Andy Black
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The first anniversary of my dad’s passing was last month and I’ve been thinking about him a lot recently.
Andy Black Snr joined the British army at the age of 16, and left over two decades later as a staff sergeant.
It’s been said that staff sergeants are the backbone of the British army. They’ve shoveled their fair share. They’ve been in the trenches. They engage in hand-to-hand combat.
Staff sergeants are practitioners leading a small team of practitioners. They lead not because they have stripes on their sleeve, but because they *earned* those stripes.
One thing my dad hated about the army was blind obedience to authority that doesn’t deserve it.
The last thing he wanted was for me to follow in the family footsteps (his dad and two older brothers were in the RAF and his younger brother was in the army too).
His revulsion to blind obedience must have rubbed off on me in some ways.
I’m a reluctant course creator. The thought of creating a course on something I’ve not been in the trenches for is not how I’ve been brought up. I created my course because I’m a practitioner, and because people kept asking if I had one.
I suppose that’s the best way to start a business - having people asking to give you money?
Anyway... one of the phrases that jarrs with me is “building authority”.
“How do I build authority?”
WTF?!?
Do the fecking work. Get in the trenches. Engage your market in hand-to-hand combat. Get bloody. Get knocked flat. Get up again. Keep going.
Keep going. Keep moving forward. Create a vacuum and people will tuck in and follow.
Battle scars are *earned*.
Wisdom is *earned*.
Grey hair and wrinkles are *earned*.
Want to know how to “build authority”?
Earn your fecking stripes.
When I get to my PC I’ll upload a photo of my dad. I know he was super proud of me. I just hope he realised how super proud of him I am.
Andy Black Snr joined the British army at the age of 16, and left over two decades later as a staff sergeant.
It’s been said that staff sergeants are the backbone of the British army. They’ve shoveled their fair share. They’ve been in the trenches. They engage in hand-to-hand combat.
Staff sergeants are practitioners leading a small team of practitioners. They lead not because they have stripes on their sleeve, but because they *earned* those stripes.
One thing my dad hated about the army was blind obedience to authority that doesn’t deserve it.
The last thing he wanted was for me to follow in the family footsteps (his dad and two older brothers were in the RAF and his younger brother was in the army too).
His revulsion to blind obedience must have rubbed off on me in some ways.
I’m a reluctant course creator. The thought of creating a course on something I’ve not been in the trenches for is not how I’ve been brought up. I created my course because I’m a practitioner, and because people kept asking if I had one.
I suppose that’s the best way to start a business - having people asking to give you money?
Anyway... one of the phrases that jarrs with me is “building authority”.
“How do I build authority?”
WTF?!?
Do the fecking work. Get in the trenches. Engage your market in hand-to-hand combat. Get bloody. Get knocked flat. Get up again. Keep going.
Keep going. Keep moving forward. Create a vacuum and people will tuck in and follow.
Battle scars are *earned*.
Wisdom is *earned*.
Grey hair and wrinkles are *earned*.
Want to know how to “build authority”?
Earn your fecking stripes.
When I get to my PC I’ll upload a photo of my dad. I know he was super proud of me. I just hope he realised how super proud of him I am.
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