As humans we tend to overestimate what we can do in a year and massively underestimate what we can do in ten years.
Humans.
Funny creatures aren’t we.
If only we could better understand how the human animal works, I truly believe we could solve many of the biggest challenges in our world.
As humans we have our unique quirks, our individual personalities, our biases, our own distinct set of human emotions.
The notion that the better you understand human beings, the better you do at business, has been a guiding force for my work for a long time.
It is this idea which I want to explore and which builds on my talk where I was thrilled to be invited back to be the closing guest speaker at the Garden Centre Association 2024 Conference for a second year running.
The overall theme was the future of garden retailing and it was fascinating to be in the audience before my talk and to be able to listen to brilliant thought leaders like Ed Gillespie, Mark Stevenson and Hannah Critchlow.
To hear the important messages around what we can do in terms of the environment and sustainability, to look at how to attract future customers and the area of health and wellbeing.
In my talk, I drew on insights from my recent book, Be More Human – Re-thinking the Rules of High Performance Teamwork and its those themes and ideas that I want to revisit in this article.
Just before I dive in, I want to thank the GCA for encouraging me to embrace gardening! It’s been a year since I first spoke at the Garden Centre Association Conference and it must have been something in the air at GCA 2023 that got me to think more deeply about the importance of gardening for my wellbeing and enjoyment. It was early last summer that we properly set to work on our garden at home. A year in, we’ve come a long way.
Just for fun, I’ve put a before and after pic at the bottom of this article!
Enough of that. Back to Be More Human.
So why do we need to think differently.
You can’t navigate a new world using an old set of charts
Let me start with a story.
Lying off the north coast of the Isthmus of Panama, just east of the Panama Canal are the San Blas Islands, an archipelago comprising approximately 365 islands.
Some years ago I sailed there and was struck by the number of boats that had run aground on the coral reefs surrounding the islands.
On investigation, the reason quickly became apparent.
The nautical charts for the area were last updated by Captain Cook several hundred years ago.
In short, they were out of date and inaccurate and no doubt played a vital part in sending many of these boats to their final resting place.
I believe that the mental models and approaches that many of us are using today are similar to Captain Cook’s charts.
I think that we are trying to solve the problems of today with the solutions of yesterday.
Or to put it another way, I believe we are living in an age of exponential change, and using linear thinking to solve exponential problems
To quote McKinsey from 2023, the pace of change will never be this slow again.
We need, in short, different thinking.
So what exactly is this different thinking? What were the ideas I had to share with the GCA audience that can help with the Future of Garden Retailing?
I shared three themes from Be More Human. They were:
- Redraw the Charts
- Identity Flexibility
- Put People First
Let’s dive in
Redraw the Charts
The notion of Redrawing the Charts is that we need to pay closer attention in how we lead ourselves.
The pressures we face in a very fast moving world have multiplied and come from many angles. Recent statistics from McKinsey Health Institute show that one in four of us is experiencing burnout. You almost certainly know someone who has or is experiencing this. It might be you who is having challenges.
To me the notion of how we lead ourselves is too important to be left to chance.
I believe we need to deliberately, specifically and consciously lead ourselves.
I shared my journey to reach this insight.
It came from living at the extremes on the BT Global Challenge, known as the worlds toughest yacht race.
A race where we were at sea for 40 days at a time in the most remote and inhospitable parts of the world.
A race where initially results and boat speed trumped all else.
A race where we came unstuck because we weren’t taking care of ourselves and we weren’t taking care of each other.
The crunch point (literally) was when we crashed our boat and put us and the other boat out of the race for that part of the voyage.
It prompted myriad reflections, thoughts and insights.
What could we have done differently?
For me, the insight was around self leadership and one component of this for me is the daily/ weekly/ annual habits chart where I deliberately, specifically and consciously choose the micro habits and rituals every day to hold myself accountable.
This for me is a key part of redrawing the charts for each individual and making better choices of what we each do.
It might be cold showers, mediation, time with family, time on your own. Whatever it is for you, the idea is to be more conscious and hold yourself accountable.
Identity Flexibility
The notion of Identity Flexibility is that we have a choice in the story we carry about ourselves. It’s not something we often think about and even less do we typically take the time to deliberately specifically and shape this story.
Why is the important?
In a world where AI is set to become more pervasive, where we don’t know what the jobs of the future will look like, I think unless we can adapt our identities to a changing world, we will find things difficult.
How many people do you know who define their identity or at least a decent part of it by their job role.
What happens when the job role changes or that job is no longer there.
What happen to that person and their sense of identity then?
Psychologists refer to the idea that we can change and evolve our identity, our self story, as a flexible identity.
I think this is a human skill set that we can’t be without.
In the film, Darkest Hour about Winston Churchill and an important turning point in the war, there is a very revealing line from Churchill.
As he prepares to take the mantle for his greatest challenge yet, he stands in front of his hat rack and asks himself the question:
What self shall I be today?”
He then selects the appropriate hat and walks out of the door.
It’s a moment in which he shows the power of having different identities. Identities and stories that we can use to empower us in different scenarios.
These things don’t happen by accident. They are as a result of thinking through the different parts of your life and who you need to be in each different situation.
Ever found yourself come home with a head full of work and 100% in work mode and you speak to your partner / children in a clipped work tone of voice {I’ve fallen into that trap more times than I care to remember}.
It’s worth reflecting on. For the different roles you play in your life, who do you need to show up as? At work, at home, with friends. What do you need to do to change your perspective.
I came this realisation as I realised I had to re-write the story of who I was.
The story of my home life.
The story of my work life.
The human realisation for me was that these things are under our control.
For me, the most useful identity I’ve ever scripted was that of being a learner. Something I’ve done for myself and something we have done as a family team with our “We Are Learners” painting.
What self will you be? What different story could you create?
Put People First
In business, no one can do it alone. We are all a part of teams, different teams and we work with others.
Some years ago, a coach shared with me the superb South African proverb:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.
One of the most human aspects of that is helping each person around you to unleash their unique talents and the contribution they can play.
Deloitte recently found that despite the billions spent by companies on leadership programmes, they found that 90% of the programmes don’t work!
On my journeys and in my research the single most effective tool I’ve ever found is that of focusing on strengths.
Of finding for each human being in your team what are their unique strengths and how they can be used to further the mission you are working on.
We did this in my businesses.
We did this as a family team on our sailing adventures.
The common link: it’s about finding how to get that shiny eyes thing for each person.
For you. If you ask people who know you well what is your superpower, they will be able to tell you. Ask a few people and start to spot the patterns.
I think that other people can so often see us better than we see ourselves.
Do the same thing for those in your teams, at work and and at home.
Its simple and incredibly powerful.
Planting Seeds
Learning what makes us as humans operate is the underpinning behind all I’ve shared here – it’s knowing what makes the human animal tick so that we can better navigate ourselves and those we work with.
Growing humans and teams is much like planting seeds. Add some nurture and take the long term view that I have been reminded of in both my events with the GCA and I think you have a pretty good formula for not just creating the results you want, but creating a feeling of fulfilment.
Back to my nascent gardening career.
This is where my garden was up to last summer. First time I’ve felt proud of a garden.
Same thing we need to do as humans at work. Find those things which light us up.
Happy Gardening and Happy Growing People!
Caspar Craven spoke at the GCA Conference 2024 and 2023 and is a leading authority on the Mindset needed to achieve Big Bold Goals and leadership speaker. To get his full set of 20 principles for achieving big bold goals, you can get these by messaging Caspar’s team at www.CasparCraven.com