Curiosity #84 - Reading the Instruction Manual

🎤 Quotable quotes: “Boy, I love meeting people’s moms. It’s like reading an instruction manual as to why they’re nuts."

— Ted Lasso

First off, happy belated Mother’s Day to all the moms, stepmoms, grandmas, bonus moms, team moms, dog moms, and anyone else out there reminding grown adults to bring a jacket “just in case.”

This past weekend got us thinking about one of our favorite Ted Lasso quotes. Because as funny as it is… it’s also kind of true.

The people around us shape us.

Our habits.
Our reactions.
Our confidence.
Our weirdness.

A lot of it comes from the people we spend the most time with.

And while Ted says it jokingly, there’s a real leadership lesson hiding underneath it.

🏟 Why This Matters for You

In Lead It Like Lasso, we talk about the idea that we become the average of the five people we spend the most time around.

That can sound dramatic until you really stop and think about it.

Who influences your thinking?
Who affects your energy?
Who shapes your standards, your optimism, your outlook?

Whether we realize it or not, people rub off on us.

That’s part of what made the Diamond Dogs so powerful.

It was not just a group of friends hanging around an office making barking noises.

It was a circle of people committed to helping each other think better, grow wiser, and navigate life honestly.

Sometimes with advice.
Sometimes with tough love.
Sometimes with very confusing metaphors from Coach Beard.

But always with trust.

Ted understood something important:

You do not become your best self accidentally.

You become it through the people you consistently let into your life.

🧠 The Diamond Dog Test

Here’s a question worth asking:

Are the people around you pulling you toward the kind of person you want to become?

Not perfect people.
Not people who always agree with you.
But people who share your values.

People who tell you the truth kindly.
People who encourage growth.
People who celebrate your wins without making it about themselves.
People who help you become more curious, more grounded, and more you.

That’s the real value of a Diamond Dogs circle.

It’s not just support.

It’s alignment.

🌷 A Mother’s Day Twist

And honestly, this is where moms often deserve more credit than they get.

Because for many of us, our earliest examples of resilience, empathy, humor, grit, faith, or kindness came from watching them.

Even the quirky stuff.

Especially the quirky stuff.

Ted’s quote works because deep down, we know there’s truth in it.

The people closest to us leave fingerprints on who we become.

🏁 Final Thought

Ted was joking about moms being instruction manuals.

But maybe there’s a bigger truth hiding in there.

The people around us shape us.

Which means one of the most important leadership decisions we make is deciding who gets close enough to influence us.

Choose wisely.

And maybe call your mom.

— Nick & Marnie
Your tea sipping, Diamond Dogs appreciating, instruction manual reading friends

More leadership musings

🍪 Biscuits with the Boss: 

Icebreaker time:

Who are the five people you currently spend the most time with?

Now the tougher question:

Are they helping you become more like the person you want to be?

Bonus Diamond Dogs version:
Who would you call first if life got hard tomorrow?

🌎 This week in Here - There - Every F’ing where 

Nick checked in at his hotel for his son's graduation and the graduate standing behind him said Lead It Like Lasso because he had just received a copy as his graduation gift! He had no idea Nick was standing in front of him. How cool is that?! 

Believe! 

Nick & Marnie