Clever is a bad long-term strategy

Thinking long-term and consistent and authentic is the better way

Organizations prefer to grow steadily and carefully over time

Being clever is not a bad thing, but trying to be very clever is a bad strategy. You can’t keep up being clever all the time. And you might become more interested in feeling clever than doing the right thing. If you aren’t being truthful, then it will catch up to you, because it will, and because you will be inconsistent in your words.

A very good strategy is being strategic, in that you think and operate long-term, not short-term gains by being clever, assertive, or political, rather by operating consistently, openly, and righteously over time. It is legitimate to be critical towards your superior officers, as long as you are respectful and honest, and do not cross them. State clearly what you think should be done, and do that, to the degree you have permission, leverage, and circumstances are ripe.

Be a little clever, be very wise, be authentic, straightforward, and consistent. Thus you will gain trust by those above, below, and around you. Trends come and go. Opportunistic people come and go. Loyal workers who really care will last long and operate for the best interests of the organization. Consistent long-term trumps short-term gimmicks.

In this day and age, it’s not really possible anyway to get away with an inauthentic record. Videos, emails, text and voice messages, social media archives - anything you say or do is documented. Be authentically good and thus ensure your record is without fault. Make an effort to document what you do and say, so that if you are accused or just doubted later on, you can show concretely that you were consistent and trustworthy. Organizations are full of personal issues and promiscuous narratives. Protect the narrative of your long-term consistent behavior.

There is time. Organizational processes take lots of time. More than expected, more than we sometimes wish. We want processes to happen quickly, but solid organizations aren’t formed in a day, and they don’t change in a day either. It often takes years. What you desire to accomplish quickly, is probably not plausible, but if you spend years on it diligently, speaking what should change, letting the words take root, then years later, much more than you expected can happen.

Not everyone wants quick change anyway. Good market investments are long-term growth. Strong institutions are conservative when they grow and change. Board members are open to changing and want slow consistent growth, unless there is a sudden crisis. They need to trust the intentions of the change agents, their motives and interests. They need to know you authentically care and have their interests in mind and are willing to wait it out with them. No one wants to be your platform for quick success. Accepting change is a matter of due process.

#leadership