“Making people wait or earning access to your time forces them to invest mental energy into you.” Robert Greene
It’s 10 p.m. on Wednesday. The business closed at 5 p.m. as it does every day. Sarah sends me a long text addressing some questions I posed in today’s briefing. Marshall leaves a voicemail letting me know he has fallen ill. Patrick shares a workplace grievance. What do I do? What do leaders do?
A ringing phone still frightens me. Perhaps it is a legacy of my military days where a ringing phone might mean a solider is in trouble, injured or killed, or I’m being called to war. Maybe it is just a curse of being a parent – the fear of a call informing you that your child is hurt or worse. Not much I can do about that fear other than shut my phone off, but I don’t want to do that. Not many people do. My main reason is availability. Within limits, I want to be available to my family, especially my wife, and those I lead.
I’ve entertained emails and text messages after hours. …
