Archive of posts from December 2017

Map apps (and GSP units before them) do three things really well:

• Show the best route: am I going where I want to go? Is this the right way for me based on where I’m heading?
• Reroute if there’s a problem: a new route appeared that’ll get me there faster and safer? Take me that way, please!
• Time to arrival: now I know when to start my journey, and how long it’ll take me if I start now.

If you’re...

The bank teller should have done such a good job that I didn’t want to bank online.

• Bank tellers lost to online banking, at the expense of a human guide. Tellers should have appreciated their roles as guides.
• Bookstores lost to Amazon, at the expense of expert curation. The experts should have appreciated their roles as leaders.
• Local markets lost to supermarkets, at the expense of the local community. Store owners should have appreciated their roles as community builders.
...

Passionate people put a lot of themselves into their work. While writing about distractions a couple of days ago, I touched upon a parasite of the passionate: ‘fake-work’.

Fake-work is when you feel like you’re working, but you’re really not. It takes time, but without the sensation of forward-motion in ways that matter.

Here are some examples to help you spot it when it happens:

1. Thinking but not deeply enough to drive any thought, situation, or idea forward....

What are you worried about, today?

It’s not something we often hear much about, as though the best of us are immune to worry. The truth is, worry–like every other signal your body sends you–can be leveraged once mastered.

Pretending it’s not there won’t help. Take my “Worry-buster” technique and steal it for yourself:

1. Define it. What are the things you’re worried about right now? List them out on paper, one per line, leaving a line between each one.
...

The first and last thing you look at is likely your smartphone. Your glowy little defender against boredom. What would happen if you gave its morning/evening bedside pedestal to a paper notebook?

Let’s break down what you likely use it for in these times (categorized):

1. Checking if someone messaged you. ‘Distraction’.
2. Checking if there’s a critical issue at work to resolve. ‘Fake-work‘ – are you going to do anything about the issue, or will you just mark it...

I had the ‘collector’ bug as a child, appreciating the allure of a complete ‘set’ or rare ‘pull’.

Could they make a “collector’s edition” of your work?

If you provide a service, is there a special edition they could experience and remember, either by choice or as a gift? If a product, is there a version fit for the mantlepiece that recipients can be proud to show off and be thankful for?

There are two key by-products there: being proud...

As we see our families this Christmas Day, we’re reminded of the traditions we share. Each family is unique, as are the effects of their traditions.

They bring people together in unique ways that you sorely miss if you’re unable to be there.

When building or nurturing a tribe of people, traditions become a bonding agent few ‘perks’ can match. Let’s decode these traditions:

• Intimacy: The traditions bring people together. That mutually desired closeness breeds intimacy.
• Camaraderie: The traditions create shared...

Most of us have experienced the difference between purchasing commodities and ‘finer goods’. The term ‘finer goods’ is often confused with ‘expensive’, but as we define the characteristics of finer goods, we see this isn’t the case.

Certainly, the act of engaging with the creators of finer goods can be more personal, enjoyable, refer-able, and long-lasting. All great things. What makes these things happen?

• Recognition. By reflecting the identity of the buyer, the item becomes about them. E.g. a U.K. customer receives a...

What if you already had your pick of causes that desperately need your support?

What if you already had access to the strategies needed to take your work to market?

What if you already had access to the capital needed to make your idea a reality?

What if you already had access to the buyers needed to grow that idea exponentially?

What if the right people were already available, to recruit or to join forces with, ready to own the change...

A box of free-range eggs only costs a few dollars. A Fabergé egg costs millions.

Their rarity, intricacy, and mystique make all the difference. And you can’t even eat them.

In a race to become an overnight success, we frequently observe the rapid commoditization of products, services, and brands. Many appear to prefer being a free-range business, rather than a Fabergé business.

How can you be the latter?</p> ##1. Be Different, because ‘rare’ isn’t the same.

• Do unexpected things. Fabergé...

Why did you put that there? Do you need that? What’s it for? What’s a better way of doing that? How could that be easier to understand? Does that fit in? Could you remove that? What’s missing? If you threw this in the trash, what would you do instead? Am I doing my best work? Can I ship it yet?

The more time you spend arguing with yourself, the better your work will become. Without these arguments, you’ll do standard...

“A Players play with A Players. B Players play with C Players” – elitist chant

You’ve likely heard this quote before. It may even have inspired you to do better work. But it’s wrong.

It supposes you’re destined for a downward trajectory unless you’re already the best. And the best don’t get that way by accident. Let’s rewrite the quote:

B Players play with B players. C Players play with nobody. A Players turn B Players into A...

Needs: We do these because we were asked to. We drink water because our body needs it. We deliver great service because we promise it to our customers and clients. We do these things because we Need to.

Musts: We do these things, not from need, but because we decided they’re important enough. They Must get done because they create a change we want to see in the world. We refuse to let these things remain undone.

Shoulds: We don’t...

Perfection, in its usual sense, suggests the ultimate unattainable pedestal commonly used to excuse ourselves from starting something that matters. Or a romanticized ideal looked upon through rose-tinted glasses.

What if perfection meant something different? What if perfection simply meant that something does exactly what its supposed to do?

Rolls-Royce is often considered to create automotive perfection – the ultimate driving experience.

They perfected making you feel ‘special’.

They did not perfect making you feel ‘eco-friendly’. By that standard, a...

“What got you here won’t get you there” – Marshall Goldsmith

The trouble with performing the trapeze act is, if you don’t let go of one swing in order to grab the next, you lose momentum and wind up going backward, quickly.

The other issue is, the second swing is the scarier one–it’s the one you’ve not got a grip on yet. Worse, not grabbing it will send you quickly downward. And you can’t hold on to them both...

Last week, the FCC ruled against Net Neutrality, America’s fight for freedom of information. ‘The land of the free’ now lacks freedom of information.

Fascism aside, netizens (that’s us) are partly to blame for this centralized control of information.

We collectively voted to give our data and attention to a select few sites and services. The majority vote went to consuming rather than creating, following instead of leading, and reducing our thinking to 140 characters or less.

Turns out shooting...

‘New Years’ is dangerous. Everyone starts thinking about new things to try or to stop doing by way of a ‘resolution’. Baseless ideals that last for 28 days.

Perhaps what we need isn’t a new year. Maybe what we need is just a better, refined version of last year. Maybe what we did last year isn’t so bad, we just needed to be more consistent, or disciplined. Maybe there’s absolutely nothing new we need to ‘start’ at all.

1. What...

“Sales is about turning “I’ve never heard of it” into “no” and then into “yes”. – Seth Godin

Sales is a game that belongs to two types of people:

1. Passionate servant-hearted coaches,
2. Scoundrels for hire.

The latter’s the one with the reputation. Coaches will try to serve you if you’re a fit. They’ll push for maximum value and service for the lowest possible risk, as an act of service.

They’ll get you to–and through–the “no” because they...

When you receive an email, you don’t wonder whether or not the words will come. Do you? I don’t. I tend to just start writing.

The question isn’t, “Can I write this?” or “Should I write this?” or even, ”What will they think of this?”

It’s simply, “I’m going to reply to this in a way that answers the question, is helpful, useful, easy to read, and only long enough to provide the value I want to provide.”

As it...

I love hearing people who see our products and services say…

“Is that all there is to it?”

We live in a world so full of information, tactics, and hacks, that we soften become curators instead of creators.

“I’d like to learn more.’

“Send me some more information.”

“Let’s have another call.”

We beg for more information. Because it’s far more comfortable than making a decision to start doing, to start creating, to start making things happen.

“Is that all...