Lately I’ve been putting more effort into trusting and verifying my instincts. When I recognize they’re trying to get me do something, I give them my full attention. Then I pry and rip (aka writing) these nudges from my intuition out into the open. I want them to exist separate from my imagination in a way that can be inspected and critiqued.
My guess is that I fail to untangle these moments two-thirds of the time. Likely more. But I keep trying because they always point away from: wildly waves hands in all directions.
The biggest instinct popping up right now, by far, is that small things matter and big things don’t. The big things don’t matter because they don’t exist. I can’t stress that last part enough.
It’s normal — admirable even! — to be ambitious. But mapping one big idea to one big dream never works. It treats the idea like a root cause, a silver bullet, a one-size-fits-all that never ends up playing nice with reality.
There’s power in small. The right small things done together multiply in value. A group of small things done well and in proper alignment can change the world.
The wrong small things work in a similar way. Three times three times three equals twenty-seven. When people start feeling a size twenty-seven dysfunction, they look around for a size twenty-seven reason. They find a few size three reasons and ignore them because the math doesn’t work. They’re adding — not multiplying.
What happens next?
A size twenty-seven problem is invented. Or, even more likely, a size twenty-seven solution is proposed without connecting it to a discernible problem at all!
Its speculation. It’s conjecture. It’s fiction. It can be made to sound authoritative and relevant. An academic level of rigor can be brought to bear to explain this hypothetical thing. It convinces almost everyone. Including you and me.
But it’s bullshit. It’s always bullshit.
It’s three small things in a trench coat. Every time. Every... single... fu—
Sorry. Got carried away.
I know this isn’t universally true. I know there are exceptions aplenty. But all my instincts over many years and across several companies are screaming that the small is what matters and the big is a lie. The screaming is getting louder and louder each year. And it’s accelerating. Even louder this month? This week?? Today???
For a while now I assumed I was loosing my groove. I now know that’s not true. It’s that all the joy of building tangible things of value with new and exciting tools and techniques are now all pointed at one big solution someone believes will fix all their problems.
It’s a mirage. An illusion. A dead-end. It’s big, boring, empty, and sad.
The deepest of sighs...
Does anyone else feel this way?
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