🤔 Axios Finish Line: Tough choices

Plus: Pizza tip | Thursday, October 06, 2022

Open in app View in browser     Axios Finish Line By Mike Allen, Erica Pandey and Jim VandeHei ·Oct 06, 2022 Oct 06, 2022 🧀 Axios CEO Jim VandeHei takes the helm today with his Thursday column on lessons for life and leadership. Please drop him a line: jim@axios, or hit the whole team at finishline@axios.com. Smart Brevity™ count: 492 words ... < 2 min.     1 big thing: "The next right thing" Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   I was stewing about a work aggravation as I sat in a pew at church in 2016. David Glade, the preacher, seemed to know it: He started talking about the difficulties of being good. He told a story about how his kids wondered how — with all the chaos and challenge of life — a person can choose to do the right thing, always. Rev. Glade offered nine words of wisdom that guided me through that problem — and shape how I try to live today: "All you can do is the next right thing." Why it matters: This throwaway phrase in a random sermon has served as mantra for running our company — and for me when I hit turbulence outside work. The simplicity of the minister's phrase is what sticks: It's doable: It's overwhelming, with everything that hits us in life, to deal with the enormity of always doing the right thing. But if you just think about the right thing in the single moment staring at you at that moment, it's easy. It's clarifying: We do have a choice in every tough situation, even when we feel wronged. Taking a deep breath and asking yourself what's the right response puts it in proper perspective. It's life-enhancing: So much in life is habit. You can create a healthy habit of making good decisions if you stack small hard but good decisions on top of each other. It's universal: If you think about big career or relationship decisions, it's easy to get paralyzed by trying to apply game theory to your next big gig or marriage. It's much easier to fixate on getting the immediate move correct. 🖼️ The big picture: It's shocking how often at work — and in life — people around us seem to do the wrong thing for the wrong reason. It's tempting to fight fire with fire. But it's rarely the right thing to do. Share this story.     A message from Axios Out now: Axios Smart Brevity book     Smart Brevity will show you how to cut through the fog of words and get your message heard. Axios' co-founders share their secret sauce for transforming communication. Get your copy from smartbrevity.com or wherever books are sold.     2. 📬 Robopizza letter Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   We loved this snappy letter from Jim Fetig, a retiree in Kensington, Md., responding to our item this week about robot pizza-makers: "Been making pizza from scratch for my family each Sunday for 30 years. I can out-pizza the hut. Why? Human creativity." Jim — a former Clinton administration spokesman, who gave us his kind permission to quote his email — added this follow-up: "The key to great pizza is simplicity. Don't overthink it. Kitchen-sink pizza is like one size fits all — rarely works out well." "A good crust from scratch supports the final product like the foundation for your house. Cheese is optional." Send your life hacks to finishline@axios.com, and we'll share the best.   Thank you to Amy Stern for copy editing tonight's Finish Line. 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: