Linchpin_ Are You Indispensable_ - Seth Godin [79]
prepared me for today's meeting."
The second sign of attachment is how you handle bad news. If bad news changes your
emotional state or what you think of yourself, then you'll be attached to the outcome you
receive. The alternative is to ask, "Isn't that interesting?" Learn what you can learn; then
move on.
We do this all the time, of course. You're playing pinball on a new pinball machine and
you see that the left flipper doesn't work the way you expect it will. You don't have an
emotional meltdown when the ball drains. No, you notice it, you learn from it, and your
next ball goes better. You have discernment. You can see what's happening and you can
learn from it. The flipper isn't about you, and the ball draining down the hole is not a
personal attack. It just is.
Interactions in the real world often feel more complex than a pinball machine. We assign
motivations and plots and vendettas where there are none. Those angry customers didn't
wake up this morning deciding to ruin your day, not at all. They're just angry. It's not
personal and it's not rational and it certainly isn't about whether or not you deserve it. It
just is. So now what are you going to do about it?
When our responses turn into reactions and we set out to teach people a lesson, we lose.
We lose because the act of teaching someone a lesson rarely succeeds at changing them,
and always fails at making our day better, or our work more useful.
The Two Reasons Seeing the Future Is So Difficult
Attachment to an outcome combined with the resistance and fear of change.
That's it.
You have all the information that everyone else has. But if you are deliberately trying to
create a future that feels safe, you will willfully ignore the future that is likely.
Yelling at the Ref
Tony is a professional sportscaster, and a good one. He can call a game on the radio with
such energy and detail that you feel as if you're there. He sees what's happening and lets
you know.
In his spare time, Tony loves pickup basketball. On the court, his discernment disappears.
A bad call enrages him. He screams and gets uptight. Every call feels as though it is
against him and his team, and he's sure that the ref is losing the game for him. It can take
him five minutes to settle back into his game.
The essential question of prajna is what to do about the ref. If you filter the calls through
your partisan point of view, of course you'll be upset. Who wouldn't be? The challenge is
determining if that filter is helping you thrive.
If you're able to look at what's happening in your world and say, "There's the pattern," or
"Wow, that's interesting, I wonder why," then you're far more likely to respond
productively than if your reaction is "How dare he!"
Effort Can Change Things
One of the fascinating aspects of business and organized movements is that there's some
correlation between the passion and effort that people bring to a project and the outcome.
This isn't true for the weather. Accept the day's forecast for what it is, because there's
nothing you can do about it. But market share, innovation, negotiations, human relations-they can be shifted with the right sort of insight and effort.
The challenge is in understanding when our effort can't possibly be enough, and in
choosing projects and opportunities that are most likely to reward the passion we bring to
a situation. If there's no way in the world you can please that customer with a reasonable
amount of effort, perhaps it's better to accept the situation than it is to kill yourself trying
(and failing) to change that person's mindset.
There's a difference between passively accepting every element of your environment (and
thus missing opportunities to exploit) and being wise enough to leave the unchangeable
alone, or at least work around it.
Zen at the Airport
You can learn a lot at a full-service counter at the airport, particularly on a snowy day.
Some travelers are adroit at navigating the outcomes dealt to them