Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing.”
But how do you write things worth reading in a world where so few people are reading anymore?
Most of what is on the Internet is video and garbage. It’s not worth watching. Yet that’s the medium that we consume.
Perhaps the modern equivalent is to do things worth making a TikTok reel about.
Old Ben must be rolling in his grave.
Virtue is moral, physical, and mental excellence.
Most major religions and philosophies recognize four “cardinal” virtues: courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. Each of these virtues helps us develop the aforementioned excellence.
Why are they called “cardinal?” The word “cardinal” comes from the Latin cardo, which means “hinge,” the things upon which a door pivots.
This is an apt description, as these are the virtues on which a life of excellence pivots.
The most beneficial thing a leader can do in 21st-century knowledge work is to allow employees to spend most of their working hours applying the high-value, high-return skills for which they were hired.
They should be allowed to do this without being encumbered or distracted by the “busy work” of modern knowledge work, such as email, Slack messages, and administrative overhead.
Imagine if it had been necessary for Charles Darwin to respond to 40 letters a day. How long would it have taken him to publish On the Origin of Species?
Or what if Mozart had to deal with five unplanned visits from other musicians every hour? Would he have become the musical genius we now know him to be?
Yet, between instant messaging software, email, and open-office pop-ins (for those not working remotely), these hypothetical scenarios are everyday occurrences for most of us.
It’s no wonder we feel overwhelmed, overworked, and chronically unproductive, even with all the stuff we’re doing.
The solution, then, is to build workflows and processes so that your teams can spend less time discussing tasks that need to be done and actually complete those tasks (while also having the slack necessary to think and rest).
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