The paradox of change /  by Alexander Lyadov

Often past achievements become the proverbial golden cage. Especially when the business model generates a stable cash flow. The founder had long understood that it was necessary to, say, develop the American market, but there were a thousand reasons, from not knowing English to operating routines, for not doing anything. Or the company’s development was hindered by a toxic partner, but you didn’t want to exacerbate the relationship. When there is an ambitious vision and no progress, there is dissonance within the founder, manifesting as lack of energy, depression, decision paralysis, conflict, and more.

Because of the war, the founder may find that he is left without assets, customers, and business processes. So the captain, after a shipwreck, looks longingly at the wreckage, nailed to the shore by the wave. But suddenly it dawns on him that it is now that he is truly free. There is nothing else holding him or her back. Fate forces him to break up with a partner, to experiment with a business model, or to end up in the United States. Yes, these changes took him by surprise and happened against his will. But the long-awaited decisions have finally been made, and it is a step forward.

Many religious figures and thinkers have noted that providence does not give us what we want, but what we need. In regard to life in general, it’s hard to accept this overly harsh thought. But in regard to business, it may be true. One founder told me: “I’ve had business disasters before where I thought, ‘This is the end.’ But then, after a while, I would admit, ‘How much this difficult period has made me and the business stronger.

By taking away one thing, reality gives something else in return. By gaining new degrees of freedom, the founder can chart a different route. That means, potentially, to realize his vision in seven years instead of ten, to scale not locally, but globally, so that eventually, in spite of the enemy, to build a prosperous world-scale business with the proud seal “Made In Ukraine”.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.

How it is /  by Alexander Lyadov

Regularly I meet cases in which there are two, three or more co-founders of a business between whom a conflict is quietly building up. However, no one in the company, including the client with the request, describes what is happening other than as "some misunderstanding", "there are disagreements" or "something incomprehensible is going on". In relation to the opponent the rhetoric is mixed - mostly polite acknowledgement of qualities useful for business, but through it now and then bursts, resentment, anger and disgust.

It seems to the client that the root of the problem is a particular person whose behavior is unacceptable. But often it turns out that it is about something else. The historical context seems to force people to act this way and not that way. But to understand this, one must first "get a grip" on the whole phenomenon. Remember how difficult it is to grasp something with your head turned back. Looking at the situation point-blank allows us to separate this phenomenon from the rest and to give it a name. This step in solving the problem seems nominal, but in reality there is nothing more important. It is no coincidence that the first line of John's Gospel is "In the beginning was the Word..." To accurately name something is to make it real by pulling a meaningful thread out of the primordial chaos.

The only condition is that the name of a phenomenon should reflect its true essence, without illusions, as it is. Then a paradox is observed - the problem is not yet solved, but the founder is palpably relieved. First, a vague and therefore frightening problem has taken shape. Secondly, it became clearer where to direct the efforts. This is how a hunter navigates a hot trail that anticipates his prey. Third, what had long matured and tormented the founder inside now lay outside under a microscope. A fascinating exploratory discovery lies ahead of him. An important discovery lies ahead of him. It's a rewarding process anyway.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

What to focus on? /  by Alexander Lyadov

 

James Ashford, founder of GoProposal, a SaaS proposal service for accounting firms, told a story about the long-running rivalry between the Chinese and U.S. table tennis teams. Tired of losing, the American coach finally asked: “What are we doing wrong?”. To which the Chinese coach replied, “One thing. You keep trying strengthening your weaknesses. And we just strengthening our strengths”. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it’s an important point. After all, in both business and sports, the topic of “What to focus on?” is often hotly debated.

I support betting on “strength,” that is, a gift, a predisposition, an aptitude. Why? The return on the effort invested is greatest. We tend to like what we do well and vice versa. It’s a spiral that leads upward to Olympus. Whereas the development of traits for which there is no natural inclination, although possible, requires a titanic effort. It’s like training a border collie or a wolf - the former catches the movement of your eyebrow, and giving commands to the latter is like talking to a brick wall.

