The momentum habit

Momentum is everything for building something out of nothing

I find vacations uncomfortable initially because I need to work hard to ease the momentum habit.

But, at work, momentum is at the heart of my practice.

A team or person with momentum can develop incredible performance and feel unstoppable. Like moving a physical object, it takes considerable effort to get started, and then it is easier to keep running.

I start with myself

How do we habitualise momentum? If our habits fuel momentum rather than interrupt it, they can drive consistent success.

Momentum creates momentum, and it matters how my day begins before I start influencing others. The simplest example of this is this idea from Admiral William McRaven:

“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

So, I start my day with a win. For me, it is making something. A post, a slide or just an image in Midjourney to reflect my coming day. It doesn’t need to be huge, but it needs to feel like a win.

Then, I think about fuelling the team

As I get into my day, I start working with others. Every action can kill momentum or fuel it. Even having a conversation with the team. Daniel Coyle in The Culture Code puts it well:

“the most effective listeners behave like trampolines. They aren’t passive sponges. They are active responders, absorbing what the other person gives, supporting them, and adding energy to help the conversation gain velocity.”

I want to get better at this.

I’m still on vacation at the moment. My momentum habit is idling. I don’t think I can stop it entirely.

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I am a venture builder and investor. I build out loud. Sign up for my newsletter here