Four thoughts

Here are four thoughts I keep coming back to, again and again. Things I find myself repeating early in pretty much any conversation about work, and how work works.

1. There are two kinds of authority: formal and creative.
Formal authority is just job titles and stories and doesn’t really mean anything.
Creative authority arises when you take the initiative.
And is really the only one that matters.

2. Organisations don’t exist.
Or they exist, but only as stories.
People exist. Relationships exist.
Personal commitments between individuals exist.
And they’re the things that matter.

3. There are only two kinds of work: starting or helping.
When you start something, you ask for help.
When you help someone, you offer help.
If the helper isn’t helping, they should stop.
Knowing if you’re a starter or a helper — that’s what matters.

4. Everything starts with a need.
The need is the vision. It contains the information for the whole thing.
When you start a project, the whole thing has already happened in the imagination.
The need is the passion. It contains the energy for the whole thing.
If you lose touch with the need, you won’t know where you’re going and you won’t have the energy to get there.
Staying true to the need — that’s what matters.