🏁 Axios Finish Line: Bitter quitter

Plus: Reader life advice | Thursday, October 27, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By West Monroe   Axios Finish Line By Mike Allen, Erica Pandey and Jim VandeHei ·Oct 27, 2022 Oct 27, 2022 🧀 Axios CEO Jim VandeHei is here with his weekly lessons on life, business and leadership. Send him your take: jim@axios.com. Or hit the whole team at finishline@axios.com. Smart Brevity™ count: 479 words ... 2 mins.     1 big thing: Jettison the jerks Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   If I could undo one thing from the past 15+ years of running Politico and Axios, it's this: indulging in bitterness over bad people or bad actions, Jim writes. Why it matters: Every hour spent exacting revenge — or bemoaning bad values — is time not spent doing and building good things with good people. Bitterness blows. Truth is, bad people do bad things — and nothing we can do will change them. You win by doing the right things for the right reason — and ignoring the jerks, haters and narcissists. It's easy to get sucked into their negative energy. Here are a few hacks to avoid that: Just say no. Too many people are too timid to bluntly tell others when they are jerks or unacceptably negative. Draw — and state — boundaries. And when someone keeps crossing them... Crush the cancer. We choose our friends, colleagues and main interactions. Eliminate — or at least dramatically curtail — time with anyone who sucks life out of you. Be ruthlessly pragmatic. People very rarely change in dramatic ways. If someone is an ass over and over, stop wishing or thinking they'll change. Chances are, an ass they shall forever be. Seek and savor the good ones. Most people are good, so marinate in positive relationships, at home and at work. Feed off that energy. The big picture: One of the smartest things we did when we started Axios was to make a common vow to purge anyone with bad values and motives, regardless of talent. It has made for a happier workplace — and life. Share this story.     A message from West Monroe The No. 1 reason companies don't reach their digital potential     Our data shows 4 people practices separate digital leaders from laggards: Risk-taking Collaboration Development Retention One exec said: "The greatest barrier to achieving a truly digital organization is our structure." Get the research on 14 traits of digital leaders.     💡Reader wisdom Lynn C., a Finish Liner from Lafayette, Colo., sent us this thoughtful response to Monday's newsletter, in which our colleague D.J. detailed lessons from a near-death experience: "2020 brought several life-changing blows to my husband and me — the worst being my husband's diagnosis of incurable cancer. For that first year of living with cancer, I was existing three months at a time in between CT scans, scared all the time, always worrying 'What's next?'" "Thank you, D.J., for passing along the thought that 'We get preoccupied with not dying — and forget to live.' I'll remember that the next time I start to stress about the next CT scan. Instead, I'll make arrangements for a trip, activity or outing for us to enjoy together." "As for now, my husband is responding well to the treatments, able to do more at home, limited exercise and travel, and we're able to spend time with friends. ... He is an inspiration." Thank you for the wisdom, Lynn! We wish you and your husband the very best.   Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: