Stay focused on value

We’ve all been there. You’re talking to your colleague in a heated discussion about whether to put the chart on tab 4 of your Master Spreadsheet into slide 16 of your department deck or slide 18 after the “department objective progress recap” slide.

Instead of wasting your life arguing over pointless shit, why don’t you delete both files and give half the department the day off so they can do something useful with it.

At some point, your department lost its way. Once upon a time it was designed to [insert corporate values from your stupid HR department here] but now it [insert lame metaphor for aging poorly here].

Think carefully about how your time translates to your company’s competitive advantage or customer delight or get ready to get fucked by a current or new competitor before you have time to take advantage of that wonderful 401(k) matching.

Getting fucked doesn’t always mean your giant company will actually crumble.

It can mean limited opportunities to do meaningful work, waiting years for that sweet new role, or a salary that isn’t rising 20-25% each year. This list is not exhaustive, but these can be indicators that you’ve lost your way.

Reframe your department in the context of serving your larger business goals and you’ll find that pointless arguments disappear. If you get into a battle of how best to achieve that goal, then you’ll want to start thinking about experimentation and execution.