"You need to decide what problems, what opportunities, what projects you're going to work on"
About this Quote
In seven plainspoken words, Turner sneaks a whole management philosophy past you: agency is not a perk, its a duty. The line sounds like friendly career advice, but its really a hard boundary against drift. In corporate life, the default state is reactive: inboxes, meetings, other peoples deadlines. Turners verb choice - "decide" - is a quiet rebuke to the modern workplace cult of busyness. Activity is not strategy; motion is not progress.
The triplet matters. "Problems" flatters the fixer instinct and signals credibility: real work is often firefighting. "Opportunities" shifts the frame from defense to offense, implying that growth is not found, its chosen and then pursued. "Projects" grounds the whole thing in execution, the unglamorous middle where plans either become reality or die in slide decks. The subtext is that professional identity is built less by talent than by selection: what you say yes to, what you ignore, what you deliberately drop.
Contextually, this reads like a leaders note to mid-career managers - the people most vulnerable to being swallowed by the system. It also reflects a classic business tension: companies run on priorities, but organizations generate infinite demands. Turner is advocating a personal version of portfolio management. If you dont choose your work, someone else will - and youll end up living inside their definition of whats important.
The triplet matters. "Problems" flatters the fixer instinct and signals credibility: real work is often firefighting. "Opportunities" shifts the frame from defense to offense, implying that growth is not found, its chosen and then pursued. "Projects" grounds the whole thing in execution, the unglamorous middle where plans either become reality or die in slide decks. The subtext is that professional identity is built less by talent than by selection: what you say yes to, what you ignore, what you deliberately drop.
Contextually, this reads like a leaders note to mid-career managers - the people most vulnerable to being swallowed by the system. It also reflects a classic business tension: companies run on priorities, but organizations generate infinite demands. Turner is advocating a personal version of portfolio management. If you dont choose your work, someone else will - and youll end up living inside their definition of whats important.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
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