Are you in touch with your Future Self? He may hate you ...

Published 6 months ago • 2 min read

Hey Reader

Coming back from holiday and a very busy period got me thinking about the philosophy of life, he he ...

Don't worry

I won't bore you with that but I will share what is relevant to leaders and those who are aspiring to leadership. I also shared those thoughts on LinkedIn if you want to comment.

But feel free to respond to this email and share your experience.

Tell me what YOU think. I'm still maturing these ideas.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿: 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻'𝘀 "𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳"?

It's Monday morning in Leamington Spa (well, it was when I write that in my Journal); a good time for strategic reflection.
Leaders are constantly balancing present demands with future aspirations.

𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣?

I had a profound shift in perspective during a recent deep-dive strategy session. I started thinking of my "𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳" not as some vague distant concept but as a very real stakeholder whose success depends entirely on the decisions and groundwork I lay down 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.

My past self made choices that brought me here; the onus is now on me to rigorously define what my Future Self truly needs to thrive.

Through an intense period of reflection and dialogue this past week, I was able to cut through a lot of noise and crystallise what I now call the "𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀" for that Future Self.
These aren't just 'nice-to-haves'; they are the absolute non-negotiable foundations – like ensuring robust health, financial stability, the right skills (CEng registration in view for me!), and a resilient mindset. For the clarity this focused process brought, I am deeply grateful. It's like identifying the critical, load-bearing pillars in a long-term construction project.

This immediately brought to mind a parallel in 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.

Beyond current projects and quarterly results are we [as leaders]
• Truly acting as dedicated stewards for our organisation's "Future Self"?
• Are we identifying and embedding those fundamental "eliminatory conditions": the core cultural tenets, the talent pipelines, the innovation capacity, the ethical frameworks; that will ensure the organisation not only survives but flourishes years down the line?
• Are we building the assets and mitigating the profound risks for that future entity with the same diligence we apply to our own personal 'Future Self'?

It’s a challenging mandate, but a vital one.

What "eliminatory conditions" are you championing today to ensure the success and resilience of your team's or organisation's "Future Self"?

P.S.

I'm about to clone myself into an AI agent, to give back to the community of engineers and make YOUR work more efficient. Reply and tell me what are your most pressing problems, what skills you'd like help with to learn or to do your job?

P.P.S.

I was busy busy and I missed some of these updates. But exciting things are cooking - keep posted!

Are you able to guess what? Reply and tell me! Many pats on the back to those who guessed right ... 👍🥳