One of my favorite books in recent memory is The Algebra of Happiness by Scott Galloway, or as he's (in)famously know by, Prof G. In this short compilation of witty essays – an easy weekend read – Prof G waxes poetic in the form of math equations to determine how to life a happy and fulfilling life. Here's a great example from the book:
Resilience / Failure = Success
Everyone experiences failure and tragedy. You will get fired, lose people you love, and likely have periods of economic stress. The key to success is the ability to mourn and then move on. I've had a marriage fail, had businesses go bankrupt, and lost the only person who (at that point) loved me, my mom... all before I was forty. But blessed with a great education, good friends, some talent, and the best zip code in the world (USA), these were obstacles for me, not barriers.
As I've aged and (hopefully) matured in my career, I've found myself rallying against the idea of reading stacks of books on how to be an effective leader and instead try to focus my attention on a handful of people that inspire me, then drill into exactly why I'm inspired by them. Am I more inspired by the company they work for? Is there a particular accomplishment of those individuals I'm fond of? Do they take a contrarian stance on topics the business world has embraced for years or decades? I think it's a blend of each.
The most critical aspect of my current job is to evaluate recruitment and retention strategies for the team I manage, and I've found myself recently taking inspiration from Prof G's equations of life, but applied in a work setting. Specifically, I've derived my own equation to use as a North Star in my decisions:
Opportunity x Discipline = Potential
For every person on my team, and for every candidate I evaluate for a new hire, I use the following heuristic to determine next steps:
- Does this person have potential?
- Has this person been given the right opportunity to achieve that potential?
- Does this person have the required discipline if given that opportunity?
Let's start from the bottom and work our way up.
Employees that show little potential and discipline are ground zero for if you're hiring and retaining the right talent. Remember, "potential" doesn't always mean an assessment for promotion; it can be an assessment of potential in their current roles. This is where you can dig deeper into understanding what intrinsically motivates each person on your team, especially in this cohort. Traverse the symptoms until you arrive at the root problem, and you'll be surprised at the clarity that follows. In many cases, it's something you're doing wrong as a manager and not the other way around.
Employees with potential that just need better discipline are perfect candidates for coaching and mentoring, preferably in a one-on-one setting. Encourage them to listen, learn, and ask questions, and do the same yourself – you'll find that you learn just as much from them as they do from you. Build their confidence; give them challenging projects that are measurable but not overly-ambitious; let them fail and quickly recover; protect their time; give them the proper business context they need to succeed; finally, give them that opportunity. (Side Note: discipline to me DOES NOT mean grinding away 80+ hours a week, and I'll never encourage that.)
Finally, your highest achievers are those employees where the answer is "yes" to all three questions. Consequently, these employees are also the biggest flight-risk given how valuable they would be in any organization. Clear a path so these individuals can blaze a trail, and when they inevitably hit the end of the growth runway you can provide and it can't be extended, pivot to show support when they choose to move on to an even bigger opportunity elsewhere.
That's really it. Nothing more complex than asking those three questions, then following the playbook for each scenario. If this strategy isn't your cup of tea, then come up with your own algebra-derived strategies. Math can be... fun.