May 31, 2018 Daily Post
There’s a recurring problem with great strategies.
You risk “collecting” them instead of improving your execution:
Great strategies aren’t Pokémon. You don’t need to “catch ‘em all” to win.
May 30, 2018 Daily Post
We’ve heard the phrase, “Sales cures all”. Not so:
Momentum, on the other hand, can cure all: sustainable, well-executed enrollment and delivery that moves you closer to your collective cause. One step at a time.
May 29, 2018 Daily Post
Which feels more premium: a slick slide deck or a simple pencil sketch?
“‘Bespoke’ is a true collaboration between patron and artisan, where conception starts with a single line on paper.” – Rolls-Royce
When one of our teams swapped their (polished) slide decks for live pencil sketch presentations:
Premium experiences are more personal, tailored, and unique. Sometimes all that’s required is a pencil and paper.
May 28, 2018 Daily Post
What are “leaders” actually supposed to produce on a team?
The outcome of designers should be more design.
The outcome of copywriters should be more copy.
The outcome of leadership should be more leaders.
May 27, 2018 Daily Post
How many times a day do you check your email?
Or any modern tool that beeps and dings for your attention?
Here’s a challenge for you:
We can’t always choose to forgo these tools when they’re integral to our team, but we can choose to do the same, but deeper.
May 26, 2018 Daily Post
“There are no great things, only small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa
“Everything at once” is too many things:
When we focus on what’s next, the remaining “everything” tends to take care of itself.
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” – Zechariah 4:10 (Partial) (NLT), Bible
May 25, 2018 Daily Post
“If only they’d buy, then they’d know how great we are.”
We need not give away your permission to serve like that:
You’ve always had–and always will have–permission to serve. What will you do about it?
May 24, 2018 Daily Post
“The Koi that makes it to the top of the Yellow River waterfall is rewarded by being transformed into a Golden Dragon.” – Japanese legend
The “Dragon Gate” legend can teach us about great teams:
If you’re not yet done, you’re not yet a Golden Dragon. But perhaps you’re a Golden Koi?
May 23, 2018 Daily Post
How much “adulting” do you get to do at work?
Doing work that matters needs trust. Trust is determined by character. Character can’t be fixed by micromanaging.
May 22, 2018 Daily Post
Teams are often eager to automate tasks, especially in marketing. Sometimes too soon, based on a promise of leverage and compounding growth.
Like cruise control, it’s helpful when used at the right time:
Man comes before the machine.
May 21, 2018 Daily Post
“Let’s have a meeting to discuss.”
Nope. First, these:
Meetings shouldn’t be to merely “discuss”. They should be to create transformation that could only occur if this particular group of people come together in real-time.
Put your meetings to the test, and see if ownership + mutual excitement + a focus on transformation don’t change how they unfold.
May 20, 2018 Daily Post
Can careers exist in the age of the gig economy?
I think so, but under different circumstances.
Rather than dying, the ‘career’ is now exclusive to teams that gift members the freedom to “make it their own.”
In that environment, you get to:
The spades are right over there.
May 19, 2018 Daily Post
You may have heard the quote, “Those who can’t do, teach.”
This is only half a quote.
The quote should really go like this: “Those who Can’t do, teach, so that they Can.”
May 18, 2018 Daily Post
Does your team have advisors?
While every great team should strongly consider an advisory board, there are some people you won’t be able to recruit.
Inaccessible-or perhaps passed-greats need not be inaccessible:
While there is no substitute for real-life advisory, for those who are unavailable to you, mental masterminds keep genius closer: privately, and on-demand.
May 17, 2018 Daily Post
How we do anything is how we do everything.
Being habitual creatures, the beliefs we have are largely universal:
Our habits follow us everywhere. Which bucket do yours fall into? Which does the best work?
May 16, 2018 Daily Post
We’ve all heard of “working well under pressure”. We may think we’re good at this.
But what about “learning well under pressure”?
When are you “working well under pressure” when you should be “learning well under pressure”?
