Be Cool

This past year, I had a chance to hear Matthew McConaughey, the award-winning actor and author, speak at a corporate event. He talked about making choices “to be cool to your future self.” These include things like programming the coffee machine at night or not skipping a workout. As we gear up for 2023, it is good time to remember that choices that we make not only have consequences in the next 10 minutes, or 10 weeks or months, but also in the next 10 years.

I just started reading David Green’s “Leadership Not by the Book.” David is the CEO and chief merchandiser of the $8 billion dollar craft retailer Hobby Lobby, who runs his private business by a set of faith-based principles which I found interesting. The book is not available on Amazon, in case you were wondering. He and his business advisor and co-author, Bill High, have a strategic planning process that focuses on 150 years. Reminds me of what I have heard about Japanese business practices focusing on the centuries ahead and their legacy.

In the book, Green and High reference an article in the Harvard Business Journal on “centennial” companies who had survived more than 100 years. They credit a stable purpose, stewardship mindset, and openness as keys to longevity, while traits of welcoming outside expertise, a healthy paranoia, and learning from serendipity as the keys to staying fresh. These same principles apply at multiple altitudes, if you think about it. Even personal longevity can benefit from these same traits, as much as a business traded on the S&P 500.

So, as you think about the choices you make as an individual or in your role as a business leader, try to extend your gaze out beyond this quarter or “new year’s resolution” and think about the impact you can have on your future self, your family, your community, your industry.