In this HBR article from 2104 about Making Business Personal, Robert Kegan, Lisa Lahey, Andy Fleming and Matthew Miller posit that most people divert considerable energy daily to a second job that no one has hired them to do:
- preserving their reputations
- putting their best selves forward
- and hiding their inadequacies from others and themselves.
What would happen if people felt no need to do this second job?
What if, instead of hiding their weaknesses, they were comfortable acknowledging and learning from them?
What if companies made this possible by creating a culture in which people could see their mistakes not as vulnerabilities but as prime opportunities for personal growth?
The authors coined the term: deliberately developmental organization. It is inspirational & aspiration stuff.
Seeing these qualities in the companies we work with helps foster the same culture in our own team too. Making business personal still feels like a taboo to type but I believe the hype ; )
As always thank you for reading,
Jon
p.s.
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Cycling
New quintuple Rene Herse cranks
Do you even chainring?
Bespoked with Josh Poetner of Silca
After several years of missing the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS), I'm very grateful to have Bespoked on the calendar each year.
This year we're honored to be attending on behalf of Silca. Lemme know if you wanna catch up!
The internet is transforming bike shops into community spaces
Bike shops have not fared well in the Amazon era. But shops with slightly unusual business models are surviving, redefining what it means to be a bike shop. Nice to see a snap of Café du Cycliste!
And speaking of Southern France, give this Bike Show podcast featuring relocated local Max Leonard a listen!
Startups
PEdALED Heiko collection
Bending the rules by including this in the startup section but its just too good!
Props to Carlo, Jacopo & co. at PEdALED on this release. At just over 10 years old, it's very impressive to see how the company as evolved!
A Discussion With Margaret Heffernan on Company Culture, Collaboration and Competition
Shane Parrish of Farnam Street is joined by speaker, executive and five-time author Margaret Heffernan. They discuss how to get the most out of your team, create a thriving culture of trust and collaboration, and how to prevent potentially devastating “willful blindness.”
Seedstars Summit 2018
I was invited to mentor startups at Seedstar's 5th summit in Lausanne, Switzerland this year later this month. Lemme know if you'd like to catch up!
Sales & PR
LIVE FROM BFS18 with Calamaro.cc
🎙I did a live interview with Stefano of calamaro.cc the listnride booth during the #berlinerfahrradschau last weekend.
Thank you for the opportunity!
📲 iPhone/iTunes: https://apple.co/2pOJENO
💻 Android/Desktop Player: http://bit.ly/2pT8lcP
📷 On insta: http://bit.ly/2Ie1fpE (peek our snaps from the show here!)
Millennial Women Are Changing Sales
speaking of which, who knows a woman in sales keen to speak at the next Sales Hacker Amsterdam? Let me know!
How It Became Normal to Ignore Texts & Emails
After one person has spoken, the other replies in an average of just 200 milliseconds.
I use gmailmeter.com to learn more about how I use email.
Some fun stats: (no April Fools jokes here ; ))
Radness
Concours de Machines | B./ ROADS /
If Bespoked is the NAHBS of the UK then Concours de Machines is quickly becoming the NAHBS of Europe. This year I'm planning a road trip down to Bruniquel with Lester of Lester Cycles & my colleague Frank the Tank.
A little bird told me Petor of Dear Susan will be building a bike too!