Stop Making Sense: Why every Founder needs an unscripted break
From the friction of business to the harmony of a bright blue suit
I had Monday and Tuesday booked as holiday … but as anyone who runs their own business knows, a ‘holiday’ is often an oxymoron. (Not only is that one of my favourite words ever but I remember the day I first heard it and learnt what it meant from my brother’s wife Vicky!) I worked on Monday morning sorting out some hassles caused by Amazon … yes, they are a great customer of our business, but their arrogance and lack of care can also destroy you. A story for another day.
Monday afternoon was different. I walked to a local station to join a friend, Andrew, on an adventure. We were off to see David Byrne in concert at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff. I shared this news with my team and family before I left, only to hear the response of “who is he?”. If you also do not know, he was the co-founder of Talking Heads … my team and family clearly did not. I found myself feeling bad that I had not educated them all about David and his music & arts success … especially my role in educating my own daughter.
So, Andrew & I boarded the train and discussed many things in life. It’s only an hour and a half journey and yet we also managed to keep off our phones and even sketched each other on route. We are both learning to draw. We met more friends on the train who also admitted they were off to see David Byrne … and given the challenges of commuting to Cardiff by road or train, we had all decided, by coincidence, to stay at a Travel Lodge. Is it a small world? Maybe it is, as I later ended up in the gig sitting five seats from an old work colleague. Or maybe we are just of a certain age living close to the gig?
Anyway, the next challenge saw me using Google Maps to navigate to the Travel Lodge. How did we ever manage without Google Maps? Well, my feedback to them is that they should clarify that there are more than one Travel Lodge within the centre of Cardiff. I am currently listening to an interesting podcast called ‘Good Bad Billionaire’ and the one I heard this week was about the founder of Google, Sergey Brin. If you follow my OFF CHART ADVENTURES below, you will find out more.
I know Cardiff well from my trips to see rugby at the Principality Stadium. However, when rugby is not the focus for the city, you learn so much more. A city of the traditional pubs and chains you see everywhere sit beautifully next to arcades holding some of the most cultured and gorgeous shops, cafes and bars I have seen in a while.
But let me tell you more about the concert or rather, the ‘joyous’ show. It was truly amazing, blurring the line between live show and theatrical art-piece. Probably the best live music gig I’ve ever seen. That’s quite a statement isn’t it?
David is a talented musician. He is also a creative performer. He stood central stage at parts and held the audience in his hands. He also moved to the side of the stage at other moments to allow his ‘colleagues’ to show their talents. All the ensemble wore identical bright blue suits and he introduced their diverse backgrounds. The performers carried their own instruments. Not just the guitars and the saxophones, but also the keyboards and drums. The team were multi skilled. They sang, danced & played instruments. All carried their own weight. A simple and yet powerful back drop showed moving images that captured you in moments that were a ‘continual source of wonder’.
The songs told you of difficult places in life but also told you about happiness and hope. It did not tell you off, but it hinted about the crazy world we are living in. How humans can be so fantastic and yet how, when some humans fall out and can’t agree … they attack each other.
Wow! What an evening. What an adventure. I could go on about other things that happened on that short ‘holiday’ but I feel I need to keep this second post fairly brief.
This was only one day and yet the holiday from work continued the next day too. I am sure you can already see where I am going with this … what a day, what an experience.
OFF-CHART OBSERVATIONS:
Find the time to escape the office / the job … you will find stimulation everywhere
Being present in the moment, giving eye contact and truly listening to other people is a game changer, truly bringing you closer
Cultural events can bring us together with a smile while teaching you many lessons
You can build a team to deliver something amazing, but you don’t have to be centre stage
Diverse skills and backgrounds come together to create something truly great
Have the confidence to do what others have done already in a very different way
Travel with an open mind … you will never know who you will meet and what you will discover
If you disagree, skilled and careful negotiation is an answer
OFF CHART ADVENTURES:
I wanted to share some interesting links for you, and today these all have relevance to this post. Sometimes these may not have any relevance at all, but I hope you find they take you on an interesting adventure.
Enjoy … and thanks for reading.
With thanks to many including some who are on Substack: