We do not have time for spaceships

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I was walking through LAX this morning, and I couldn't help but smile. On the wall was a photo of the Challenger space shuttle being flown into Los Angeles on top of a 747.

Walking next to my good friend Allen, on our way to our plane to Mexico, I pointed at the photo, smiled, and told him proudly, “I was there that day, watching from the rooftop of my office in Santa Monica! Our whole team watched it together.”

But there is more to the story.

The truth is, I almost missed it—one of the most memorable sights of my life—because I was sitting at my desk in our office with my headphones on, focused on some spreadsheet.

When my friend and co-founder, Todd, came around the office, encouraging everyone to get up and go to the roof to see the spaceship on top of a giant plane flying overhead, I was extremely annoyed. Our startup was young, with only about ten people at the time. I had a visceral sense that every moment mattered.

That stage of company building was so fraught with uncertainty that I didn’t know how to manage my anxiety other than to obsessively work and expect the same from my team. It stressed me when someone wasn’t at their desk. And it sure as hell stressed me when my co-founder invited the team to the rooftop to see a spaceship.

By contrast, I was in a coaching session recently with the CEO of a similarly-sized company. Their company is doing so well that they are choosing carefully between further financing rounds and a sizable M&A opportunity. The CEO and I were talking about the culture of her company and the contrast with the potential acquirer, and she said something that stayed with me:

“I assume if we get bought, my people will have to start doing silly things like tracking vacation and sick days. We do that kind of I suppose. But I always say yes. What am I going to do if someone needs a sick day or a vacation day, say no? I don’t want that for them. I want them to work when they’re able and take time when they need it.”

Walking through LAX, remembering my own stance in those early days, I found myself contrasting my position with the beautiful, trusting stance of this CEO (whose company is far out-pacing where we were at the same stage). The ease with which she shared her trust in her team and her desire that they be free to take what they needed makes me smile even as I write this.

If I could go back and coach myself in that season of my business, I would say:

Relax. Get up. Go see the spaceship with your team. You don’t know it yet, but the connections you form with this team are going to be far more material to the joy of the journey and the efficacy of the work than the number of hours you spend sitting at your desk. The kind of culture you build — whether it’s a place of curiosity and hard work or a place of worry and grind — is going to determine the caliber of people you are able to attract and retain. And the caliber of people is what’s going to make this business happen.

I would also tell myself to measure and worry about what actually matters. There’s nothing wrong with working hard and obsessively tracking impact. But people sitting at desks with their headphones on is not what matters. The impact is what matters. And impact arises from things like:

• Our understanding of our customers’ needs
• Our ability to bring products and services to market that address those needs
• The velocity with which we learn, solve problems, innovate

In hindsight, my anxiety caused far more distraction for me and the team than 20 minutes spent watching a historic flight.

Over time, as I matured as a CEO, I learned to focus and help my team focus on tracking what truly matters. We learned to take slow time at the beginning and end of each quarter to plan, digest learnings from the prior quarter, address cultural challenges or opportunities, and bond together as a team. We alternated between planning and hard work — and we learned the benefit of frequent breaks throughout our days and weeks. Breaks spent playing ping-pong in the office, taking a walk with a teammate or simply sitting outside in the California sunshine. With each passing year I grew more at ease finding— for myself and my team — a patient, steady pace of work. And you know what? With each passing year through our exit, our output, impact, and revenue all accelerated.

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If you find yourself in a state of grind or worry, don’t worry. You are not alone. And you do not have to stay there forever. Take the next small opportunity to let yourself see the spaceship. Get into the sunshine with your team.

And if I can support you in your own efforts to increase focus and flow, or refine the way you lead and work, reach out. I would love to support you.

Sending a big hug from Mexico.

-Matt

Looking for some support? If now is the time to consider coaching, reach out here.