A few days ago I was cleaning out some of my bookmarks and came across Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto for Growth. I'm a big fan of manifestos. There's something revolutionary in them that I love. I also dig the idea of making a public declaration of my beliefs. It forces me to really think about what they are.
For several months now, I've been working with a partner, discussing the mistakes we see in how companies manage their people and the kinds of mistakes that people make in managing their individual careers. The world is changing more rapidly than we can really keep up and it seems to us that new things are required for how we all operate.
At any rate, through this blog and its companion, Bamboo Us (written by my partner) we intend to explore the issues that face both individuals and organizations in the 21st century (that sounds a little grand, actually). More to the point, we want to explore the ideas that can help us all work better and make work better in a changing world.
So our manifesto. . .(a work in progress and in no particular order):
1. Life is too short to focus on "overcoming your weaknesses." We have far more weaknesses than we could ever overcome anyway.
2. You should live a little bit of your future every day. Even if you're not sure what that future is, take a step toward it, no matter how small
3. Life is more fun when you're on the right bus, sitting in your favorite seat.
4. Live your values. Know what they are, revisit them often and always seek to keep your life and your career in alignment with what you believe.
5. Change something small every day. It will help you learn how to take on the big changes. And sometimes it will help you avoid "big" changes altogether.
6. Stop courting perfection. It's a myth and a lie perpetrated by those who would have you believe that you can control the world. You can't. So give it up.
7. Build a career from your strengths and find ways to manage around your weaknesses. Then help others do the same.
8. Embrace your mistakes. They will teach you far more than your successes.
9. "Do what works. Kill what doesn't. Repeat." (borrowed from Seth Godin)
10. Know the rules. Then break 'em and make up your own.
11. Let your experiences shape you, like water shapes the rocks over which it flows. Don't try to dam the water or divert it to another course. It will find find you. Let it do its work.
12. When everything's going right, the universe is trying to tell you something.
13. When everything's going wrong, the universe is trying to tell you something.
14. For the individual, professional development is a right, not a privilege. For an organization, it's an investment, not an expense. For everyone, learning is the bedrock of success.
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