I gained a new perspective on this statement today while listening to Andrew Huberman, hubermanlab’s latest podcast with Rick Rubin, when breaking all the rules was touched upon early in the podcast.
When I first learned about this phrase and the book, it appealed to my rebellious self-image. When I read “First break all the rules”, what I heard in my head was “Just break all the rules”, and that is where my inquisitiveness ended.
When I heard the sentence today, after 2 decades under my belt, it stuck a different cord.
As a parent I had tried very hard to confine my children’s behvaiour within the rules of being a good human being
As manager of high performers (too many of them to count :)) I have always tried to provide boundaries of what a successful employee would look like, and today I wanted to hold my thought from the eyes of these 2 roles.
First the manager!
How will I manage an employee – a high performing one at that who doesn’t want to ALIGN to the rules? Worst still, has to break some of them so that the organization can be successful in the future and thrive in the ever-changing world? The more I think, and muse over it, the more funny it feels, as on “day one” in the induction meetings, we TEACH/PREACH rules of the organization.
The managers of the upcoming generation have to learn that experimentation is good, and possibly the chance for the survival of the organization through disruption. While there is comfort in the known, there is growth (pain) in the unknown.
HOW TO GET COMFORTABLE WITH THE DISCOMFORT. What tools does the manager have to re-wire thier thinking process, to allow it to happen, and not become the bottleneck?
“Managers you need help”! Develop this skill !
And now the Mommy!
As a parent, I find that phrase scary- how would I bring up a child who is required to “break all the rules” to find their own meaning?
When do I curb my child to play within the boundaries and when do I push her to play with the boundaries? When I curb, do I curb her creativity, when I push, do all boundaries become fluid.
Am I equipped as a parent to let the kite soar and not be scared that it will be lost?
Lost in my world, to be found in another?
The rapidly changing world requires the parents to be equipped with the capacity to allow experimentation to happen before the child settles down in their own space and defines the boundaries.
How do I learn to hold my fear down, as those fears are in my head, not as yet in my child’s!
As a parent we need to learn, we need to search for teachers/mentors/coaches. We need the humility that possibly we don’t know the best as yet, though that is our intent!
Andrew Huberman: Thanks for all your efforts.
Deepthy Raghavendra: Thanks for your reflections
#podcast#growth#engineering#managers#teachers#creativity#coach#future#mentor#learn#learning