Call A Time Out
“Wait a minute. WAIT. Time out.”
The interruption startled me. I was just about to make a personal disclosure I to a new colleague. I had said, “I’ll say this privately: …” when the, “Wait a minute. WAIT. Time out.” interruption came.
Ise Lyfe — not only as the Founder and CEO of Lyfe Productives, but also as a community organizer, justice advocate, and educator — has clearly learned how to establish psychological safety.
“I’m safe. Whatever you’re about to say, you have to know: I’m never repeating it. Not later today, not in ten years. Never…”
An unexpected relief washed over me.
“Oh, and thank you for your trust in me. Now go ahead, what were you saying?”
There’s so much to unpack there, but I’m just going to let it sit.
Worth reading it again and not just memorizing the script, but asking yourself: is it true?
Related: Create Psychological Safety
Related: Court Approachability
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Last week, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke released an internal memo that's been making waves. My take: this isn't just another tech CEO jumping on the AI bandwagon. It's the clearest articulation I've seen of a principle I've been exploring the past 18 months: the greatest risk with AI isn't failure—it's inaction.