That’s why, for example, judo has a special term Tokui-waza, which means signature move. Once he notices a technique that comes out organically and easily, the athlete can then grow that acorn into a powerful oak tree. As a result, opponents, even if they know the athlete’s technique, can’t do anything about it. If the gift is an uncut diamond, then Tokui-waza is a Koh-i-Noor diamond.

However, one should not forget about weaknesses at all. They must be strengthened, but only to the “hygienic” level specific to each industry.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

Against the odds /  by Alexander Lyadov

Quite often I meet friends and strangers who say or message me: "You know, thanks to that article of yours, I ended up buying kettlebells. I'm extremely happy about this, because progress is evident".

I wrote the article "Strengthening Quarantine" in March 2020, when the pandemic was unfolding in all its "glory. I wanted to share a simple and in every sense affordable means of preserving health, performance and strength that, despite lockdowns, literally anyone can have. It has now become clear that there can be many reasons for forced isolation. Epidemics, wars, natural disasters - reality never ceases to take us by surprise. However, quarantine, a closed gym or a curfew are not reasons to forget about yourself until life is back to normal. . With just a couple of kettlebells or a set of rubber bands in any room, you can fully exercise your entire body to be more prepared for force majeure and, importantly, to release excess stress.

It's no secret that the body, mind and psyche are fundamentally dependent on each other. By strengthening one, we strengthen the rest. And who knows, maybe having such a "gym" in your corner will make you train harder and more often. Nietzsche would have approved of this — that which has tried to weaken or kill us, eventually, will only make us stronger.

You can read the article "Strengthening Quarantine" here.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

Gratitude /  by Alexander Lyadov

As a business therapist, I help entrepreneurs, my clients. But they also give me a lot in return. First of all, it's the insights we find together in the process of solving their difficult problems. In addition to the dopamine surge, my "scalpel" becomes sharper with each of our sessions.

Secondly, the many cases of companies of all different sizes, fates and industries, unobtrusively weave together into a stunning meta-pattern. This makes the subsequent puzzle solved faster. It turns out that the hundreds of clients I've worked with over the past 25 years, through me, are helping their colleague today.

Third, I draw inspiration from their real-life examples of how things can and should be done, especially in circumstances of overwhelming force. This reinforces my belief in how much a person is resourceful, resilient, and anti-fragile. As a result, I realize that I myself am capable of more. And then I pass on that belief in the superpower hidden in all of us through sessions, podcasts, articles and this newsletter.

Most importantly, clients multiply the Meaning in my life. Client appreciation reminds me that my contribution is definitely there and meaningful. As my grandmother jokingly and lovingly said when I diligently scrubbed the balcony as a child, "A cat wouldn't do that." After all, at a critical moment for entrepreneurs, I was the one who was there. In business, as in boxing or standup, in addition to expertise, timing decides everything.

I am grateful to Natalia Yaromenko, founder of the Beauty Tech Corporation for the wonderful review.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

Energy of Void /  by Alexander Lyadov

 

Sometimes it happens that there is no energy, absobloodylootely. The simplest task looks like a monolithic Chinese wall. There can be many reasons for this, from stress and overworking to lack of sleep and illness. At this very moment, nothing can be done. To be exact, you can make a shift, but it will be ridiculous in terms of ROI. And most importantly, there is the risk of screwing up the task or injuring yourself.

At times like this, I draw my energy in an unexpected place-where there seems to be nothing. At home, I crawl into my favorite chair, put a sleep mask over my eyes, and turn on the sounds of “Underwater” on the Brain.fm app. Outside, I just look for a quiet corner of the alley, away from passersby and dogs. During day-long transformational sessions with clients, I sequester myself in a far room during a break. My goal is total isolation from the outside world for an encounter with the Void.

