Archive of posts from March 2022

What’s better than overdoing something?

Sometimes, the answer is… Underdoing it:

Underdo the max number of projects we take on: if we can do 10 OK, or 5 so extraordinarily well that people tell others, isn’t the ‘underdo’ option better?

Underdo the number of features your work has: if we can build lots of features - bloating our codebase and diluting our skillset - or we can commit to making the best version of a stripped back body of work that thoroughly accommodates our choice of market… isn’t the ‘underdo’ option better?

Underdo the amount of stuff we focus on: make 20 OK dishes or 5 amazing signature dishes… buy 4 okay-quality teas or 1 great-quality tea… learn 8 skills at once or master one at a time… aren’t these ‘underdo’ options usually better?

Sometimes the best way to maximise is to minimise.

We belong to tribes.

They affect our thinking way more than we realise.

Your country has a tribe. I’ve lived in multiple countries, and have felt the influence of their cultures on my mind. It’s a thing, whether or not it can be seen.

Your industry has a tribe. I’ve operated in multiple industries, and have seen the affinities and disdains for different business models, marketing strategies and corporate cultures.

Your philosophy or theology has a tribe. I was raised in religion and discovered truly independent thinking in adulthood. There’s a world of difference between finding peace from faith in the conjectural vs a reverence of reason.

Your family has a tribe. The inner battles of our parents become our own base code, the culture of our families our norm, upon which we patch new understanding.

Your social media have tribes. Groupthink exists in Twitter circles, Discord servers and subreddits.

How do we notice when our thinking is driven by tribes?

By seeing the alternative so that contrasts become clearer.

The colour ‘blue’ is just ‘blue’ until we put it on a colour wheel, then we can see if it’s a deep blue, or a greeny-blue, or perhaps even purple.

By opening our minds — reading a gardening magazine when you hate gardening, or making friends with someone with hugely different political orientations for instance — and forgoing our inclination to disagree for just long enough that we might learn something about ourselves.

Systems helps some businesses thrive, and others stagnate.

What’s the difference?

System Bad: The people aren’t good, so the system becomes great at making them less not-good. The result is average conduct.

System Good: The people are good, so the system becomes great at making them even greater. The result is better-than-great conduct.

It turns out the system isn’t the problem.

The system simply helped make sure the job got done.

Are you enhancing good work with process, or merely compensating for average work?

Succeeding at our work requires:

The Courage to do…

The Wisdom to know what to do…

The Temperance to know when to do it…

And the Justice to know why to do it…

Courage. Wisdom. Temperance. Justice. These are the 4 core Stoic virtues!

Turns out the formula has been around for thousands of years. Hidden in plain sight.

Will you choose to use it?

Not enjoying the “Fear of missing out” (FOMO)?

Give the “Joy of missing out” a try (JOMO).

JOMO means seeing an opportunity, and letting it ride on by, because you want to.

JOMO means passing a small project to go for a long walk or read a book instead.

JOMO means external forces — even good, positive ones — aren’t in the driving seat.

You are.

You get to choose.

The right team is 1st priority.

Great ideas with bad teams executing them become wasted opportunities.

Great products with bad teams executing them become bad products.

A great team is one that knows quality, grit, courage, wisdom, cause, temperance, adaptability, manners.

Having a team that is great comes 1st, even if the team is just you.

Everything else is 3rd.

Exclusive things are cool.

Inclusive things are important.

Can we combine the two?

Exclusive = when only a chosen few can participate.

Inclusive = is when everyone can participate.

Exclusively inclusive = specialising when everyone else is trying to be all things to all people.

Being exclusively inclusive means saying no to a thousand things, so that you can focus on what you do best, and bring your best in an inclusive way.

Being exclusively inclusive means leaving space for others to focus on their area of genius, elevating them in their efforts, so that the sum is worth more than the parts.

Being exclusively inclusive means trading the owning of market share for the sharing of market reach (which just so happens to result in greater market share… for what you do best).

Consider being exclusively inclusive.

Day 1 of Metaverse Fashion Week is complete.

And as friend white-house.eth https://twitter.com/adamfairhead/status/1507120913569009674, the experience has been a little underwhelming.

Not because the technology isn’t there. Second Life made metaverse possible over a decade ago. The tech’s there.

Not because fashion brands aren’t interested. Our entry was listed alongside the likes of DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger. They’re interested.

But because we need more good examples.

In this case, inclusivity and accessibility should have been hallmarks of a red carpet moment for the decentralised metaverse concept.

Instead, exclusivity and elite flexing have been hallmarks of an exhibition of ultra-luxury.

Not many can justify $18,000 on a virtual necklace. And prior to broader adoption of virtual goods, that number is fewer still.

Our entry had a price and inventory each designed to be accessible and inclusive, because that’s what that space needs.

Good opportunities need good examples.

That’s how great opportunities are born.

In 2008, I ran a virtual clothing store.

As in, virtual clothes, sold in the thousands, every day.

It was a lot of fun!

I’ve been enjoying experimenting with the ‘metaverse’ in its current wave in a few ways. One of which featured at the first ever ‘Metaverse Fashion Week’ alongside physical brands like DKNY and Forever21, and web3 brands like Fang Gang and DeadFellaz.

