The Story of Little Max
What I learned from Little Max about being bold, making mistakes and uncertainty
In The Big Moo, there’s a story about a US company that hired several Russian immigrants. To make the transition easier, the CEO and his wife would invite the Russian families over to their house to celebrate various holidays during the year. Gregory was one such employee and he came with his three-year-old son Max. The adults congregated in the living room while the kids played tag in the kitchen, running around the kitchen table piled high with food and drinks. The table had no chairs.
Max was frustrated because of his size. He was an easy target for tag. So he came up with a plan. He ran as fast as his little feet would carry him into the living room with the other kids close behind him. All of a sudden, he turned and headed to the kitchen. The parents watched, shocked, as Max headed straight for the kitchen table. He wasn’t slowing down.
Running at full speed, Max ran right under the kitchen table, his head missing the table by an inch. It was a triumph that the other kids would not forget. As the story says, it was like watching an action movie where the hero barely makes it into the tunnel while the evildoers crash into the overpass.
The author reflects on the story of Max “how did Max know he’d fit?” “What if he had hit the table?”
The answer is Max didn’t know. All Max knew was that if he was going to pull off this stunt, he needed to do it at full speed.
What can you take away from this story?
- Imagine Max is your company and the other kids are your competitors. Slowing down so that you can weigh options or see if it’s ‘safe’ may not be the best option.
- Yes, there’s uncertainty. Yes, you might make a mistake (what if Max was slightly taller?) It certainly doesn’t mean you will have failed or you won’t be successful.
- Boldness means you get a headstart on others. If you were one of the companies leaning into Artificial Intelligence right when it came out, you would certainly be ahead of other companies waiting to see what other companies are doing. You would have made mistakes, sure, but you would have learned a lot diving head first instead of dipping your toe in the water.
- When opportunities come up, don’t hesitate. Mel Robbins’ book The Five Second Rule is all about this — counting down from 5 whenever you need to do something hard means you don’t let your brain think about it, come up with excuses, and let you off the hook. Mel talks about the story of waking up early to do her morning routine and as she is laying in bed with her husband, her husband counts down 5–4–3–2–1 and Mel is up.