Prolonged isolation is known to be guaranteed to drive a person insane. However, like hunger or cold, in microdoses it is miraculous. Is there any other name for the transformation that takes place in just 15 minutes inside me? I come back different, energetic, calm and determined. There was no introspection, no breathing techniques, no sacred mantras - just being in touch with my body. What was going on reminded me of the “Lava lamp” - a decorative lamp that became super-popular in the U.S. in the 1960s (and later in the USSR). Which, by the way, is not surprising, because the bizarre play of paraffin “clouds” resembles the effect of taking psychedelics, in particular LSD. In the same way, fragments of my feelings, thoughts, and sensations arise out of nowhere and disappear into nowhere without a trace. The only constants are the fertile Void and my ability to observe this vortex. Paradoxically, this kind of doing nothing restores my efficiency the best. Will you try it today?

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

On your terms /  by Alexander Lyadov

“He learned a long time ago the basic law of survival: make the enemy fight on your terms, not his. These are words from James Clavell’s novel The Noble House, which I read before going to bed. In most aspects of life, you can see how right he is.

For example, exposure therapy is considered one of the most effective techniques in psychotherapy for treating all kinds of phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. The essence is that the client comes into contact with the gradually strengthening source of the fear, choosing the workload that is feasible for him or her. And, most importantly, does it voluntarily, that is, not fear assigns the time and place of battle, but the client himself. There is a revolution in the way that power has changed hands. It is not that the client gets used to his fear or that the latter disappears somewhere - no, the client himself becomes bolder. In other words, his ability to act independently increases dramatically.

It doesn’t matter whether the fight is with the external aggressor or the inner fear. What matters is who dictates terms to whom - you or he. It’s never too late to make a “creative U-turn,” for fortunately this is the realm of personal assumptions and beliefs. Of course, “surviving on my terms” requires a preliminary clarification: “What do I really want?” Thus, survival depends directly on a hierarchy of values and personal meaning.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

The skill of letting go /  by Alexander Lyadov

I don't know about you, but I have found it very difficult to let go of my past life. Maybe your business was booming, a wedding was performed, your health was restored, a trip around the world was planned, or, after years of construction, a house was completed. On February 24, much of what we held dear suddenly became distant, indefinable, or even gone. Mentally I understand that it will never be the way it was. But inside, there is still hope that with a little more patience, life will become "normal" again. Moreover, there is a tendency to recreate old habits at every opportunity, like trying to glue a priceless vase from the shards.

Of course, this is a dangerous illusion, I admit. First of all, because for many people, far more intelligent and informed than I am, the war was an unexpected event, accompanied by a shock. And the more unusual the phenomenon, the more the psyche makes an adaptation shift. A complete upgrade of the "operating system" is required so that the new knowledge of reality organically fits into the worldview of society or the individual. A survivor of war in any scenario is bound to become different. And here, in addition to Ukraine, the war affects almost all countries directly or indirectly. So the world is forever and radically changed. How exactly? Time will tell.

The point is that he who has not let go of the past has no future. Just as an experienced hunter does not feed his dogs before going into the woods, so a person should come to a meeting with novelty with an emptiness in his "stomach". I sincerely envy people who find it easy to start anything new. They rush through the jungle of life, jumping, like Mowgli, from one vines to another. Even in wrestling, I spend too much time clinging to an unpromising position, instead of letting it go and moving on. It is very sad, frustrating, and scary to lose what I have right now in my hands. But trying to hold on to the past is even more dangerous-it will go away anyway, while the energy is wasted.

It is extremely tempting to push, force, or seduce myself in some way to catalyze the parting of the old to meet the new. But here, too, I have to admit that this process has a different pace for each person. After all, isn't it one of the lessons of life not to try to speed things up, but at the same time not to hinder what cannot not happen.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

The Curse of Brilliance /  by Alexander Lyadov

 

I recently learned about a new concept — the Curse of Brilliance. When people analyze what makes them productive and successful, they tend to overemphasize what they have found extremely difficult and downplay the importance of what they were naturally good at. That is, I deify what I’ve sweat and bleed for, but devalue what has sort of worked out itself.

