Is Bigger Better? Why Sizing Matters

Rob Dyrdek, skateboarder and entrepreneur, had a successful reality TV show, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory in the late 2000s.

In season 2, episode 4, Rob got in trouble with his mother when she saw on a gossip website that he had a wild night of partying and nearly died.

He recruited his friend and singer, John Mayer, to help bring some class to the situation and redeem himself in his mother’s eyes.

To do this, they decided to dress up.

They went to a high-end bespoke suitmaker in Beverly Hills, Turnbull and Asser, who have a royal warrant from the King.

Dyrdek is not a tall gentleman, especially when standing next to Mayer.

When creating the new clothes the Manager, Simon Hobbs told Dyrdek “By the time I am finished with you, they will not notice your height.” (See the clip below)

Getting the size right matters.

Sizing The Chaos

Every day there is some sort of crisis. Some piece of work is the most important or the most urgent thing and therefore you must get it done.

But is it?

Probably not.

If it happens every day, then it is just work. Work is not a crisis. Work should not be taking place in a constant environment of panic.

Correct Size

As a leader of a team, if you, for lack of a better word, freak out about an issue, your team is going to see the problem as much larger than it actually is.

This will mean they will be acting in a heightened state rather than the calm flow state we are looking for.

Higher long-term stress will reduce your team’s ability to produce good work, creative work, and consistent work.

Also, if everything is a crisis, then when one actually happens they will not take it seriously because everything is a crisis and they are sick of it by now.

Address The Issue

Work changes, things happen.

The first thing you need to do is communicate when was happening, what now needs to happen, and how the team is going to handle it.

Clear, honest, direct communication is required when making shifts in work priorities.

You don’t just change direction and think everyone will be cool with it. You have to deal with the emotional element of people working hard in one direction and then having to mentally pivot to something else.

You need to get your team across why this change is important to the team, and how their energy helps achieve a better outcome for everyone.

Size Does Matter, But It Also Doesn’t

It is not the size of the issue that has come up that is the problem. Big crisis, small crisis, it doesn’t matter. What matters is how you handle it to set your team up for success.

Make sure you right-size the issue and respond appropriately.