Walking Away to Win

King Pyrrhus of Epirus has a legacy so profound that I am opening this letter about him, 2,300 years after his life.

Perhaps you aren't familiar with him by name, but you may have heard this statement before.  “He won the battle but lost the war.”

This is referred to as a Pyrrhic victory.  A victory that is so costly, it guarantees your future demise.

Much like war, our professional lives can carry similar consequences.

Athletes, executives, and managers aiming to win the game, bid, or quarter set themselves up for failure, defeat, and demise.

Not every race is one to be won

I’ll follow that segue with this thought I had a few years ago.  “The only race you will ever lose is when you attempt to run someone else’s.”

John Olinger was adept at running races.  More on the basketball court than track, but he did have a stint as the Director of Global Brand Marketing for Men's Running with Nike.

John was also the Marketing Director to celebrate and memorialize the death and legacy of Kobe Bryant.

He was a corporate runner with Nike.  He ran up the corporate ladder.  Dedicating himself to leading and managing tremendous projects.

Until the day he no longer did. 

On the day he walked away from “A Dream Job,” he recounts, “A dream job is a dream as long as that's the thing you're really going after. What you find is that sometimes your seasons of life change and the dream changes.”

His dream transformed into a wife and three sons.

He recounts speculation that Kobe Bryant might have faced a similar fate.

At one point, Kobe's goal was to be the greatest basketball player ever.  Then something happened —a revelation, an awareness, or a little girl?  We might never know.

John shared, “Kobe would tell us in our meeting that it was a 2 pm hard stop.” Really? Yeah, he had to pick his girls up from school.”

Kobe went from chasing wins on the court to measuring his wins by what he did with his family.

What will be in your obituary?

A couple of years ago, while reading “My Daily Leadership” by Antonio Garrido with the IDL Roundtable, I wrote an obituary. Mine.  Like, for one in the future.

If you’ve written one yourself, I encourage you to find it and read it. If you haven't, I'm encouraging you to write one.

What I found is that it can serve as a bit of a roadmap for your life.

I don't have a laminated copy and manifest bringing it to life, but I certainly reflect on the words written there from time to time.

What I have found, whether it's a potential long-term vision like an obituary or it's daily goals, wherever you point the wheels of your car, that's where you will go.

The worst thing we can do is let someone else turn our steering wheel and get frustrated that we are in Poughkeepsie rather than Miami.

Accomplishing our life's desires, living out our dreams, and creating a legacy worth noting is all about determining and recalculating what wins are worth winning.

Personal begets Corporate

Every organization I have worked with, spoken for, consulted for, or purchased from has one thing in common: they have all been run by people.

And the thing about all people is that they all have personal lives, dreams, desires, and wants.

What kills so many companies, and might have happened if John had stayed with Nike, is when the dream job becomes a nightmare; everyone suffers.

I have, and maybe you have too, worked for a boss who viewed personal lives as a hindrance rather than a reason.

They devalued or avoided their personal lives, so they expected you to do the same.

Sure, some organizations still follow this model and believe it's the only way; time will tell, but I think it's the way to turn every dream into the worst horror movie ever.

Conversely, if we work to help people win their battles, the corporation will win too.

When one wins, so does the other when both are aligned.  The minute the dream changes, the best thing to do is to go your separate ways.  No harm, no foul, and thank you for your service.

Welcome people when they join and cheer them on when they leave.

We were each made to win our races, not run others' people.  So find the right shoes for you to do just that!

P.S. John didn't ask me to do this, but I want to.  Part of relocating to Florida created an opportunity to support another show company, Unitus.  Go check out their stuff. Oh, and buy “Worthy Wins” here: https://a.co/d/aWT1fe5

Did you catch this podcast? If not, listen to it here.