Shaping One’s Destiny Despite The Circumstances
Good morning
Thank you everyone who sent me feedback on the design work. Today’s letter continues the experimentation with design options. Let me know what you think.
Incidentally, if you’re tired of wearing a mask, check out Emma’s amazing masks. They make the whole process a little more joyful and silly. Much needed emotions, methinks.
This six-minute podcast with acclaimed author Margaret Atwood, continues the sci-fi strand that I introduced in an earlier letter. She starts by describing herself as an ‘antiquated scribbler’. Attwood gently teases us for wanting to position her as a visionary. Her dry humour makes this a great listen. She reminds us that there are multiple futures and the future is a consequence of the actions that we take.
It is this principle of shaping destiny that informs today’s letter.
/ STRATEGY
Dave Dahl’s story includes 15 years in prison and building a $275 million business. It disrupts the idea of a straight line to success and shows that even with success, life can remain complicated.
The family-owned a neighbourhood bakery. However, Dahl rebelled. He says, “the last thing in the world I wanted to be was a baker”.
In his early 20s struggling with drug addiction and undiagnosed bipolar, he says “I had no perspective that you can go out and build a life. I didn’t see that. I thought that I was born to lose”. At that point, he says that he thought “everyone else knows more than I do. Everyone else is more built for life”. His life spiraled downwards in a cycle of ever-increasing crime to pay for his drugs. Eventually, he was jailed.
In 2001, after nearly 15 years in prison, he reached a turning point. He laughs, saying that he realized, “I cannot be a criminal anymore. I am not any good at it”. From there he got help. He went on to anti-depressants and started training to become a draftsman while in prison.
When Dahl was released, his brother welcomed him back into the family business, although he insisted, he starts back at the bottom, baking bread.
At that point, the business was in trouble. It was being undermined by larger, more innovative, cost-effective producers. Dahl’s brother gave him the remit to figure out what new products were needed. Dahl reflected that the prison vocational training helped him here, “as a drafter you replicate, and you learn to make it better”.
Oftentimes strategies fail because we don’t take the first step. In prison, Dahl knew that he wanted to change his life. He knew that a trade would help his employability. He did one. Although he never did a day’s architectural work, the generic skill helped him to think about innovating for his family’s business.
Now Dahl tackled each new experimental bread with the mindset that he “wanted it be a masterpiece, like a piece of art”. These breads provided the spark that transformed the family’s business.
He would name his breads and then design recipes and bake accordingly. He even made a Blues Bread inspired by his love for the blues. It was blue! You’ll have to listen to hear how he did that.
He says that his creativity allied to his brother and nephew’s business skills enabled them to power the business forward. Together, they had the mix of skills required to build the business.
The business started to boom. Then, Dahl started drinking heavily. By 2013 he was back in the grip of addiction. This time, alcohol. He ended up spending 36 hours in prison and two and a half weeks in a psychiatric hospital before slowly getting his life back on track for a second time. It fractured his relationship with his family. At the time of this NPR podcast, Dahl and his brother were still not completely reconciled.
He reflects that his success started with his moment of acceptance in prison. He says that in accepting himself, his mind was freed, and the freedom allowed him to create.
His family had some foundation, there were financial skills that he could partner with, but ultimately it was that creative spark that came from Dahl’s connection to himself, that revolutionized the business allowing them to sell it in 2015 for $275 million.
/ SOUL
Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi is a pre-eminent South African artist. Her work reflects connection with spirit, soul, and those that came before her.
Sebidi’s working life started as a domestic worker in apartheid South Africa. She endured harassment and humiliation at the hands of apartheid’s policemen. She confronted consistent sexism. She became a globally celebrated artist.
This I Am Woman episode gives us a window into her journey.
Illustrious painter, David Koloane reflects that people would ask “why would a woman be an artist? What is wrong with her? Why can’t she get married?” Or become a social worker, or a nurse, or something like that? But it was a calling for her”.
He notes that she did not allow fear to hold her back. She kept persisting, despite the adversity.
At a point in her life, she intersected with an employer who encouraged her creativity. From there Sebidi started to attending artist training programmes running in Johannesburg and her craft started to take shape.
Then, her beloved grandmother fell ill. She returned to rural Limpopo to care for her. While there, she immersed herself in the stories of her village. Her painting increasingly connected with the myths of her people.
She started doing ‘days of cutting the hair and days of cutting the nails’, caring for the elderly women in the village. She says that while she did this work, “They would tell me all the stories, from deep down. The stories would come more and more…when you’re working on them, when you’re really saying, ‘I love you’ by action…”. These stories connected Sebidi with her history.
In demonstrating love, Sebidi received a spiritual education that has powered her work for decades. She reflects that this education has made her unique in the brutally competitive art world.
For those of you who are fans of unboxing videos go to the 32nd minute. It’s a moment of profound beauty.
Sebidi reflects that, “I start working as it comes, it directs me where I need to go and then I follow. For me following is better than knowing. I don’t want to know. I just want to play”.
Jim Collins has often reflected how the executives of high-performing companies describe working systematically, following the flow of what works. They follow the universal principle as Sebidi.
She calls herself an encourager, not a teacher. She says her role “is to encourage people to understand themselves, to connect back to where they come from” – the very essence of great leadership.
/ SELF
The inflection point, for both Dahl and Sebidi was a deep connection to self. This is a powerful place from which to act.
Start by asking, “What makes me happiest?”
As thoughts and emotions arise write them down. After a fortnight, you’ll be much more connected to your uniqueness.
I hope that these stories have inspired you. In a world of adversity, it is possible to create a meaningful life. Know yourself.
As always, please forward this letter to friends.
If you’d like to subscribe, you can do so here.
Karl
PS Click here for a little about my coaching practice.
(This letter was first published on 31 May 2021)