This one got lost the first time around. So it’s back — as a bonus episode, with more time to sit with the material and more tangents worth following. The Michael Jordan story. The three layers that actually determine career trajectory. And the question most high performers never honestly sit with: why isn’t my excellence enough?
What we cover:
Why Jordan’s eligibility was never the question — and what six years of playoff exits with the best player in the league reveals about the layer underneath raw talent
The Ed Catmull and Pixar connection: the difference between a brilliant jerk and a brilliant collaborator — and why the single most talented person in a room can actually decrease collective output
What Phil Jackson actually did when he installed the triangle offense — and why it was a behavioral requirement delivered through a tactical system, not a basketball instruction
What changed and what didn’t: why Jordan’s standards never lowered — and why redirecting them toward his teammates instead of at them changed everything
The research on how the highest performer in any group sets the ceiling for what everyone else believes is possible
Ty and Carmen: two high performers asking the same question in completely different industries — and the answer nobody is telling them directly
The most accurate picture you have of your own suitability — and where to find it
The question worth actually sitting with:
Think about the last time you received genuine criticism. Not the formal review version. The real version. What happened in your body when you heard it? What did you want to say? What did you actually say? That response is the most accurate picture you have of where your suitability actually stands.
For the full framework — the three layers, the Ty and Carmen story, and where to start if you recognize yourself in any of this — check out the article at thereadyset.substack.com
Signal Forward runs alongside The Ready Set — built for individual contributors, specialists, and practitioners whose behavioral patterns determine whether their contribution gets seen, valued, and rewarded.
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