It looks like modesty: “Oh, it’s nothing. You can have it for free. I have a ton of ideas like that”. The problem is that without realizing the specifics of your gift, you can’t become a joker or an ace in any field. The accumulation of experience, skills and knowledge will, at best, allow a hard-working six to grow into an executive jack or a controlled king. To be No. 1, it is not enough to have no weaknesses — one has to be one order of magnitude higher than everyone else in something concrete.

Any natural talents require investment in their faceting. But how to do it, if instead of a Cullinan diamond you see only a trivial mineral? That’s why each of us needs a careful and attentive look from the outside. A child needs a parent, a student needs a mentor, an athlete needs a coach, an entrepreneur needs an advisor or a psychotherapist. Trust in the significant other allows for the “heretical” thought: “Everything I was so desperately searching for, it turns out, has always been in me”.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

Reflection /  by Alexander Lyadov

Sometimes my blue heeler walks into the bathroom while I’m shaving. Looking in the mirror, I see an unfamiliar dog. He looks a lot like mine in size and coloring, but something about him is fundamentally wrong. Immediately, both curiosity and anxiety are awakened. The reflection merely flips the image horizontally. But such a small thing is enough to turn a familiar “object” into a stranger. I see him with new eyes. His coloring and gestures suddenly reveal patterns that I had not noticed before. In banality, novelty opens up to me.

This is why I appreciate the sessions with my therapist. At least once a week I have a chance to get a different perspective on myself. The therapist, like a mirror, “only” flips the picture 180 degrees. What has been seen cannot be unseen. Slowly I begin to change.

In business therapy, my ideal is to help the tech founder get something out of nothing, one out of zero, to find a breakthrough solution at almost no cost. After all, often what we need most has been waiting patiently at our fingertips for a long time.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

Horizon /  by Alexander Lyadov

“It takes 5 years to become a worldwide level,” says John Danaher, considered the No. 1 Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach in the world. John has trained a number of athletes who became kings of the mountain in a short period of time. I heard the same idea from reputable coaches, saying that it’s possible to do almost everything in 3-5 years, in particular, to become one of the global leaders in your discipline. How so?

First of all, a few years is enough time to implement the most daring strategy one way or another. Second, the world is changing rapidly, bringing a host of new opportunities and threats to all. Novelty turns out to be a blessing for one who has a clear long-term vision, compared to one who cannot raise his head above routine. Third, it is not about leadership in anything, but in a carefully chosen and narrowly defined discipline in which the founder is determined to become “Lord of the Rings”. Fourth, the focus of multiple efforts over time cumulatively produces a nonlinear effect. Fifth, the finish line in a few years is still close, so investing energy in a sprint for the founder makes sense.

The war broke most entrepreneurs’ plans. But war cannot take away the intention to evolve, to update a desirable future, and to move methodically toward it. Reality is favorable to those who know what they want. Remember, a local business is only 3 to 5 years away from a global one.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

How not to waste yourself? /  by Alexander Lyadov

Often I see that the entrepreneur sees his body as a mechanism or a tool that is needed to get from point A to point B. In the pursuit of increased efficiency, they use their body to the maximum, trying to minimize downtime. After all, the ideal in business is when an asset, be it a room, a machine, or money, runs nonstop.

There is a problem with an instrumental attitude toward oneself. But not in the sense that this attitude is harmful, but in the sense that the logic of this metaphor should then be taken to its limits. As we know, a technical system is ideal when there is no system and its function is performed by itself. So the question, “How to squeeze the most out of yourself?” is too narrowly focused. The correct question is, “How to achieve more without effort at all?”

No, a genius solution won’t appear all at once. But by having that ideal as a goal, the chances of earning more by working less are much higher. The secret is that the founder’s attention is the most valuable asset. Waste is not a pause or downtime, as many are convinced, but missing out on opportunities to upgrade one’s “tool.” If a pencil could, it would sharpen itself with every stroke. However, man is potentially capable of getting Everything out of Nothing.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

Reluctant Entrepreneur /  by Alexander Lyadov

It is commonly believed that you have to be born an entrepreneur. Either you have the founder’s gene, or you don’t. However, in my 25 years in business, I have often met people who broke this “rule” without knowing it existed.

