This week’s #bossbetter theme has been “connecting the dots,” an idea Steve Jobs shared in his famous commencement speech.
I loved it. Isn’t great to believe that destiny will always somehow be on our side? When I looked back, dots did connect:
– I spent about a year as a recruiter. I had to interview at least 4 people every day. I interviewed more than 800 people. When I got to hire my first team member I realised I was much better at getting to the bottom of candidates answers than all my peers.
– At Nike, we had to present all the time- 10 people internal meetings, trade shows of 1000 attendees. I once had to present while juggling a football on a 360 degree stage in front of hundreds of people. I became a pretty versatile presenter thanks to all those hours of practicing.
But then, I realised more often than not, I got Steve’s message wrong. I often confused what he said with “everything happen for a reason,” a mindset that encouraged passive acceptance. Or I would use his saying to justify my lack of thoughtfulness in my actions. “Don’t think too much! The dots will connect!”
He was giving us an always available anchor for us to dive deep and commit.
So have faith, commit, and do the hard work.