The first management advice I ever received came from a manager I deeply respect, John.“Build a team of people who can do what you can’t.”I have never forgotten that advice, and it’s never let me done.Thank you for the wisdom, John.

Understanding history is trying to deeply know what the stakes were like for the people most impacted by an event, what was their life like, and how were decisions made. I feel that way when I look at a piece of music - understanding the composer’s life, the times the piece was written in, who it was for, what it was for, and how someone might have come to decide to write what they wrote. I feel that way about leadership - understanding the sensitivities of the teams I lead, what was at stake for them when they decided to take this job, or how they historically made decisions. History is more than books and long lectures. It’s culture. It’s embedding yourself deeply in the statement, “people like them did things like this.” Past is prologue.

The discipline I work in is known as Customer Success. What is that?It’s not customer support, and it’s not customer service. Customer Success is all about proactively pursuing value with customers. Here’s a simple way to think of it.Let’s assume you paid for this blog (you won’t!), but assume you did. As a customer success manager, I would proactively reach out to you to determine what posts you found most valuable, what you want to see more of, and what the posts helped you do. I would share your stories for others to see and be inspired by. What we need is People SuccessImagine how many things might be improved with a People Success team?EducationYour boss.Grocery shoppingFacebook! (I got off there for a reason)A concert (musicians - do you know what your audiences believe is the most valuable part of your show? If you don’t, I recommend starting now.)Gym memberships.The dentist’s office!Government services.Here’s how it might look like at the doctor’s office:You are welcomed. You are told that you are expected and that your wait will likely be 10 minutes, but in that time, they prepared a relaxing music playlist you could enjoy and had some tea for you. Then, minutes later, they let you know that the wait will be longer and they’ll give you the option to stay or reschedule at no cost to you and only at a time that’s convenient for you with no wait guaranteed. Excellent customer success would be the doctor’s office calling you 1 hour in advance of your departure time and letting you know that you’ll be waiting >15 minutes and giving you the option to reschedule. Customer Success is putting people first, thinking about what it means for them to be enrolled in what you have to offer, and then relentlessly finding ways to deliver value for those you seek to serve. It would be great if we stopped seeing that level of service and deep empathy as a way to create a commercial end, and instead, see it as a way to build a better and more helpful culture. But we have to start somewhere.Take care of the people in your lives. Relentlessly help them find and realize value.

I may have a deeply unhealthy affection for Dame Maggie Smith, and I may enjoy the Victorian’ness of the setting… but what I love most is a great story.

A great story does wonders: evoking emotions, motivating change, and driving action.

We are all telling ourselves stories about ourselves - now, at this very moment.

The story you are telling yourself is just as beautiful, as complicated, and as funny as the one I am telling myself.

… is what I told myself Saturday.Friday consisted of work, helping my mom, a gig, and a long drive home. Saturday consisted of errands, a gig, and a long drive home. I could complain about how tired I am… but I won’t.I won’t complain because I signed up for it - I decided. As a result of my decisions, I didn’t have energy to write yesterday and many of the other things I do to keep myself healthy. Was that a product of the day? No. It was a product of a decision. Holding ourselves accountable is not meant to be an awful and painful experience of self-loathing and blame; I see it as a retrospective of sorts. A chance to reflect on a decision and wonder: what worked and what didn’t, and how I might do better next time.Hopefully, I’ll have several hundred more weekends in my lifetime yet to live. I have several hundred (hopefully more) to make better decisions and get progressively better each time.

Criticism.Perhaps you are the type of person that avoids it like the plague? Perhaps you welcome it in abundance?When I have worked with people who dislike receiving criticism, often times they have felt that the criticism was a personal attack on them.What if we choose to saw criticism differently? How might we do that?Perhaps a simple reminder: Start with the assumption that the person critiquing us is our biggest fan and wants us to succeed.Great fans applaud your work, they also are quick to tell you when your work missed the mark. They do that because your success is personal to them.Who are these fans?Your family;Your boss;Your friend;The people who show up to your gig time after time;The people who respond to your posts;Your customers;Your employees;The passerby who cares.Your fans can come from anywhere - don’t discount them.Reversal - watch out for the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Some people are your fans because it’s convenient to be your fan; they will also stop when it’s convenient to stop. Their criticism matters little. If ever you’re in doubt, look at their behaviors (they always speak louder than words) and try to understand the beneficiary of their actions - likely, it’s themselves.Your fans are selfless and they love you.Embrace them.

