Axios Finish Line: Filtering BS, banality and bootlicking
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One of the hardest things to do in leadership, and life, is to filter out BS — and filter in meaningful data and feedback — to make tough calls in chaotic moments.
💬 Chris Collins, a Finish Line reader who is co-CEO of the Kelso & Company private equity firm in Manhattan, asks: "Do you think you are truly self-aware and get real feedback despite your position of power?"
- The honest answer: I hope so!
Why it matters: Chris' question seems focused on feedback from individuals. But that isn't sufficient in the business context. You need a system for stress-testing your views, ideas and self-appraisal.
Gathering the right facts or feedback boils down to genuine curiosity + clear-eyed analysis of experiences and people.
- You're basically hunting everywhere for news, information, experiences and voices that suggest where things are and where they're headed. Then you constantly tweak or recalibrate your views as you learn more.
Several tricks help mitigate delusion and isolation:
- Smart truth-tellers: I'd rather hear from a wise person who knows little about me or my industry than a conventional expert. So create a web of people — usually friends or former co-workers — who seem, over time, to make the right decisions for the right reasons, even when it's hard. Consult them on the tough stuff.
- Intimate truth-tellers: You need one or two people who know your warts and worst instincts. They tend to be so close to you that they can call out your stupidity or self-obsession. They can save you from yourself.
- Confident, candid co-workers: I'm in the middle of our annual review process. I know I'll get some brutally honest feedback from my direct reports. Good. We hire smart, honest high-achievers and encourage candor. It's my job to weigh the critique nondefensively, and determine adjustments in style or substance.
- Reporting: Nothing helps clarify my thinking — and gut-check my views — more than reading and talking to people across my staff and industry. Have a voracious appetite for new facts. Think of your views and analysis as living things, evolving and changing as reality shifts. Pick up the phone when someone says something that grabs you. People are willing to share more than you think.
- 🎧 Intelligence hacks: Some turn to books or raw data for critical or contrarian takes. I often turn to podcasts. You'll find experts — and your competitors — often share inside and essential information when they let their guard down on long-form podcasts. I listen to several obscure media podcasts when a CEO or head of revenue is the guest.
- Reliable sources: You need to study your sources for accuracy over time. Be it people ... or publications or podcasts or projections. Brian Morrissey writes a Substack called The Rebooting, which goes deep into the mechanics of running media businesses. His read on the hard truth of media trends has proven very accurate, so it became a must-read for me. Roy Schwartz — our Axios co-founder, who now runs our communication software company, Axios HQ — has the best business instincts of anyone I know. So I consult him on any business move and personal investment.
- Fact-pattern recognition: This is the Holy Grail. If you have enough reliable inputs, you can start to see yourself, big decisions and the future more clearly — and make exponentially better decisions.
The big picture: You can do all of this and still get things wrong. You need to be quick to forgive yourself — but slow to simply assume it was an aberration. Study it. Learn from it. Then apply it.
This article appeared in Axios Finish Line, our nightly newsletter on life, leadership and wellness. Sign up here.
