What's the Approach?

I've always thrived in multi-dimensional pursuits, having found life too rich to focus on one domain of expertise. I've been lucky that this multi-dimensional experience has taken me through musical journeys (being in a band, playing guitar, rebuilding guitars), sporting journeys (playing soccer, cricket, coaching rec baseball), technology journeys (internet research, startups, product management), and a variety of life journeys — with the most impactful ones stemming from my long-standing curiosity about the human brain and behavior. The tests say I'm an ENFP-A, a personality that "believes that everything — and everyone — is connected, and lives for the glimmers of insight that they can gain into these connections."

"Think about your approach!" "Have an approach!" I hear this often from rec league baseball coaches. In my short tenure as a volunteer coach, and being around baseball with the boys, I've learned that the difference between having an approach and not having one can be a game changer. Simply put, the statement forces the athlete to think about the game situation on every pitch and determine the best strategy for that moment in time. That's really it. Think. That simple, and yet sometimes hard to access.

I found this simple edict applicable to so many situations in life and work that I started constantly applying it myself — and harassing my kids to also "have an approach" for everything. My musings here are reflections of various such conversations: with my kids, my team, colleagues, and my family.

So if you're as excited about the science of mindfulness as you are about B2B pricing strategies, dig in.

After all, you need an approach for everything.