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Why Leaders Look for Formulas (and Why You Should Immediately Stop)
In the business world, there’s no shortage of written content and events designed to pass on formulas. This doesn’t refer to specific policies or patents, but rather ways of living. For example, there are thousands of articles that highlight the morning routines of people like Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett or Oprah, or that hone in on the specific digital tools Bill Gates uses for communicating.
Why is this all so fascinating, and why does it turn into clickbait for so many entrepreneurs?
Generally speaking, at least in the United States, entrepreneurs are bombarded by a culture that pressures them to be competitive. That same culture says that, if you are just persistent and gritty enough, if you just work hard enough, then you’ll win. There’s some positivity in this message in that it encourages anyone from any background to try and put in effort.
But at the same time, the comparative culture is broken. It pushes people to work far more hours than science says the body can take. It ignores the fact that people don’t all start out with the same resources or opportunities, and it doesn’t address how corruption and a lack of integrity can rip organizations apart. At the same time, people naturally are psychologically prone to worry about what will happen to them if they aren’t the…
