is that making progress on my answer requires three things:
- Experimenting with my leadership style
- Soliciting feedback
- Reflecting on what worked and what I can do differently
… and then pulling a Brian McKnight (starting “Back at One”)
#3, Strategy is an argument
This one falls under the “obvious” category, but it’s a reminder that our answers to the big business questions — where should we compete? what makes us different? — need to be clear, consistent and accessible.
Management books are chock-full of fancy frameworks, and while some are helpful aids for thinking about a problem, no framework can magically sort through your alternatives and give you the answer.
The difference between a bad strategy and a good strategy is persuasiveness. The latter is more clearly defined (vis-à-vis a set of obstacles) and more internally coherent (in aligning the organization to address those obstacles). A good strategy is a good argument for why you will succeed.
#4, The importance of reflection
I have never felt busier than I did during the last three months (which, I’m aware, is an odd thing for an non-contributing member of society to say). What I realized — late, but not too late — was that I needed to make time for reflection.
When things get hectic, it is tempting to put your head down and focus on completing the task in front of you — to march relentlessly through an ever-replenishing list of assignments.
I know because that’s precisely what I did. For weeks on end, time passed swiftly and uncontrollably, and I found myself in the frustrating state of feeling both busy and unaccomplished.
I needed to slow down. I needed to reflect. I needed to make time to crystallize what I was learning, to extract meaning from experience, and to appreciate the progress that I was making.
Easier said than done. But I’ll try to remember that reflection—writing an essay like this one — is not only constructive but also rather enjoyable.
#5, “Doing well at a select few things” feels a lot better than “sucking a little at everything”
I’ll say it again: People here are busy. With classes, recruiting and outside projects — and with relationships, family and friends—there are a lot of things to juggle.
There is more to be done than can be done. Embracing the “80/20” principle—wrestling yourself away from perfection — can help, but it only gets you so far. When you try to do everything, you can only give a sad fraction of your best effort. And that, for me, felt so bad that I sometimes wished I hadn’t tried at all.
The “piling on” of coursework and commitments is done intentionally, I’m sure. As future leaders — as ascendant busy, important people — we should learn how to prioritize our time and to focus on the things that truly matter to us.
Implicit but, I think, overlooked within that statement is this: In order to really focus on some things, you have to ignore — or really suck at — other things. So while you’re at it (by “it” I mean “really sucking at things”), you should really suck at the things you care least about.
There are other lessons, too…
- The importance of empathy and “perspective-taking”
- Listening — and I mean, really listening — is a skill. I loved this quote from one of our readings:
Following well requires us to cultivate the capacity to listen — rather than simply impose meaning on what other people are saying. To follow deeply is to blend with someone to the point where we begin to participate fully in understanding how they understand. When we do not listen, all we have is our own interpretation.
— William N. Isaacs, “Dialogic Leadership”
- Accounting “rules” aren’t as hard-and-fast as I once thought. And they give rise to the euphemistically branded practice of “earnings management.” (Related: This is a great article) (Related #2: That’s my way of bragging that I can now actually understand that article.)
- Giving feedback without going “over the net.” Describing only the impact that a peer’s behavior had on you — without implying intent or motivation on her behalf—helps avoid the emotional messiness of delivering tough feedback.
- … and, jeez, well, so many more. I could go on …
But I won’t. Bless you for reading this far.
