Antifragile
I’ve had this article open in my browser for a few days and finally read it this morning. Here is one bit:
It was Andy Grove, former Intel CEO, who observed, “Bad companies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Great companies are improved by them.” In the 1960s, IBM CEO Tom Watson called an executive into his office after his venture lost $10 million. The man assumed he was being fired. Watson told him, “Fired? Hell, I spent $10 million educating you. I just want to be sure you learned the right lessons.” There are thousands of books about successful companies but virtually none about the lessons to be learned from those that crash and burn.
This week, I’ve been thinking about Nassim Taleb’s book Antifragile and the idea that some things actually gain from disorder. Generally speaking, things break down under pressure or stress but the idea that its possible to be improved by stress is a good one. Its much more than simply being resilient and tough, it means we actually benefit from bad things.
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I hadn’t really thought of myself as a creature of habit until my entire routine was upended, then I realized how much comfort I take in a certain amount of predictability in my days. Its hard not to be somewhat disoriented and feel a sense of anxiety right now. That feels normal but also a little fragile. By re-framing the situation and embracing the forced changes, a sense of optimism, even excitement, is possible. Abundance replaces scarcity, energy replaces fear.
Questions I’m asking myself: Rather than just “get through it” and endure, how can we find the opportunities to learn, grow and get better? How can I benefit as a person? What disciplines or practices can I double down on? What can we do as a Company to improve ourselves? How can I be more Antifragile.
