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Light Touch
A useful framework for being useful
In the forward to The Effective Executive, Jim Collins (of Good to Great fame) recalls the life-changing advice he received from Peter Drucker (emphasis mine).
At the end of that day, Peter hit me with a challenge. I was on the cusp of leaving my faculty spot at Stanford, betting on a self-created path, and I was scared.
“It seems to me you spend a lot of time worrying how you will survive,” said Peter. “You will probably survive.”
He continued, “And you seem to spend a lot of energy on the question of how to be successful. But that is the wrong question.”
He paused, then like the Zen master thwacking the table with a bamboo stick: “The question is: how to be useful!”
What a beautiful question. In Being Useful, I attempted to answer it, defining usefulness as a function of what we enable rather than what we accomplish. It’s a recognition that we can do more good removing obstacles in the paths of others than focusing solely on our own.
This was, by far, my shortest article. The concept was simple enough that it didn’t require much exposition, but in hindsight, the brevity stripped it of tangibility.
So, on the third anniversary of my original Being Useful post, I decided to revisit the topic by expanding on the idea by layering it within a framework. And, as long-term readers know, there’s no better way to learn a framework than to analogize it to popular media, such as the (recently revived!) cartoon Futurama.
The Light Touch framework
In Godfellas, Bender (the robot) becomes the god of a tiny civilization that develops on his body after colliding with an asteroid as he hurdles through space.
The civilization grows and thrives under Bender's care, but he eventually realizes that being a god is not as easy as it seems. In his attempts to heed his worshippers’ prayers, he ultimately wins the affection of some but disillusions others. This bifurcation of the populace horrifies him, and when asked to favor a side between the factions, he refuses.
[Spoiler] Ultimately, the two groups kill each other in an all-out war. [Spoiler]
Bender then encounters a cosmic entity (who may or may not be God), and they discuss the challenges of placating their followers.
Bender: You know, I was God once.
God Entity: I saw. You were doing very well, until everyone died.
Bender: It was awful. I tried helping them. I tried not helping them. But in the end, I couldn’t do them any good.
We can all relate here…well, maybe not with the being a god part, but this struggle between our intentions to help and the ramifications of our intervention is a very human (or robot) issue. In our pursuit of usefulness, we can do more damage than good.
And here, finally, is where we get a semblance of a framework to help us.
God Entity: If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope. You have to use a light touch, like a safecracker or a pickpocket.
Bender: Or a guy who burns down a bar for the insurance money!
God Entity: Yes, if you make it look like an electrical thing. When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
To be clear, I’m not equating usefulness to godliness. Nor am I advocating adopting the mindset of a safecracker, pickpocket, or insurance fraudster.
The underlying lesson is balance - not too much intervention as to invite dependence, not too little as to breed hopelessness. Usefulness is a sweet spot in which our presence is felt but not focal. When our efforts are appreciated but have no claim on the successful outcome, we’ve done things right.
Go back to the Jim Collins story at the top. Peter’s contribution wasn’t heavy-handed (“You should write best sellers for a living!”) or aloof (“You’ll be happy no matter what you do…now get out of my office.”) Peter used a light touch - challenging Jim’s thinking without telling him how to think.
All of this feels intuitive. Why don’t we do this more often?
What often gets in the way of this model is our ego. Regardless of where we are in our careers or lives, we rarely feel like we have the luxury to shrug off receiving credit. The tangible accomplishments we can put our name to feel better than the accomplishments of others that we influenced. The items in our personal wins column make us feel safe. Who gets credit matters, doesn’t it?
Maybe not. In this model of usefulness, what you accomplished may not be clear, but your influence on the environment will be undeniable.
Think of it this way: Nobody buys a jersey with the coach’s name on the back, but nobody denies the impact of a great coach on the team.
Perhaps it’s easier to see an example. Let’s look at one of the most successful coaches in Silicon Valley history.
The trillion-dollar coach
Bill Campbell may be the most famous person you’ve never heard of.
He was integral to the success of companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, Twitter, and Facebook. His success in coaching these companies’ leaders to build world-class organizations earned him the title of Trillion-Dollar Coach.
Look at a sample of Bill’s leadership principles and see what you notice about his approach.
Your title makes you a manager; your people make you a leader. Accrue respect, don’t demand it.
It’s the people. The well-being and success of her people is the top priority of any manager. Great people flourish in an environment that liberates and amplifies that energy. Managers create this environment through support, respect, and trust.
Best ideas, not consensus. The manager’s job is to run a decision-making process ensuring all perspectives are heard and considered. If necessary, break ties to make the decision.
Don’t stick it in their ear. Offer stories and help guide people to the best decisions for them. Don’t tell them what to do.
Be the evangelist for courage. Believe in people more than they believe in themselves.
Bill mastered the concept of a light touch. He supported people - pushed them - but never so much that they grew dependent on him. The focus was always on others - he focused on those he coached so they could focus on those they led. You can’t tie a single accomplishment of these businesses to Bill, yet his impact was felt.
Excellent teams at Google had psychological safety (people knew that if they took risks, their manager would have their back). The teams had clear goals, each role was meaningful, and members were reliable and confident that the team’s mission would make a difference…[Bill] went to extraordinary lengths to build safety, clarity, meaning, dependability, and impact into each team he coached.
When you do things right, you tap into the innate potential of those around you and elevate them to a level never thought possible. Standing back and looking at the whole picture, it will be impossible to decipher how much of the impact was from your coaching versus their execution. And that’s what you want because it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.
When you worry less about who gets credit, the opportunity for impact is limited by how many people you can be useful to.
How to be useful
The impact of our individual accomplishments pails in comparison to how we impact those around us. Whether you’re a leader of hundreds or an individual trying to make a difference, letting go of who gets credit opens up a broader opportunity for impact than you ever thought possible.
Some closing thoughts on how to be useful:
Focus on what you enable rather than what you can accomplish. When we worry about getting credit, we put ourselves ahead of the task. Those early in their careers are particularly susceptible to this trap, as there’s intense pressure to showcase their capabilities. Recognize that a shared accomplishment has more impact than a failed attempt at heroics. Those who put the team on their backs are recognized; those who put the team on the right path are renowned.
Be clear on what but flexible on the how. If you’re managing or influencing others, articulate what a successful outcome looks like without describing the path to get there. As discussed in Tacos vs. Burritos, the same ingredients can create vastly different dishes, so explain what you want to see at the end and leave the process up to the team. This increases the chances of success and creates the intrinsic motivation that drives teams to unparalleled success.
Your primary job is to help people be more effective. Bill Campbell said a manager's priority is her people's well-being and success. I would expand on this and say that any individual’s role is to enable the well-being and success of those around her. Through this lens, you’ll appreciate that even small gestures will make a difference.
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Thanks to Roman Eskue for graciously reviewing this post to help me improve it before publishing!