Episode #207
Replace either-or thinking with the 'genius of and' to pursue multiple priorities without false tradeoffs.
Pause and identify the one thing you believe you can’t do without giving something up, then challenge that assumption and design for both.
Model both-and strategies from visionary companies and high performers to balance short-term results with long-term goals, and career success with family and health.
What's that one thing that you've always felt that you couldn't do, but you know you want to? But if you did that, you would have to give up something else.
One of the habits is the tyranny of the or. Actually, the visionary companies, their habit is the genius of and.
We live by this false dichotomy, this believing that there's an either or versus the both and, right?
“And” not “or” (19:25)
We are raised with an “or” mindset. You can be a firefighter or an astronaut. A doctor or a lawyer. A football player or a baseball player. However, this mindset doesn’t serve you well when incorporated into your psyche. You begin to agree with the cultural assumptions that you can be either a successful businessman or a good father but not both. That you can either be in shape or work long hours, but not both. These are simply false dichotomies that we accept without thinking about the real possibilities. In this episode, I give you examples of people living by the “And” mindset. Popularized by the landmark book “Built to Last,” I explore the opposing philosophies of “the tyranny of the or” and “the genius of the and” that Jim Collins and Jerry Porras discovered when researching visionary companies. This episode will open your eye to the ability to lead your life with a whole new perspective.
