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Inflation is a genuine problem, with many fathers.   Fewer people are paying attention to the drivers of deflation.  For example, these technology platforms (which drive enormous business models) are fundamentally deflationary: 

DNA sequencing 

Robotics 

Sensors 

Machine learning & algorithms  

Blockchain  

By deflationary I mean that these technologies become cheaper rapidly and require less and less human labor to generate disproportionately large economic gains.   Said another way, jobs don’t grow at the same rate as economic gain when organizations use these technologies in their business models.  GDP grows through productivity gains while the hours worked declines. This amplifies the “wealth divide,” particularly when our education systems are still optimized to turn out worker drones rather than entrepreneurs and self-directed learners.  

There are no simple or straightforward “solutions” to these trends.  Neither inflation nor deflation are uniform; there is a distribution of impact severity over peoples and time.   Multiple powerful incentives drive the changes. Riding this tiger is fun until it isn’t, and the dismount is downright scary. 

I suggest we use two lenses to assess options and consider our paths forward: 

1. Meaningful work which supports families.  There is a correlation between addictions – opioid overdoses killed more than 100,000 Americans in the last 12 months — and lack of meaningful work.  Work is good for us.  Work that supports families is good for our social fabric. 
2. Willingness to sacrifice today for a better future.  There is effectively zero willingness in our political discourse today.  Deferred gratification is no less critical for countries than it is for individual citizens.   

I suggest these because they’re integrated lenses requiring maturity and tradeoffs.  There are those among us who are called to work on foundational and underlying issues – healthy masculinity and femininity, education in an era of exponential technology, practicing forgiveness and citizenship, discernment, rediscovering the value of connecting the divine and the ‘secular,’ and so on.  Yet we still need some way to integrate our efforts, a mechanism that supports conscious optimism.  We choose X even though it’s inconvenient or less valuable to some, because it leads to a better overall outcome.  (In math terms, a global optimum rather than a local optimum.)  The “we” here is important, too.  History is replete with example of the poor choices of a few who were powerful or influential.  The best choices will align with trustworthy revelation, not just what our flawed guts tell us in the moment.

I call on adults to lead.  Eugene Peterson’s translation of Ephesians 4:14-16 show us the way:

No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

So much project work gets stretched out over days and weeks and months!  Concentrated time to finish a deliverable is powerful.  You’re often better off not working on a small project at all for three or five weeks if you can engineer time for the right people to come together to finish the project with a few hours or days of focused effort.  

I remind you of Leonard Bernstein’s insight: “To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.”  

Do everything you can to squeeze out chronological days.  The return on speed is exponential, not linear.   Efficient execution begets more and better results. This pattern of work will set you apart as a powerful contributor.  

Strengths are things which we’re naturally good at, and things where we’ve achieved some level of mastery.  Uniqueness is the intersection of strengths and life experiences.  Many people have great strengths in an athletic endeavor, but every athlete is unique because no two people have precisely the same experiences.  Many people have become great fathers and mothers, but even though all parents have some common experiences with children, no two parents have precisely the same life experiences.

Key questions: What are your strengths? What life experiences amplify those (or weaken them)?

When I ask someone about weaknesses, they can rattle on for 10 minutes or write 2 pages quickly.  (In my experience narcissists struggle with that.  It’s a tell.)  Most people have more difficulty homing in on their strengths. Think about both what you know as well as what you can do easily compared with others. 

• What work tasks do you gravitate to because they’re easier?
• When you have an unexpectedly free 5 minutes, what’s your first thought about what to do?
• Who comes to you for help and why?
• When do people say “Wow!”?
• List areas of interest where you’ve read more than 3 books, attended conferences, spent more than $2000 in the last year, subscribed to email lists, commented in online forums, been part of a group for more than 6 months, etc….
• What formal degrees and certifications do you have? 
• What subjects from school can you still use and teach to others who don’t know it as well as you do?
• What machines can you run?  Maintain?  Build?
• Where do you have expertise to distinguish professional work from a somewhat competent hobbyist?
• What movies can you quote from, or tell people the entire plot, start to finish?  Which songs do you have memorized?
• When do you quickly decide you need to get someone else to do X because you’re not good at it?  What things do you resist delegating even if you know you should because “it’s easy” for you?

Let’s think about your experiences:

• Where have your lived and what’s it like there?  Favorite and least-favorite memories?
• Where have you vacationed or traveled to?  What do you remember?  What lessons did you take away?
• What jobs have you held where someone paid you?  How and why did you progress from one job to another?
• What volunteer positions have you held for more than 6 weeks or 6 months?
• What do you recognize as big milestones in your life?  (And would others also say they are big milestones?)  Think again, can you think of others?
• What activities tend to leave you more energized?  Which activities do you do as a duty but are draining?

Finally, let’s consider relationships.  (I don’t want to get into a therapy session, but this is a useful way to think about your strengths and experiences.)