They had no ambition to change the world or build a billion-dollar business. They were simply forced by difficult circumstances to start doing something unusual for them in the here and now. Rather than questioning whether or not they were ready, these people simply took the step they could every moment. Little by little, the tiny acorn grew into an oak grove with a wide root system, strong trunks, and a dense crown, becoming home to many animals and birds.

I call them reluctant entrepreneurs. They have allowed life to grind them down, revealing in a piece of marble a richness and beauty hidden until now. Reality is able to pleasantly surprise the one who is willing to sacrifice the image of his beloved Self. After all, the lamentation, "Ah, if only I were X, now I would..." covertly coddles the narcissistic part of the personality, protecting it from the risk of disappointment in itself. And the monologue of reluctant entrepreneurs is quite different: "Who am I to know beforehand what I can do? I'd better leave it to Providence, who knows what's best for me".

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

The paradoxical nature of partnership /  by Alexander Lyadov

 

Why is it so challenging to maintain a partnership?

Business requires contrasting qualities to create, sustain and scale it.

There are few individuals who can harmoniously integrate polar qualities within themselves - the ability to establish relationships and think analytically, openness to new ideas and organizational skills, caring for people and being results-oriented, sensitivity to contextual changes, and emotional stability.

It's no wonder that founders instinctively choose business partners who complement them in terms of psychological type, experience, and skills. Firstly, such an alliance helps prevent frustrating mistakes by neutralizing individual blind spots. It's like the difference between holding an object with one hand versus two hands - the gap disappears.

Secondly, both partners are freed from duties abhorrent to their nature. One person can't stand active travel, meetings, and communication with investors, but for another it's as natural as breathing. Optimising processes may cause depression for one partner, while for the other it may cause excitement, like a child opening presents on New Year's Eve.

Most importantly, such a union allows for the creation of a meta-system in terms of complexity, flexibility, and resilience. This gives rise to antifragility, allowing a company to paradoxically derive benefits from everything that destroys others.

But there's a tiny detail that determines whether a partnership will succeed or not. It's an honest answer to the question: "Do you value your partner's contribution as highly as your own?" It seems that the answer is obvious. However, it is precisely what initially creates a partnership that often ends up destroying it. After all, it's not by chance that you lack certain qualities. Often, it means that there is an internal prohibition towards them, causing judgment, aversion, or fear.

It's not surprising that you feel conflicted about people who have what you don't - envy and irritation, admiration and contempt, curiosity and suspicion. Such a partner simultaneously attracts and repels you. Carl Jung quotes medieval alchemists: "In sterquiliniis invenitur," which literally means "In filth, it will be found." It is often translated as: "What you need the most, you will find where you least want to look."

My experience tells me that partnerships succeed when each partner equally:
a) recognizes the necessity of opposite qualities in business,
b) acknowledges his or her own area of deficit,
c) values in the other what they lack themselves.

In essence, a partnership is a test of individual maturity. It means thanking fate that, like yourself, your partner is exactly the way he or she is.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

Kyiv, 29.04.2022

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

Successful Partnership Mechanism - Part I /  by Alexander Lyadov

Is your business partnership on the verge of collapse?

This simple engineering metaphor might help.

Do you know what a ratchet mechanism is? It consists of a gear wheel and a pawl. The asymmetric teeth of the wheel have a stop on one side. The pawl is pressed against the wheel by a spring or its own weight. Thanks to this design, the wheel rotates exclusively in one direction, reliably preventing any backward movement. The ratchet mechanism is used, for example, in jacks, winches, handcuffs, and bicycles. But it can also be recognized in other areas. For instance, in business.

There are many classifications of human personality types. For our purposes, we can simplistically divide people based on their natural inclination towards two functions - Development and Stabilization. The first function propels the wheel of business forward, while the second function secures achievements, preventing it from rolling back.

