Doug

"“It’s the marriage between the two—that’s the real home run,” Doug says. “If a conversation is limited to whether you achieved the goal or not, you lose context. You need continuous performance management to surface the critical questions: Was the goal harder to achieve than you’d thought when you set it? Was it the right goal in the first place? Is it motivating? Should we double down on the two or three things that really worked for us last quarter, or is it time to consider a pivot? You need to elicit those insights from all over the organization. “On the other hand, if you don’t have goals, what the heck are you talking about? What did you achieve, and how? In my experience, people are more likely to feel fulfilled when they have clear and aligned targets. They’re not wandering and wondering about their work; they can see how it connects and helps the organization.”"

"Another challenge complicated his childhood. He suffered from Bipolar II, a disorder causing mood swings. Sometimes he’d stew over his inability to read properly or live up to his mother’s lofty expectations. He’d experience a sense of anxiety that would last for weeks. More often, however, he’d feel unusually energetic, focused, even obsessed. His experience in these periods was so distinct that he’d thought of himself as inhabiting a whole new character: Super Doug. As a kid, he’d call on Super Doug to stave off Depressed Doug and overcome his dyslexia. Super Doug could study well past midnight and exist on just a few hours of sleep."

"What saved him was a visit from a childhood friend whose father had died of suicide when he was just twelve years old. Guthrie, a dad himself, asked his friend how long it took to get over his father’s death. At the time, Doug was in a deep depression and looking for absolution, someone to tell him it was okay to say goodbye to the world. His friend responded with both care and anger. “I don’t know what you’re thinking of, but that was thirty-six years ago, and not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about it—and been hurt by it. You don’t get over something like that.” The interaction shook Guthrie out of his state and compelled him to seek medical help. Only then was he diagnosed with Bipolar II, giving him a new lens to understand his entire life."