• Where are their relationship joys (even silly and memorable moments) with your family members?
• Where do your relationship scars come from?  How visible are those scars to others?  How have those scars made you today?
• Who can you call at 2am and they won’t think less of you?
• Who is in your closest circle of friends?  (Friends, not Facebook “friends.”)  And in the next circle?  If you haven’t talked with one of these friends in two years, which ones can you pick up a good conversation with immediately, and what does that tell you?
• Who do you consult when you need the kind of advice that a Google search can’t give you?  Who would you never ask for this kind of advice?
• Which local or regional leaders can you contact and expect they’ll listen because of their relationship with you?
• Where does your heart ache for deeper relationships? 

… This exercise is worth an investment of time.  The outcome has ROI!  Make some notes, let it ferment in your mind, and come back to over a few days. 

This simple process will set you apart from 98% of your competitors for the next promotion and career opportunity:

1. Use 10 minutes of focused thinking to identify something which you should be working on 5-8 weeks from now.  Maybe it’s a predictable deliverable like a budget, a process review, or helping a new hire.  Maybe it’s developing a new product or service, or doing market research.  Maybe it’s improving your relationships with key stakeholders.  
2. Get on your calendar and schedule working time for yourself and meetings with others.  You and practically everyone else has plenty of open time on their calendars 5-8 weeks from now.  

Once you get better at this process, use the same approach for longer timescales!  What is something that you should be working on 1-2 years from now?  This is executive-level thinking and action.

Over the years I’ve held different roles and signed up with multiple relevant vendors, conferences, and newsletters.   This created a steady stream of potentially useful information.  

Now that I work in an unrelated area, the emails are still coming in.  I either ignored or deleted them for a long time.  Deleting was especially nice.  You get a little “happy juice” moment in your brain when you shorten your inbox list quickly.  

A few months ago I realized that these were simply distractions.  They aren’t relevant.  I’m not gaining anything by even seeing the subject line.  The sender thinks I’m still a good audience member when I’m not.

Remembering what Andy Stanley says — “What distracts us is never as important as what we’re being distracted from” — I just unsubscribe from each mailing list as they come in.  Takes 30-60 seconds for each, which is an investment in reduced distraction going forward.

Distractions come in many forms.  What can you do to “unsubscribe” from no-longer-relevant signals in your work environment?  

The people in your organization who are easiest to promote, and most likely to given new opportunities are the individuals who are known by more senior leaders.  This is simply a fact about how human organizations work. 

If people in your team aren’t on the radar of more senior leaders, including your bosses boss, then:

• You’ll have a more difficult time getting them promoted.  The decision-makers might say “I’ve never heard of Bob. Why should we believe he’s ready for the next level of responsibility?”
• You’ll have to work much harder to give them a strong rating in a fixed-distribution performance rating process.  “We only have X slots for the highest rating, and how could Jill deserve one if I’ve never heard about her work?”
• You’re going to struggle to defend their contribution in a “steel cage death match” meeting to decide which positions to eliminate.  “Since we haven’t heard about this person’s work, it much not be critical to the organization compared to others.”
• Your team members less likely to be appointed to new roles.  “We decide to ask Jose to stretch into that role, since we know he’s successfully taken on tough challenges before.”

You have a leadership responsibility to help other leaders know about your team members.  Here are four practical suggestions:

1. Invite your team members to give short presentations to your boss, or the whole leadership team.  Give them strong coaching so they can shine.
2. Forward email messages to senior leaders (not just your boss) about project work and accomplishments, even situations where someone is effectively working on a difficult problem.  Add some commentary notes so they have context.  Point out where this demonstrates greater potential for contribution in new roles in the future.  (Bonus level:  Ask your team member to write an email message that’s designed to be easy to forward.)
3. Mention individuals by name.  Don’t only say, “My team….” Give credit to the individual(s).  Repeat their names.
4. Go all out in project reviews, talent reviews, and succession planning to document the capabilities and accomplishments of your team members.  Outline how they’re improving. Give concrete examples of “soft skills” as well as specific deliverables. 

These are important leadership habits and practices.  Savvy senior leaders will notice what you’re doing and give YOU better opportunities in the future, too.

The first time I studied 1 John to really understand it, I was puzzled by the closing sentence: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”  It’s the only time the word ‘idols’ appears in the whole letter.  After a while I realized he was writing about idols all along without using that word.

Idols are anything we worship which is out of step with the true character of God.  Everyone will worship something (and likely many things) because humans are designed to worship and serve. 

We don’t use the language of idols much except when we’re speaking in “Christianese” to others who are also fluent in Christianese.

Perhaps we should consider using the word ‘addiction.’  That resonates today.  We have both good and bad addictions.  Humans are neurologically prone to addiction.  The pleasure and pain reinforcement loops are incredibly powerful, even though we have agency and will.  Everyone has at least tasted of the power of addiction. Therefore, we have a long-suffering sympathy for addicts who try and try and try again to escape a life-stealing addiction.

We can foster good addictions. Addictions to smiles, hugs, laughter, simple rhythms.  Addictions to good books and rich stories.  Addictions to simpler foods and plain water.  Addictions to walking and movement and flexibility.  Addictions to praise and worship of the One who is Worthy.

