The 2-Minute Rule Used By Billionaire Ray Dalio

In this edition of Elite Team Tactics:

• One quick win: A billionaire’s 2-minute rule for effective team meetings

• One proven system: The hidden impact of the Bike Shed effect

• One to watch: A lesson in leadership from Jamal Shead

• One for you: The Japanese mantra to increase your life expectancy

• One million-dollar question: How to unlock the power of introverts in your team

• Ones we recommend: A founder CEO playbook for scaling your company to £100m ARR

• One quote: Telle Whitney - Former CEO of The Institute for Women & Technology

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1. STEAL BILLIONAIRE RAY DALIO’S 2 MINUTE RULE FOR YOUR TEAM

Ray Dalio manages the largest hedge fund in the world.

But what we found even more interesting was his 2-minute rule.

We’ve all experienced meetings where there is a constant battle for airtime as people talk over one another to get their points across.

When there are opinionated voices in a group and pressure to get to a conclusion quickly, this environment can often make more introverted teammates shy away from contributing valuable information.

Unfortunately, this scenario is fast becoming the norm.

40% of people report experiencing more than 10 interruptions per day 😵‍💫

Frequent interruptions at work are not only annoying and counterproductive but can also lead to:

• higher rates of exhaustion

• stress-induced ailments

• doubling of error rates

So how do you ensure the loudest person in the room, or the one most likely to interrupt another, doesn't derail a meeting or creative session?

Ray Dalio swears by a strategy he calls the "2-minute rule."

The two-minute rule specifies that you must give someone an uninterrupted two minutes to explain their thinking before jumping in with your own.

This ensures that everyone has time to fully articulate their thoughts without worrying they will be misunderstood or drowned out by a louder voice.

Next time you're in a meeting this week, give it a whirl 🤐

2. THE BIKE SHED EFFECT

The Bike Shed effect (also known as Parkinson’s Law of Triviality) is an issue commonly found in teams. There is a natural human tendency to spend too much time discussing trivial matters and too little time discussing the most important topics that can move the needle for your business.

In his studies, Parkinson identified that the amount of time spent on an item is inversely proportional to the amount of money involved.

Let’s look at this in detail…

Imagine a scenario where leaders come together to discuss two agenda items:

1. A proposal to build a £15 million nuclear atomic reactor

2. A proposal to decide the colour of the £250 bike shed

Due to Parkinson’s Law, the leadership team is more likely to spend most of the meeting talking through the bike shed rather than the much larger commercial opportunity of the atomic reactor.

Why?

Complex and expensive topics are harder to understand and provide opinions on.

Simple and cheaper topics make everyone feel like they need to add their input to prove their value.

Here are a few simple steps to avoid the Bike Shed Effect and make your meetings and team run more efficiently and effectively:

• Choose attendees based on their knowledge and credibility of the task at hand

• Don't be afraid to rotate the attendees if a meeting has multiple agenda items

• Set the expectation at the beginning that attendees don't need to comment on every topic - only where they can add value, insight, experience or knowledge

• Use the Pareto 80/20 rule to identify the 20% high-impact agenda points - allocate more discussion time to these topics

If this resonates, please share with someone that it would impact the most ♻️

3. A LESSON IN LEADERSHIP FROM JAMAL SHEAD

Great leaders do what is right when nobody is watching.

Jamal Shead was recently named Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year 🏆

But what he did years prior says everything about his character.

After his teammate angrily pushed over a rubbish bin on his way to the changing room following a loss...

Shead stopped, grabbed the bin, set it back upright and began to refill it with the spilt rubbish.

The ripple effect this had on everyone else who walked past highlights the impact one great leader can have on a team.

Always remember...

The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own example.

4. THE 80% RULE THAT INCREASES LIFE EXPECTANCY

Blue zones are areas of the world in which people live exceptionally long lives with much lower rates of chronic diseases.

One of the most famous blue zones is a Japanese island called Okinawa.

Okinawans have a 2,500-year-old mantra called “Hara hachi bu” which they repeat before every meal. This translates as "Eat until you are eight parts full."

In western culture, we tend to eat larger lunches of processed food from local supermarkets which causes the body to move blood and energy towards the digestive system. This is why we tend to get an afternoon energy lull.

To combat this challenge, enjoy more energy and live longer… follow the 80% rule.

A lighter lunch plus a walk will do wonders to improve your digestion and mental clarity for the rest of the day.

5. QUESTION OF THE WEEK 🤔

How do you get the most out of the introverted geniuses in your team?

The data in this recent post from Alex shows us that 89% of the highest performers in sport would consider themselves introverted.

So if you are in a team with introverts or an extroverted manager leading an introvert, this question is for you.

Think about one person in your group who does not speak up as often as they might.

What could you do this week to make them feel heard, appreciated and like they belong in your team?

If you want to delve deeper on the topic, here is a great TED Talk on the power of introverts from Susan Cain 👇

6. LINKS OF THE WEEK 🔗

HIRING:

• 📽️ Watch what Ray Dalio looks for in an employee (link)

• 🎙️ McKinsey podcast on Gen AI talent and a glimpse into their research on how to attract and retain them (Link)

HIGH-PERFORMANCE:

• How companies are using Microsoft Copilot to avoid the worst part of meetings (Link)

• Former Yale financial analyst Shirley Chock explains how she uses Tai Chi to prevent burnout in stressful career (Link)

CULTURE:

• A recent “Great Place To Work” Study reveals how to build a “For All” culture as they generate 5.5x more revenue in comparison to less-inclusive peers (Link)

• The battle of workweek norms: the four-day v.s. six-day debate (Link)

LEADERSHIP:

• A founder CEO playbook to help with scaling, from the CEOs of startups that have reached £100m+ ARR (Link)

• The mindset adopted in all great leadership teams (Link)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK 🗣️

Thanks for tuning in this week! If you would like us to cover any specific topics or challenges you are facing then please reply to this email and we’ll get to work.

See you next week 👋