And therein lies the essence of tactical excellence: people caring about their work because they see its importance.

There will always be plenty to be afraid of, especially when you are doing something new. Trusting others doesn’t mean that they won’t make mistakes. It means that if they do (or if you do), you trust they will act to help solve it. Fear can be created quickly; trust can’t. Leaders must demonstrate their trustworthiness, over time, through their actions - and the best way to do that is by responding well to failure. The Braintrust and various groups within Pixar have gone through difficult times together, solved problems together, and that is how they’ve built up trust in each other. Be patient. Be authentic. And be consistent. The trust will come.

Because when you start focusing on extending the charitable assumption to the people around you, you find yourself giving it to yourself a bit more as well. We were introduced to many of these concepts on our very first day, at the meeting for new hires. Those meetings were in themselves unusual; my Cornell friends had gone on to work for large restaurant companies who didn’t do anything of the sort. And the importance of those meetings within USHG’s culture sent an immediate signal: “There’s a certain way we do things here, and it’s bigger than teaching you how you move through the dining room or how to spiel a dish.

Many managers also believe that they're inspiring the troops hv demanding it all. In our experience, the opposite often occurs. Cynicism can build quickly" among frontline employees who are confronting the trade-offs every day, while their managers continue to deny reality.

Many managers also believe that they're inspiring the troops hv demanding it all. In our experience, the opposite often occurs. Cynicism can build quickly" among frontline employees who are confronting the trade-offs every day, while their managers continue to deny reality.