What happens if you get 5% better each year?  We’re an impatient species so it’s important to remind ourselves of the power of continued progress over time.

5% better each year means that after 30 years you’ll be 4.3 times better.

10% better each year?  You’ll be 17.4 times better.

What if you could reduce your weaknesses and vulnerability by 5% each year?  After 30 years you would be 5x less vulnerable.  10% reduction each year would mean you would be 25x less vulnerable.

Consistency matters immensely. This is a key part of playing the long game.  Especially when you can’t know precisely how long it is.

…

A friend is looking forward to retirement because of his increasing frustration with his job situation.  “Only 132 more Mondays, Glenn!  I can endure it.”

Years ago, I heard a men’s speaker describing how precious Saturdays are with his boys.  He calculated how many Saturdays he had left until his youngest son turned 18.  He bought that many marbles and put them in a big jar in his bedroom.  Each Saturday night he would take out a marble and throw it in the trash.  The shrinking jar of marbles became a powerful visual reminder of where to put his energy and attention.

Another friend of mine has been sober for over a decade.  He can tell you the years, months, and days since his last drink.  He has a calendar near his desk and every night he puts a red X through the day.  “I keep the chain going.”  He likes the advice of long-distance hikers: Never quit on a bad day.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

Numbering is important.  Numbering gives us perspective. Numbering helps us live better.

…

There are times when numbering does not help.  When the drill sergeant barks, “Do pushups until I get tired” it will not help to count.  When you’re sitting with your elderly loved one who no longer recognizes you because of advanced dementia, it will not help to count.  When you need to defeat the temptation to compare your life to another, counting will not help. When you’re in a situation with no possible way to see the end, the only counting which matters is whatever counting helps you get to the next day. Or the next hour.

…

Everyone you know is counting things, marking events and times – some excellent, some bitter, some bittersweet.  Remembering this helps us be generous and gracious with others.

…

One of the encouraging themes in the Bible is that God sees us.  He knows all our counting, from the number of hairs on our heads, to the days of our suffering in exile, to the days until we meet someone again, to the great Day of restoring all things.  This helps us trust God, even when our counting feels like a burden.

I recently heard these infuriating words four times in one week: “I’m working on it.”  No specifics about when I should expect results.  No sense of commitment.  The only polite thing I could do as a follow-up was to ask, “You’re obviously busy, so when should I ask you about this again?”

There is another way, a better way.

When you’re given a task or project that will take more than a few minutes, book the working time for it on your calendar based on priority, value, and deadlines.  Don’t just add it to a list that grows and grows.  Expect to adjust your schedule occasionally to allocate your time the necessary and best contributions you can make.  (In football terms, it’s not quitting, but calling an audible.)

This approach gives you influence and respect because you can say things like:

“Based on previous commitments, I can work on this next Tuesday and deliver it by the following Thursday.  Will that be ok?”

“Thanks for asking about that task we discussed last week.  I reserved time for it tomorrow and you’ll have the report at the end of the day.”

“I’ll need to confer with my boss about back-burnering two projects she’s asked me to deliver in order to work on this project before the start of next quarter.”

Don’t say “I’m working on it” when it’s only vaguely placed on your list. 

(Note: This is not an excuse to say, “I’m too busy” and avoid work.  Professionals will always be asked to do more, because the saying “If you want to get something done give it to someone who is already busy” is true.  The reward for doing excellent work is the opportunity to do more excellent work.)

Schedule work, making your calendar your servant. Deliver your commitments unless there are good reasons to shift priorities.  Speak accurately about when work will be executed and delivered.

You’ll earn respect and put credibility “in the bank” for the future.  You’ll stand memorably apart from people who mumble “I’m working on it” and don’t consistently deliver.

“Things are going downhill.”

“We need to stop this before it gets worse.”

“Back in my day we never had this mess.”

Embedded in these statements is an implicit “things used to be better.”  Sometimes that is true.  Yet there remains the pervasive idea that things are worse now and we need to “return to” something. 

Challenge question: “When were things great for everyone? At what point in history was 99% of the human race experiencing a life free of struggles and corruption and failing?”

When in history were these things — globally, for all peoples — not an issue?

• Lack of accountability
• Partisan news  
• Lying politicians and corrupt rulers
• Ungrateful youth
• Nepotism and favoritism surpassing competence
• Elders resistant to progress
• Racism, sexism, classism
• Elites believing they have the right ideas
• People believing wild rumors and rejecting facts
• Censorship and suppression of information
• Failures of masculinity and femininity
• Unfair employer practices
• Distrust in institutions
• Wealth spent foolishly

We have made enormous progress, and there is still progress needed.   People have experienced “Camelot” moments in time but they didn’t last and certainly didn’t include many people.   Heaven is in the future, not the past.  

Watch out for this: Many manipulators and unscrupulous leaders desiring power will constantly refer you back to some time “before X was lost.” The scrape the wounds rather than heal them because they know open wounds ooze energy and passion. They don’t want to solve the issue, just make promises in a way that pulls you into their orbit and fuels their desires. This is at the root of many mob behaviors.