Success without burnout sits on four printed playing‑cards wedged under the edge of my monitor. Coffee‑stained and dog‑eared, they travel with me from desk to off‑site because I need the reminder daily. These truths are simple, not easy—and that’s exactly why they matter.
If any of them resonate, screenshot the carousel at the end or grab the printable PDF to print your own deck and slide them under your monitor.
Assume Positive Intent
Most conflicts start with mis‑read motives. Treat colleagues as allies, not opponents, and you’ll be amazed how many “problems” evaporate.
Why do we mis‑read each other so easily? Communication style, listening intent, context, and a million other subtleties keep reshaping every message. In face‑to‑face conversation a raised eyebrow or gentle pause carries nuance; in Slack, Teams, email, or forum threads that nuance flattens. Then we add another distortion layer—AI tools now rewrite our drafts, sanding edges we meant to keep or adding polish we never intended. No wonder alignment drifts.
Assuming positive intent isn’t naïve; it’s an antidote to these signal losses. Begin by asking, “What else might they mean?” and offer the same grace you hope your AI‑autocorrected message receives.
- Early‑career lens – Pause for one clarifying question before you fire back on Slack.
- Mid‑career lens – If a Slack message lands sideways, jump on a five‑minute huddle or voice note to clarify intent; proactive context‑setting preserves peer trust.
- Leadership lens – Model curiosity instead of blame when things go sideways; your team will copy you.
- Leadership lens – Model curiosity instead of blame when things go sideways; your team will copy you.
Real‑life spark – A product manager and engineer were at loggerheads over scope creep. One five‑minute call to surface assumptions turned a sprint‑blocking feud into a shared quick‑win.
Deliver After the Invitation
A warm intro gets you the meeting; delivery earns the return invitation—and the promotion. Connections might open doors—”they knew someone” critics love to point that out—but the right to stay in the room is won by the value you deliver after you walk through it. Treat every invite as a launchpad to carve your own path; your delivery is what validates the shortcut.
- Early‑career lens – Within 72 hours of the intro, ship a scrappy proof‑of‑concept (mock‑up, data pull, or prototype) that shows you grasp the brief—speed builds trust.
- Mid‑career lens – Within the first month, convert that proof‑of‑concept into a repeatable playbook the team can run without you—systemising cements credibility.
- Leadership lens – In the first fortnight, translate the invite into a quantifiable win (e.g., a 1 % performance bump or an hour‑a‑day process cut) and broadcast the metric—results trump titles.
Pro‑tip – Keep a running “Commit & Deliver” list in your notes app. Cross items off in real time—micro‑dopamine hits that reinforce the habit.
Have I lost trust before? Absolutely. A missed deadline or half‑baked deliverable erodes confidence fast, and trust is slow to win back. The remedy: make smaller, clearer commitments, establish a new baseline of reliability, and deliver—every time—until your word holds weight again. Create a ‘second brain’ for you to dump your committments so they’re not lost.
How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything
Be honourable and kind even on the smallest task; it compounds like interest. Colleagues often judge a project—and you—through a lens you never see: a past experience, a second‑hand anecdote, or a Slack reply taken out of context. Every micro‑interaction feeds the perception of who you are, not just the deliverables you deem “important.” Cultivate that perception everywhere.
- Early‑career lens – Turn in meeting notes that are typo‑free and action‑tagged; attention to the mundane signals future‑lead potential.
- Mid‑career lens – Run a monthly “digital footprint” audit—refresh stale docs, archive dead links, polish README files; invisible tidy‑ups signal visible pride.
- Leadership lens – Update status docs on time and join calls promptly; when leaders sweat details, craft cascades downward.
- Leadership lens – Update status docs on time and join calls promptly; when leaders sweat details, craft cascades downward.
Tiny habit – Before hitting Send, ask: “Would I be proud to screenshot this to my future self?” Then add: “If this message represented my entire brand, would I still send it?”
This Too Shall Pass
Actor Tom Hanks once said the most valuable lesson he learned is simply “This too shall pass.” Feeling crushed because a launch flopped? This too shall pass. Riding high because everything you touch turns to gold? This too shall pass. Most of what we obsess over is temporary—hold successes lightly and failures even lighter.
- Early‑career lens – Journal one lesson when things tank; celebrate one micro‑win when they soar.
- Mid‑career lens – Build a highlight‑and‑lowlight reel each quarter (two slides, max) to remind yourself—and your team—how quickly the roller‑coaster turns.
- Any lens – When you’re low, set a 60‑second perspective checkpoint: “Will this matter in six months?” When you’re high, ask the same question—then bank the energy rather than the ego.
Field note – Our “disaster” launch of Q2 2019 felt terminal on Friday; by Monday it was material for a conference talk that powered three product breakthroughs.
Try This Week
- Pick one truth and practise it every day.
- DM me (or comment below) with what changed.
- Replace the card that resonates least—your own truth might belong there.
Check‑Your‑Card Quiz
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Did I assume positive intent at least once today? | ☐ | ☐ |
| Did I deliver something tangible within the promised window? | ☐ | ☐ |
| Did I polish a small task to a high standard? | ☐ | ☐ |
| Did I remind myself that today’s high or low is temporary? | ☐ | ☐ |
Tick your boxes at day’s end; any unchecked cards show you tomorrow’s focus.
Ready for deeper balance? Return to the Manifesto or explore the Self‑Talk Traps & Kinder Reframes for practical mindset tools.** Return to the Manifesto or explore the Self‑Talk Traps & Kinder Reframes for practical mindset tools.
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