Encountering an entrepreneur with both functions equally developed is practically impossible. It's like in the wild, where some animals predominantly lead a daytime lifestyle, while others are nocturnal. It's neither good nor bad. That's just how it is.

From the metaphor of the ratchet mechanism, it is evident that the simultaneous presence of both functions, represented by individuals, is a necessary condition for the functionality of a business. Remove the wheel from the structure, and all rotational movement disappears. But without the pawl, the system ceases to develop progressively. The wheel will rotate chaotically, moving back and forth.

Unfortunately, in real business, things turn out differently. In some companies, there is an excess of fervent activity that yields little in the long run. In others, on the contrary, all processes are organized, polished, and meticulously described, but the business sluggishly drifts like a sailboat in calm weather. This means that one function is hypertrophied, while the other is weak and feeble.

The root cause of such imbalance must be sought in the head of the corporate body. And it doesn't matter how many owners the company has - three, two, or just one. The problem lies in the hidden beliefs and assumptions of the person, of which he or she may not even be aware. I'll hint that it concerns the natural inclination to value what we already have in abundance, and conversely, to devalue what we currently lack. However, this captivating topic deserves a separate post.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

What for? /  by Alexander Lyadov

Harry Brockway

Muscles are only needed as long as they serve us. Without action, they quickly atrophy, losing volume and strength. The same happens to joints — their range of motion and elasticity are reduced. Without regular use, any biological organ, technical system or mechanism withers, rusts and mosses.

Even after a joint injury, rest is recommended only for the first couple of days. Then you need to provide enough strain despite the discomfort. This increases blood flow to the injured area, provides nutrients and eventually speeds up the healing process.

Real life is frugal and does not allow for senseless waste. Only the essentials are saved. Anything unnecessary is eliminated at the root. Nature does not sponsor whimsy.

Every organ or system has a function and was not designed this way by accident. Ignorance or neglect of its primary function leads to premature wear and tear and breakdown. On the contrary, using it for its intended purpose keeps any system functioning for an unexpectedly long time.

This explains, in part, why many intellectual workers have health problems, suffer unnecessary injuries, or age too early. For them, the main value is the brain. The body is at best an appendage to it, at worst a meaningless atavism. If the body is neglected and unappreciated, is it any wonder that it falls apart?

I know talented classical musicians whose careers were threatened by shoulder and back problems at age 30. I remember an amazing designer who had to interrupt her work every half hour because of chronic arm pain. Even young programmers often suffer from cardiovascular disease, neck, back and wrist pain. Not to mention entrepreneurs and CEOs, because all too often I encounter the consequences of their burnout, when the body declares an ultimatum and goes on indefinite strike.

The word "corporate" comes from the Latin "corpus" and specifically means body. Atrophy of unused muscles occurs within the corporate body as well. An example of this is when the Board of Directors is created by the owner only as a tribute to fashion or as a formality. In this case, one should not be surprised that the Board of Directors rusts senselessly in its scabbard, like a decorative sword on the wall. The answer to the question "Why does the system not work well?" is impossible without answering the question "What was it created for?".

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

Kyiv, 20.04.2022

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

The first step toward fear /  by Alexander Lyadov

Woodcut from 1497

What usually happens when you encounter something new, unfamiliar and wild that can destroy your business and even ruin your whole life? Many entrepreneurs freeze for a while, falling into anabiosis.

It's not their fault. That's how the brain works. It's hard to argue with amygdala. While life is flowing according to plan, the oldest part of our brain sits quietly. But as soon as something goes wrong, the amygdala takes over the steering wheel. Millions of years of evolution have taught it that any novelty is potentially disastrous. So as long as uncertainty persists, the amygdala interrupts habitual activities in animals and humans - work, play, food, sleep, and sex. Emotions such as confusion, anxiety, worry, and fear forcibly focus our attention on the now most pressing problem.

In such moments, we desperately want the fire to extinguish itself and the danger to pass by. We ignore abnormal facts for so long that it is often too late. We convince ourselves: "I imagined everything. It's okay. Everything will be all right." No, unfortunately, it won't. Intuition is sometimes wrong about the extent of the problem, but it is almost always right that there is something meaningful there.

