CEO Steven Bartlett on "leaning in" to change (#44)
The voice behind one of the top podcasts in the world on how to fight discomfort and embrace chance
Don’t run from ideas that make you uncomfortable, run towards them.
-Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO
If the only thing Steven Bartlett ever did was to shake off a poor immigrant upbringing, start a business at the age of 19, and earn millions of dollars in the process, I’d read his book. But he’s done far more than that.
In, Diary of A CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life, the Botswana-born, Bartlett highlights the lessons he’s learned coming from his meager beginnings, to owning multiple businesses, and running a podcast and media company ranked by Spotify as one of the top 10 largest in the world.
Reading the book is an education on psychology, marketing, and entrepreneurship. It’s also a library of lessons with practical tactics for implementation.
Today’s OGT highlights Bartlett’s “Law #5” about how to fight the urge to disregard the new and different. How to “lean into” change and leverage it to our advantage.
Let’s get it.
Lean into the bizarre
This law is responsible for every successful company I’ve ever built – it teaches you how to stay at the forefront of the rapidly changing world we live in, how to capitalise on change and how to avoid ever being left behind by any of the incoming technological revolutions.
The law is basically this: when there is change on the horizon—new technology, a different perspective, a visionary—fight the urge to push them away or put it out of your mind.
In fact, Bartlett says, you should do the opposite: you should lean into it.
When we don’t understand something, someone, a new idea or technology, and when that new thing challenges our identity, intelligence or livelihood, instead of listening and leaning in – in an attempt to ease our cognitive dissonance – we too often lean out and attack them. This might make us feel good, but an ostrich with its head in the sand is at great risk of being eaten.
This explains why the most important innovations in our lives received the most criticism when they were first introduced – they threatened to disrupt people’s sense of identity, intelligence and understanding.
Bartlett throws out some historical examples.
Though they are extreme, they make the point that even the smartest people in one era, tend to lean away from the next:
In 1903, the president of a leading bank had certainly leaned out when he told Henry Ford – the founder of Ford Motor Company – ‘The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.’
In 1992, Andy Grove, the CEO of Intel, had clearly leaned out when he said: ‘The idea of a personal communicator in every pocket is a pipe dream driven by greed.’
And the former CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer had certainly leaned out when he laughed at Apple and said, ‘There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.’
Due to these lessons of history, Bartlett has decided to take signs like this, and signs of rapid change or polarizing views, as a sign of huge upside.
A sign to pay more attention.
For this very reason I’ve long held the belief that passionate criticism of a technology is usually a positive indicator of its potential – it’s a sign that there’s something worth leaning in to, someone is threatened and innovation is coming.
This is why I leaned in to what is known as ‘Web 3.0’, ‘blockchain technology’ or ‘crypto’, and founded a software company in this space called thirdweb – because all the right people were dismissing, attacking and angry about it.
…Beneath all the nefarious money-grabbing and short-sighted behaviour – which is common when a new technology emerges – I found an underlying technological revolution in blockchain that I believe will make many functions of our lives easier, better, faster and cheaper. Thirdweb was recently valued at $160 million in our latest investment round and we now have hundreds of thousands of clients using our tools.
But it doesn’t have to have famous detractors to warrant our attention. The key marker is that it is distinct, bizarre, or even, like a meaningless toy.
Even if a new innovation doesn’t beget a wave of critics, it’s important to remember that innovation disrupts because it’s different. By definition, it should look weird, it should feel unconventional, it should be misunderstood, and it should sound wrong, stupid, dumb or even illegal.
Bartlett’s advice is to simply embrace the new, the different, and the strange.
You don’t want to be the entrepreneur that misses the next technological revolution, you don’t want to be the CMO that dismisses the next big marketing opportunity, you don’t want to be the journalist that dismisses the next frontier of media. You don’t want to be a ‘lean out’ person.
His advice for being a lean in person?
Hold conflicting ideas. “default to believing that two seemingly conflicting ideas can be true at the same time and having a bias to keep them separate…Despite what passionate online tribalism might tempt you to believe – your most important beliefs should not be binary; lean-in people can see the merit of the old way and the new way at the same time, without the compulsion to reject or condemn either….”
Reserve judgement; ask questons. “Web 3.0, AI, virtual reality, social media, opposing political ideologies and social movements – the key is to reserve the temptation of judgement.. to lean in, to study and to ask honest questions: Why am I believing what I believe? Is it possible that I’m wrong? Do I know what I’m talking about? Am I leaning out because I don’t understand? Am I following the party line? Are these my own beliefs or the beliefs of the people like me?”
He concludes imploring patience and curiosity
Those that have the patience and conviction to do this will undoubtedly own the future. Those that don’t will continue to be left behind.
…
When you don’t understand, lean in more. When it challenges your intelligence, lean in more. When it makes you feel stupid, lean in more. Leaning out will leave you behind. Don’t block people that you don’t agree with, follow more of them.
Don’t run from ideas that make you uncomfortable, run towards them.
The OGT: Curiosity over fear
When I read this, I immediately recognized how many times I’ve been a “lean-out” person.
Of all of the times I’ve been on the wrong side of the “technology adoption curve.” An embarrassing amount.
I was in the late majority (very slow to adopt new tech) or laggards (those who refused to adopt until they have no choice) for: smartphones, social media, blogging, and probably dozens of others.
Right now, I’m at the same risk for A.I., gene editing, green tech, and the blockchain.
But I won’t be.
Due in large part to what I’ve missed in the process, and Bartlett’s push, I’m not going to let this happen again. I’m going to be a “lean in” person.
How about you?