May 15, 2018 Daily Post
What does your team focus on when going into sales calls?
Making a ‘sale’, or making a ‘give’?
Ironically, the more we focus on the latter, the more we tend to get the former anyway. The same can’t be said about the reverse.
On your team’s next sales call, which will you focus on?
May 14, 2018 Daily Post
Numbers can be both impressive and deceptive.
For instance:
Knowing what we’re measuring allows us to see through the numbers and find what truly matters.
May 13, 2018 Daily Post
How do you decide if something’s worth your time?
Great teams ask themselves this question before embarking on a project or task or risk losing time to distractions.
Consider these four parts:
Get sold on projects and tasks that make a difference. Get unsold on the rest.
May 12, 2018 Daily Post
Are you proud of your customers?
Who we serve becomes a part of who we are:
Before enrolling your next customer, consider whether they’re someone you’ll be proud to serve or not. If not, consider who would be. Otherwise, remember the commitment is mutual.
May 11, 2018 Daily Post
We don’t hear much about ‘Patience’ and ‘Focus’ in business magazines these days.
Ironic, since missing either is catastrophic:
‘Hustle’ and ‘Hacks’ sell more magazine subscriptions than ‘Patience’ and ‘Focus’ do.
Subscribe to your cause.
May 10, 2018 Daily Post
Which is more likely to get your energy & enrollment:
Something quick, easy and likely, or something slow, hard and unlikely?
Great teams get that way when they realize the latter is actually made up of doing the former, lots of times.
May 09, 2018 Daily Post
Do you follow ‘best practices’ in your work?
That may be unwise:
There are times to follow the map and learn from those who went before us.
But we should always remember to draw on that map as we go.
May 08, 2018 Daily Post
Unhappy customer.
What’s your first reaction?
Each of these first-reactions speaks volumes about whether or not you believe your team provides unchallengeable value.
Now that we’ve asked the question, we’re lucky enough to answer it before it becomes a reality.
May 07, 2018 Daily Post
Most of your work likely doesn’t come with a checklist.
But what if it did?
Great teams often do things that transcend conventional checklists. But by keeping even an imaginary checklist with us as we work, we get through the basics and standards quickly and focus more on what makes our work truly great.
May 06, 2018 Daily Post
Is your team’s offer the best on offer?
Or can your audience go another route without losing out?
The answer often comes from starting in the wrong place:
When we start with them–rather than with us–we ask a much better question, one that serves more deeply and converts more effectively.
Who do you start with?
May 05, 2018 Daily Post
Ever read Haiku before?
They’re short, 17 syllable poems that inspire creativity from constraint.
I wonder, why stop at poetry?
Great teams create move the needle when they outthink (vs outmuscle) their opposition, be it a market competitor or a social issue.
Adding “a haiku approach” to our work–inspiring creativity from constraints–forces us to resourcefully create something better, simpler, new.
May 04, 2018 Daily Post
The house at the end of our street was removed. And it changes the way we see things.
Great teams should take comfort from this. It’s hard to see where you’re going when you’re doing important work. People don’t often see what you see.
That’s what makes your work so important.
May 03, 2018 Daily Post
Doing great work once is nice.
But getting ‘another go’ means you’re in business.
You can get ‘another go’ in one of two ways:
One attracts a team that thrives, where everyone’s a winner. The other attracts “crabs in a bucket”, where nobody wins.
Both ‘work’. Which would you rather belong to?
May 02, 2018 Daily Post
We all know what MPH is.
But what’s MPD? Milage per decision:
All of these result in decisions that require new, better decisions to happen in future to fix today’s key issues. By enabling yourself to calmly focus on what matters, you’ll increase your MPD.
What’s yours?
May 01, 2018 Daily Post
What do road trips and team strategies have in common?
They each follow the same three steps required for success:
Knowing your numbers, choosing (and sticking to) your strategy, and counting the cost associated with getting there are essential steps to road trip–and team–success.
Do you have all three?