Have you also noticed the amount of articles and books that have been written about decision-making?I find it large. But, that could also be the Google algorithm showing me more of that type of content.What if decision making wasn’t really that hard? What if it was simple?Oversimplified concept of decision-making:What are you trying to do?Does what you are trying to create a harm or hardship for someone else? Is that what you want? If Yes, decide how you will mitigate that harm and then proceed to next section. If No, go to the next section.Does what you are trying to do create a benefit for someone else? Is that what you want? If Yes, go to next section. If No, find a way to make what you are trying to do more generous if you can. If you can’t, go to next section.How will you live with the responsibility you will create for yourself? You’re on the hook for following through - how will you hold yourself accountable? How will others hold you accountable? Is that what you want? Once you have figured that out, go to the last section.How will you know to quit? How will you know it’s not working? How will you let others know? Will you quit?That two last sections are the hardest because they require you to think about accountability and sunk-cost; two things people struggle with most. Do we struggle because we don’t like the idea of having to do what we say we’re going to do? Or do we struggle because we’re afraid?

A cellist at a church gig told me, “time stops for no one, it knows only one path - forward." It’s true - in music, time only knows one direction - forward. And time, once the song starts, doesn’t brake for anybody. The song, and show, must go on. Singers, much to the chagrin of accompanists, like to do what is called “back phrasing” - they like to sing in a way that messes with time. If you listen to jazz or R&B - pick a singer from those genres and they’re probably doing it. Great singers know they do back phrase, they’re unapologetic about it, and they are direct in telling their back up bands - “hey, I back phrase this, don’t get me shit about it, if you want to change it, you sing the song.” I respect that.Why back phrasing? Why singers? Because we all back phrase. I (swallowing all of my pride) back phrase. I, like you, have moments where I get behind, or where I might want to get behind a bit. It’s okay! We all do it. We must be like great singers though. We must communicate to others, “hey, my route might be a bit off.. but it’s okay, I got this.”The people that accompany you in life will appreciate you for it. As Cellist Mike says, “forward.”

When you are leading and responsible for the work of others, your approach matters.Some leaders like to command and control - and that can work.I prefer to lead like musician… creatively.Instead of asking, “may I offer feedback?” or asking “well, what do you think you should do?“I like to ask questions like:Why did this idea or effort fail? Why do you think it worked?What if we could take what we’ve learned from this failure/win and try a revised approach? How might we do that? What it wold it mean for us and our customer to get this right?In this failure, what went right? How might we capitalize on what we know works?Are we failing differently each time? Or are being insane?And here’s the thing, you can ask these questions of yourself, too. Great leaders not only are effective at leading others, they effectively self-lead themselves.

Sometimes I make yogurt to remind myself that I can.It feels good to know that I have acquired knowledge of how to turn a simple ingredient into a new product that I can use. Find an activity that reminds you that you can make things - food, yogurt, bread, wood working, a garden, a blog entry, or a friend. Recipe for yogurt:Heat milk (I use raw milk) to 90C stirring often;Take milk off the heat and let it cool to 35-40C;(While milk is cooling) Set aside 1 cup of kefir for every 2 gallons of milk.Once milk has cooled, mix the kefir with the milk and give it a good stir. Put that container (I use a big stock pot), in the oven with the light on and leave it there overnight (no heat). The next morning, enjoy yogurt. If you want it firmer, put it to the refrigerator. Note: The longer you let the yogurt incubate the more sour your yogurt will become. Kefir yogurt almost never goes bad!