Fortunately, we have a reliable helper. Evolution has not only created a brake within us, but also a gas. It is curiosity, which in response to novelty necessarily arises, but a little later than fear. In psychology it is called the Orientational Response. Curiosity helps us explore the source of uncertainty and separate the dangerous from the scary.

Knowing all this, we can speed up the process of our adaptation to novelty. It is necessary, first, to wait for the inevitable wave of fear to strike. It must be patiently waited out. And secondly, quickly try to show interest in the new phenomenon. At the same time, it is important to choose a load that is within your capabilities (if there is such a possibility). There is no need to decide or undertake something right away - increasing vigilance and focus of attention is enough to start with. Symbolically, you have already turned to face your fear. On the surface it's tiny, but in essence it's a monumental step. Instead of a terror-stricken victim, a hunter emerges, scrutinizing the predator to choose the right moment for a successful counter-attack.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

Kyiv, 18.04.2022

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

How do you become the one in between? /  by Alexander Lyadov

Woodcut from 1497

When I went to The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2002, I was struck by one of the professors. During a lecture on social capital, Professor Ron Burt explained that most people tend to socialize in closed clusters: businessmen with businessmen, doctors with doctors, the military with the military, artists with art people, and so on. Over time, they become more and more entrenched in the ideas popular in their cluster and less and less open to ideas from outside.

But there is another type of person, the network entrepreneur. They are few in number and, unlike the others, they are able to travel between clusters and, most importantly, communicate with the locals in their language. It is no secret that a top manager and a designer, an investor and a programmer, a scientist and an actor often do not understand each other, as if they were inhabitants of different planets. Often they need a mediator-translator.

In the course of their multicultural journeys, network entrepreneurs are able to spot ideas that are trivial in one cluster but of extraordinary value in another. Knowing the languages, they deliver the message in a way that makes it stick. Like bees carrying pollen, they transfer ideas from one flower to another.

As a result, communities are enriched with new knowledge, opportunities and perspectives. Some network entrepreneurs build information bridges pro bono; others earn reputation or capital for themselves in the process.

In the olden days they were called dragomans or truchmen, that is, interpreters of spoken language. They, too, had an affinity for learning new cultures and languages. Since people have always been fearful and aggressive toward everything unfamiliar, the life of interpreters was dangerous. They must have been distinguished by their ability to think on the move — to listen actively to the interlocutor, to analyze a situation quickly, to make decisions in uncertainty, and to resolve conflict.

Still, the main thing for these mediators is openness to new experience and willingness to take risks for it. In other words, their curiosity is stronger than their fear.

Today, technologies like social media do not so much connect people as they do divide them. Along with agonizing media, they polarize people's opinions, trapping them in tight clusters. To maintain sanity, survive and thrive, it is useful for each of us to develop the skills of a network entrepreneur, to be an interpreter a little more often. It is necessary to become a link between what has always been valuable and what can become so.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

Kyiv, 17.04.2022

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

How to deal with your mistakes? /  by Alexander Lyadov

Woodcut from Camille Flammarion’s 1888 book L’Atmosphère: météorologie populaire.

Perhaps there are people who are not afraid to make mistakes. I think they are in the minority. Are you one? Well, I'm certainly not one of them. The mismatch between reality and my expectations often hits me like a punch in the gut.

It is normal to experience negative emotions in this case. After all, a mistake can mean anything. At best, it is just a slight miscalculation. At worst, you don't understand anything at all in this life. No wonder the amygdala paralyzes your brain with anxiety - potentially every mistake invites chaos inside, like a crack in the bottom of a ship. In other words, a mistake symbolizes death.

That's why man so desperately wants to always and in everything to be right. Even smashing his face in blood against the iron barrier of facts that prove to him that in reality the opposite is true. It's an understandable but naive idea: "I'll survive if I never leave the safe nest."

