The Art of Leadership

Chapter 16. Everything Breaks

We’re going to play a really simple, really dumb game. I’ll explain the setup and the rules:

• Choose two one-person “teams.”

• On a flat, boring surface, draw two parallel 3-foot-long white lines that are 50 feet apart.

• Each team chooses a home base line. The other line marks the opposing team’s home base.

• The teams start by standing completely behind their home base lines while facing the opposing team.

The goal of this game is to earn points. A point is earned when a player’s entire body crosses their home line, then the opposing line, and finally their home line again. The first team to 20 points wins.

Like I said, simple and dumb.

You already have questions. Can I interfere with the other player? Who is judging and counting the points? What do I win? Good questions, but I’d argue that with the rule set above you have a minimally viable game. You can start to play the game with little fuss. It’s going to be furious (and lame) sprinting back and forth, but you can play.

Third Time’s a Charm

I’m working on my third rapid-growth start-up in a row. This phase in a company’s growth is my jam: the enthusiasm, the ambition, the plethora of blank slates. Very little is defined. Even less is written down. Everyone is fired up. We’re going to figure this out as we go…thank you very much.

Over the past decade I’ve written hundreds of pieces, some based on company-specific observations and others on eerie patterns that keep appearing amongst companies ...