J. Keith Murnighan Quote on Leadership and The Importance of Thinking Before Acting

“Leadership Law:  Think of the reaction that you want first, then determine the actions you can take to maximize the chances that those reactions will actually happen.”

J. Keith Murnighan, Do Nothing!

Beyond the Quote (334/365)

When working with others, this type of premeditative thinking is foundational for influencing the performance you desire. It’s reverse engineering for leadership. Rather than react the way you feel and hope it influences the behavior change you desire after-the-fact, you flip that thought process on its head and think about how you want the other person to react and engineer the best actions you can take to get them there. It’s thinking then acting rather than acting then thinking—which is almost always a better idea.

When you boil it down, what factor affects human performance more than any other? Is it intelligence? Is it talent? Is it consistency? I’d argue that it’s state. There are plenty of wildly intelligent people who are miserable and unbearable to work with. There is an abundance of talent that is undisciplined and unreliable. And there are nations of people who consistently show up to their 9-5’s, but feel disconnected, unfulfilled, and unhappy with their work. State of mind affects focus, mood, curiosity, creativity, initiative, camaraderie, warmth, excitement, work ethic, etc.—it’s absolutely crucial.

When a person is in their best state, they are going to perform their best. Period. How could it be any other way? This is why Murnighan declares this concept a Law. What matters for performance isn’t solely intelligence, talent, and consistency. What matters is self-intelligence, an ongoing desire to learn and improve, and an excitement to show up that radiates out into the work and workplace. And if those are the factors that matter, then those are the behaviors that we have to prioritize and consider carefully BEFORE we interact with and converse with others—especially those whom we are leading.

For, if someone who works in customer service starts underperforming, how much is yelling and screaming at them going to help them better service the customers? It’s going to put them into an upset and frustrated state all-the-same which is going to radiate out to the customers. It’s almost inevitable. Isn’t it so? Better would be to check in on their state, understand why they might be underperforming, suggest them a way to improve their state, offer them some tools that might help them better perform, and reignite their curiosity/ drive/ excitement as best as you can. Understanding begets understanding. And when you have people servicing customers, that is a much better state of mind for them to be in.

This is especially true when we’re frustrated, upset, angry, irritated, short tempered, or otherwise in a toxic state of mind. Toxicity begets toxicity. And if we act before we think when we’re in a toxic state, then it’s almost unavoidable that it spreads to whomever we are acting upon. Even if the frustration is warranted. Even if being upset is justified. Even if we have every right to be irritated. The bottom line is, if you’re not going to punish or fire the person, then you have to think about the response you desire from the interaction and reverse engineer how you might act to get it. Because how else are you going to get the responses you most desire?

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