The Adaptability Premium

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I was recently listening to a podcast with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison where he discussed the value of being able to adapt which made me think of one of my favorite Marine Corps sayings, “Adapt and overcome.” (As an aside, if you haven’t checked out some of the beautiful books that the Collison brothers publish and re-publish through Stripe Press I highly recommend).

Collison referred to this ability to adapt as the “Adaptability Premium”, highlighting it as one of the most important differentiators of success for any leader or team.

Colloquially referred to in the Marine Corps as “Semper Gumby”, aka Always Flexible, this ability to adapt and overcome is core to the way the Corps operates. In a world that seems to be accelerating the pace of change through technology and the removal of any real barrier to the transfer of knowledge, information, and ideas the ability for a leader to adapt and overcome is more important than ever.

I’m grateful for the lessons the Marine Corps taught me regarding improvisation as they’ve given me a unique perspective on the ability to embrace change throughout my professional career. These lessons broadly fall into three categories:

1. Embrace improvisation

2. Have an elastic mind

3. Temperament above all else (aka chill out)

Embrace improvisation

The Marine Corps is big on what is known as "hand and arm signals" which facilitate non-verbal communication in a tactical environment. My favorite hand signal (not featured in the linked official resource) was when things started to veer well off course and you would look over at your buddy for some guidance only to see them flapping one of their arms chicken wing style at you.

This non-standard signal was enlisted Marine speak for “wing it” and never failed to bring a smile to my face despite the intensity of the situation.

There’s a real leadership lesson to be learned in this unofficial signal though. Don’t fight improv, embrace it.

General Eisenhower put it best when he said, “Plans are useless. Planning is indispensable.”

Rule number 5 of improv is my favorite to remember here, “Play in the present and use the moment.”

Thinking about change as “play” while “using the moment” instead of fighting it. These are the principles you should embrace to leverage the best of improvisation to succeed through change.

Have an elastic mind

Really just a subset of the above point on improvisation, I’ve observed that people who have an elastic and flexible mind are much better at adapting than those who have an inflexible set of principles or beliefs.

Perhaps elasticity of mind is just a subset of humility, but the more allowance you make for the fact that you might be wrong the more likely you’ll be to adapt. The more hiring I do, the more value I place on this trait.

One of my mentors in the Marines loved to say, “firm convictions loosely held” which I’ve come to adapt as a useful motto for building an elastic mind.

Cultivating an elastic mind is difficult to do because I don’t think human beings like to be challenged on their core beliefs. Put differently, to remain elastic requires an intentional effort.

Read and listen broadly, consistently seek out advice from people who have backgrounds or beliefs different from your own, be able to effectively articulate the counterposition to your belief, and above all else always be suspicious of your biases.

As Mark Twain says, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

Temperament above all else

The term “chicken little” is perhaps an unflattering description, but we’ve all worked with people who believe the sky is always falling. Whether it is an innate sense of pessimism, a flair for the dramatic, or an inflexible mind this persona is as old of a trope as tropes get. Avoid this sky is falling mentality in yourself above all else and avoid it in those you work with whenever possible.

Aside from outright jerks, there’s perhaps no person I’d rather work with less than someone who runs around with the above mindset.

Temperament is so important in a leader leading a team that’s trying to do something hard. When you find yourself getting worked up that things aren’t going the way you planned remind yourself to chill out. Complaining that the world didn’t work out the way you wanted it to won’t help you succeed. Action is the only antidote, you’re far better served to remain calm and get to work.

One of my favorite modern authors has a mantra I like to embrace when things aren’t going my way, “no problem, no story.”

Better reframed for leaders as, “no problem, no growth”, this mindset helps me remain calm and detach from the outcome as I temper my expectations. This tempering of expectations lets me, hopefully, remain a steady hand at the wheel and can help you to do the same. Problematic situations are chaotic enough as is, adding your own anxiety and worry to the chaos stew won’t help your team continue to move forward so don’t do it.

As my favorite embodiment of that stiff upper lip uniquely associated with the United Kingdom reminds us, “keep calm and carry on.”

Conclusion

As you hire and build teams or look to become a better leader yourself remember the value of adaptability with the following three principles:

1. Embrace improvisation

2. Have an elastic mind

3. Temperament above all else (aka chill out)

Adapt and overcome. See y’all next week.