This is the second post in a six part series on helping every professional adopt “ A Company of One Mindset” to ensure one can thrive in their current companies while ensuring optionality in a transforming world.
The first post built the case of for a “Company of One Mindset” and can be read here.
Adopt a Company of One Mindset.
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Jun 30
Today, exactly five years ago on June 30, 2019, I ended a wonderful 37 year full-time working career at a 100,000 plus person company (though I am fortunate to continue to work with it in a different way) and began a new career as a company of one.
This second post covers the 3 keys required for a successful company of one which requires collaboration, calmness and connectedness.
These three behaviors are key to thrive in a company of tens of thousands too!
Collaborative.
A “Company of One” is a mindset that recognizes that every single individual succeeds only if one is highly collaborative with other people (and soon with AI).
This is true in a large, midsized and small companies.
Collaboration is critical for four reasons.
Complimentary Skill Sets: To get any job done inside an organization or by one self it will require other people to contribute their skills, craft, knowledge and labor to help achieve a goal.
Accessibility: In order to scale one’s talent one needs to plug and play into other other peoples super powers. You want a friendly API to be easy to connect to.
Reputation: When one reaches out for help there is an inclination to reach out to people who are easy to work with. Less the drama and soap opera and deep sighing the more one will find there is demand for one’s skills. It is critical to avoid being labeled “difficult to work with”. People will rather work with “very good and easy to deal with” then “excellent but very difficult.”
Speed: Being collaborative ensures speed. Think of how much friction there is when one is dealing with non-collaborative people. Lots of heat but little light. In the future speed will be even more key.
Connected.
To thrive it is critical to be connected.
Connected to and aware of the latest trends in ones field.
Connected to the best tools and technologies that are available.
Connected to the key folks in one’s industry and craft.
Connected to how one’s work drives and is linked to outcomes.
Think about the people you reach out to in your firm or outside it and you will find that you want your key connections to be “connected”.
And connected is a mindset that any person even if they are operating by themselves can engender.
Invest time in learning and being exposed to the key trends in one’s field and take the time and if necessary use one’s own funds to ensure that one is using the latest tools.
Many of the latest tools are very cheap and so do not wait for a company to get them or give them. It is our job to be on the cutting edge so we are not left on the cutting floor.
Read and listen to the the best people in one’s fields. Everyone is accessible everywhere and often for free via You-Tube, podcasts, X, Tik-Tok, LinkedIn and other platforms. Professionals who are passionate about their craft can access and learn from anyone. Leverage everything the Learning and Development teams in your company provide. These are critical people. But if you need more ask for it or go get it on your own.
Connected to outcomes means focusing on the cool shit versus fixating or describing how one’s colon works. A big risk in a company is to confuse process for product or blame the lack of outcomes on some bureaucracy. Clients and the market place do not give a fig if you live in a constipated firm!
Feed the firm some fiber.
Calm.
"Freedom is a calm mind."
― Shane Parrish
Think about the co-workers you most cherish.
They are likely to be collaborative.
And they are connected.
But it is also likely that many of them are calm.
Work is drama.
That is a fact that few can argue with.
It is filled with surprises from competition, clients, technology, politics, and a myriad number of forces.
Work is a soap-opera.
Each of us are dramatic players emoting, swooning, falling and resurrecting.
That is human.
But since we are at work and have to deliver results and are not actors or actresses in a soap opera or drama we eventually have to chill and calm down and carry on.
Decisions made under emotional stress tend to often be wrong. So it is best to be calm or seek out people who can help one see clearly and feel calm.
This is true in a company of many but particularly if one is working by oneself since calmness signals confidence.
Calmness means not confusing activity with outcome and not appearing desperate.
Just as banks often do not lend money to the people who most need it the likelihood of being hired when you most need a gig or appear desperate is slim since the buyer wonders what is wrong with us.
So calmness is all.
Net to succeed in a company think like a company of one which is highly collaborative, deeply connected and calm filled.
Rishad Tobaccowala leverages forty years of global experience across dozens of industries to help leaders and companies thrive in transformative times.
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