And that would be a great solution, if the world around us remained static. But the context is transforming, reborn and transformed, and it seems to be transforming faster and faster every day. A tree that has held the family nest for decades falls from old age. The river floods the cozy hole where several generations have grown up.

In addition to changes outside, invisible changes are constantly taking place inside each person. In one moment, hormones and a desire to change the world awaken, in another - the desire to have children and build their own business, in the third - the urge to contemplate the turbulent flow of life. Because of the inevitable metamorphosis inside, it becomes unbearable for us to breathe, like a crab in an old shell. By doing nothing, we only make ourselves worse off. It turns out that when we dare to do something, we make mistakes and suffer. Refraining from action is illusory, for in the long run it also means a dead end. So here is another existential dilemma.

The way out, as usual, is paradoxical. Contrary to spasms of anxiety, it makes sense to try to be wrong more often. Ideally, dozens or even hundreds of times every single day. A deadly poison in a small dose becomes a safe or even a cure. In the same way, dangerous mistakes, when broken down to elementary particles, become valuable bytes of information. Voluntarily seeking out and making sense of such knowledge allows us to create a defense against truly dangerous catastrophes.

But most importantly, mistakes thus transformed open the door to a new world. By our willingness to endure anxiety, it is as if we are buying a call option at an affordable price. It entitles us to upside, that is, to the unlimited potential for development, prosperity, and growth. That sounds like a great deal to me. What do you think?

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

Kyiv, 09.04.2022

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.

What should a dog who has lost the trail do? /  by Alexander Lyadov

There are two states. The first is when the dog is on the trail. The second is when it has lost the trail. Except for the target and the participant, there is nothing else in common between the states. The perception of the situation, the range of emotions, the way of thinking, the algorithm of behavior are all different, like darkness and light.

In the first state, the key word is coherence. A reliable navigator projects a clear route on the retina. Each step makes sense, steadily approaching the desired goal. Attention is sharpened, energy is focused, and movement is optimal. Self-confidence and anticipation of victory grows.

Of course, the dog may stumble or encounter barriers along the way. But problems are quickly solved, because the navigator immediately paves an alternative route. Obstacles only further inflame the excitement of the hunter.

It’s different when the trail is gone. It’s as if the dog has been replaced. He rushes, sharply changing direction, sniffing everything — the ground, trees, air. He is full of despair and anxiety. Total disorientation. It’s not just the trail that’s lost. The main purpose of his life has disappeared.

From the outside, a dog’s behavior can look strange, even comical. Isn’t it silly to wander from side to side like that? It’s obvious he’s wasting a lot of energy, isn’t it? See how ineffective he is at this point!

But it’s a big mistake to think that way. In reality, the actions of a dog that has lost the trail are 100% effective. It’s just a different efficiency, in a different system of coordinates. Revolutionary expediency is very different from Evolutionary expediency.

In a situation of high uncertainty, the strategy of options, that is, keeping the right to play the game, is preferable. It is necessary to get the maximum favorable opportunities, opening the largest number of closed doors. And pay the minimum price for each attempt. In other words, in a situation of confusion, poking your nose neatly in all directions is sensible. Gradually, out of these “pointless” attempts a certain pattern will emerge, one of the options will definitely work.

The dog’s tossing seems nonsensical only on the outside. On the inside, the dog knows exactly when to pick up the trail again. Like a taut arrow, it’s just waiting for the signal to instantly turn its stored energy into action.

Of course, this is a metaphor. The dog is both you and me. Unfortunately, in our culture there is an overemphasis on the first state, and almost no information about the second. So we know very well how to chase our prey on the hot trail. However, we fall into a severe stupor when we suddenly lose the trail.

The reasons are varied — epidemics, economic crisis, natural disasters, personal circumstances, or war, as in my country right now. Sooner or later, each of us is bound to find ourselves at an impasse. In that case, remind yourself of that dog. Perhaps the way out will be found more quickly. After all, you are a skilled hunter. Trust your gut.

Sincerely yours,

Alexander

Kyiv, 07.04.2022

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.


As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.