Love AND Profit (Not OR)

Fellow steward,

We always need to be preparing for tough days and tough moments. 

TIMELESS TRUTH: The calm plants seeds for chaos. 

I have not found a biography of a noteworthy historical figure where the journey was easy. It’s always messy. 

(If you had a recommendation for an easy journey, I wouldn’t read it. Too boring.)

• Isadore Sharp: “Excellence is the capacity to withstand pain.”

• Kobe Bryant shot four straight air balls in a playoff game during his rookie season, directly causing the loss.

• John Wooden had years where he hoped the team would just stay together and walk out for the second half during their epic undefeated run.

When I dive into stories of the greats, there are tradeoffs, sacrifice, and an absolute grind. The greats are constantly preparing for what's next.

That's the thing about anything great — great families, great businesses, great teams.

All great things ultimately come to a pinch.

In greatness, there's a paradox:

Love AND profit

Individual AND team

Long-term AND short-term

Cost AND quality

Values AND results

Creativity AND discipline

Analysis AND action

Idealistic AND pragmatic

Flexible AND rigid

Stewards lean into the paradox.

Knowledge is knowing what’s right. That’s the easy part. 

Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge in a complex, interdependent world.

If we were just maximizing shareholder value, when things got tough we'd pick "OR" rather than "AND." 

Thinking in centuries means optimizing for wisdom. We’re wrestling with “AND.”

Wrestling with wisdom is a lifelong journey. No shortcuts.

Three books I’m consuming on wisdom:

Books are authentic. No algorithms manipulating the journey. No shortcut to reading a book. You sit your ass in the chair and read. Books are the original links to timeless truth.

It's just you and the author you've decided to have a conversation with.

This paradox doesn't stop at the office. It's on the homefront with our kids, our family, our extended family.

We need to do the work in preparation for tough moments. We need to be there for our family, our team, and our family business.

The value of wisdom is in the tough moments where we must find how to embrace AND amidst paradox.

Is there a paradox you would add to this list?

May we encourage each other on the lifelong pursuit of wisdom in a world of distraction.

Onward,
Matt