I think we can all agree, cancer is not a good thing. It is a pretty annoying situation.
Cancer is essentially uncontrolled cell proliferation. Cells grow that don’t add anything to use. They don’t make us better.
The opposite of this is Apoptosis. It comes from Greek to mean falling off. It refers to leaves falling off the trees. Apoptosis is programmed cell death. The body gets rid of cells that no longer serve a purpose.
Cull the herd
In the wild, this happens at a macro level as well as a cellular level.
The weakest of the herd die off, they are usually hunted and eaten. Their death and removal from the herd make the whole herd stronger.
Death in this sense is very literal, but it just means the end of things. Projects, processes, ideas, values, strategies, and principles, all need to adapt and change and sometimes get removed from organisations or people.
Living a purposeful life
The same purposeful death can be helpful in a business context.
Your systems and processes work with 5 people but need to change when you have 50. If there is no plan for growth, the 5 people process continues and becomes a drain on the organisation.
You are in a job that is meaningful but it isn’t the end game. If you stay for a year, that is great, if you are still in the same job for 10 years then it is a mistake.
Use death to your advantage
Netflix had a philosophy that they don’t hire brilliant jerks. No matter how good that person is, if they are a dick they hurt the whole team and so they get rid of them.
Cell death is factored into how the body works from the start. When it gets the signal then it dies off. You need to plan for the death of things from the start. What is the marker or signifier to start to end something?
What event or information will you need to have to make a decision to end something?
Is it if after 6 months it hasn’t achieved X? When we hit 20 staff members we will change to Y.
Knowing when to start something is great timing. Knowing when to end something can be just as useful.
We have limited time and resources and it is important to put those precious resources into the most valuable and healthy decisions.
Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe 