Having a Rookie Mindset

I’ve fired myself. Several times. 

In 2017 I listened to a podcast interview of a successful executive who, early in his career, faced a crossroads. He was in charge of a battery company, and they were rapidly losing market share. Knowing that he would soon be out of a job, this executive took a step back to think rationally.

He said to himself, “if I was my boss, what would I do?... I’d fire myself.” He did not actually fire himself, but he stopped doing everything he had been doing to that point. That day became his first day on the job.

Going back to what Bill Belichick said about leadership, we should strive to maintain a rookie mindset. By doing so we can defy complacency and do what’s best for the team. Those incremental improvements lead to exponential growth.

Belichick isn’t the only person who values this mindset. Anytime I speak with someone who works at WWE, I always want to know what lessons they’ve learned from Vince McMahon. There has been one consistent answer. Treat every day as if it’s your first day on the job. 

What would you do if you were hired today?