a path out of quagmire

Ben has a great go-to move when you’re stuck in a rut. It’s the same go-to move he uses when you’re not stuck at all, when you’re just starting a project and you’re full of vim and optimism. 

He forces you to look ahead, 6 or 12 months into the future. “Your future self is looking back at this moment and laughing because you’ve moved so far beyond it. Your current problems seem quaint, bygone, or transcended. What is your future self doing? What did you do between now and that future moment to get there?”

Another way I’ve seen good managers frame this up for their people is to fashion a rough alter-ego: “Badass [Employee Name]”. If This Eric is stuck, ask This Eric, “What would Badass Eric do?”

Ben’s prompt uses time (travel); the badass prompt uses identity. Both rely on imagination that isn’t beholden to present constraints but doesn’t ignore them either.

Both nudge (or shove) a stalled teammate out of malaise and self-pity and into pragmatism. No matter what, some version of you is going to be doing stuff now and later. Let’s opt for the Badass version of you, doing the stuff that will make future you laugh at stalled you.

-Eric