Lessons from Leadership

Seven things the founder of a logistics platform can teach you about your own commute

The founder of one of the largest logistics platforms in the world is known for treating every minute as inventory. The commute is where most contributors hold the most unmanaged inventory of the week.

Leave earlier than you need to. The margin is not wasted; it is insurance against the one delay that would otherwise be counted against you.

Use the time. A podcast on your industry, a review of the day’s priorities, or simply arriving calm are all returns on an hour that was going to pass anyway.

Arrive visibly. The people who are seen to arrive early are read as reliable, and reliability is the quality most often rewarded when other qualities are equal.

Never treat the commute as unpaid. It is the part of the working day that you own outright, and the founder would tell you that ownership is where value accrues.