Here’s what the media coverage has to say about my experiment:

Adam Fairhead told us more about ethos of the brand and the thinking behind their first Decentraland drop:

“We should be able to wear our beliefs wherever we are. This line of ‘wearable philosophy’ lets us us literally ‘clothe ourselves in a better mindset’ — a fashion choice that would never have existed without the metaverse.”

“Web3 is making new ways for us all to express our personality & beliefs. The future of fashion – a medium designed to paint identity on a canvas of human form — will leverage this to discover new depths of self-expression in the metaverse on forms not limited by science.”

The outfit itself is mostly dark, but there’s almost a glow as you move up the body. The hood is bright and illuminating, reminding us that the head is the area that’s important.

“The pants feature an illustrated scene that demonstrates what happens when we let fear, uncertainty and doubt take hold. You can sense the freneticism – it’s a good expression of the state of things when we lose control of our minds, when we let the signals around us overwhelm us and take control of us.”

The event starts tomorrow and runs through the weekend. Check it out in Decentraland if you can!

“We need more engagement”

“We need more likes”

Nope, we need more love for our lurkers.

Social media tools lull you into the feeling that nobody cares.

And it’s true, maybe they don’t…

…but it’s more likely that there are a whole bunch of people who are watching you, and cheering you on… but who simply don’t click on the heart icon.

Or don’t feel confident enough to contribute to the conversation.

Or don’t think what they have to say is valuable.

Or maybe they just don’t like clicking ‘Like’ for reasons unknown even to themselves.

Love your lurkers anyway.

The relationship is more important than the click.

This is one of my new favourite quotes:

“Success is one of the possible outcomes.”

It’s from Elon Musk, while discussing SpaceX’s Starship challenges.

I’ve often thought that the tempered Stoic ‘ambition’ is misunderstood.

The idea of aiming for the stars while expecting a good chance of failure seems counter-intuitive. We hear the ‘burn the boats’ motivational speeches often enough to deem such pragmatism to be for those of weaker spirit.

But that’s simply untrue.

Rather, a “Heads I win, tails I still win” mind is far more inclined to find steady progress than one that must pause to lick its wounds each time things don’t go its way.

If “success is one of the possible outcomes”, you’ll be quite happy to try again if and when things don’t necessary turn out the way you’re aiming for.

What does your birth year have to do with your work?

More than we think:

If I was born 10 years earlier, I’d have learned to draw with an all-physical skillset.

If I was born 10 years later, I’d have learned to draw with an all-digital skillset.

I was born when I was born, and so I learned to draw with a hybrid skillset… part before we had computers and internet, part after.

And so I get to enjoy the confidence that comes from the permanence of ink… with the freedom that comes from the non-destructive editing of digital.

Some younger artists may not have to learn the confidence born of such permanence, and produce sheepish line work.

Some older artists may scoff at my affinity toward ‘undo’ as I make my final lines up “just right”.

My birth year affects my work.

And your birth year affects yours.

And in it, you’ll find more unique advantage that you may not have thought about before.

Harness it!

Do you know a lot about your industry… or do you UNDERSTAND your industry?

What’s the difference?

Let’s look at that… and why the difference is more important for your work than you might think:

Example 1: The general theory of relativity lets us understanding how planets move.

Facts about a particular planet may help us forecast its particular movement, but those facts don’t change our understanding. Nor could those facts supplant understanding.

Example 2: Counting lets us understand quantities of things.

Facts about hash marks or Roman numerals may help us express counting in other formats, but those facts don’t change our understanding, either.

Now let’s bring it back to YOUR work.

Which sounds more important:

• Understanding what makes a client feel confident, safe, and happy under your care, or
• Knowing the latest closing hack or popular CRM follow-up technique?

How about these, which is more important:

• Knowing how to use Figma, XD, Sketch and Photoshop like the back of your hand, or
• Understanding how to use visuals to ethically guide attention while invoking the right emotional state?

Seek understanding above facts.

And remember the difference.

Your work will thank you greatly for it.

Effort.

We all think we’re putting it in.

But are we as much as we think we are?

Take applying for a job for example:

Is effort applying for the job?

Or is effort applying for the job with a good cover letter?

Or is effort applying for the job with a whole web page dedicated to the position, what you can bring to the role, covering ideas you’ve already explored ahead of time to show outsized commitment?

It depends on what you consider effort, I suppose.

But of the examples above, one interpretation of effort is going to produce far better results than the others.

Effort… are you putting it in?

1,560 days of daily blog posts.

Another day, another idea…

It sounds noisy, like there’s lots to say…

But it’s the opposite:

One a day is focus: Not a hundred ideas, just one. Execute one.

One a day is discipline: Not every sometimes. Every day.

One a day is practice: Not great every day. A little better every day.

1,560 is just a single post a day for 1,560 posts.

“If you give me a lever and a place to stand, I can move the world.” — Archimedes

Why do you do things?

Option 1: Light
“In light of the circumstances…”
“In light of current market events…”
“In light of customer feedback…”

This is a reactive option. The opportunistic option.

When the market zigs, you zig, whether it’s the best path or not.

Option 2: Spite
“In spite of the circumstances…”
“In spite of current market events…”
“In spite of customer feedback…”

This is also a reactive option. The stubborn option.

When the market zigs, you zag, whether they like it or not.

Option 3: Right
“The right thing to do in these circumstances…”
“The right thing to do in the current market…”
“The right thing to do in response to this feedback…”

This is the proactive option. The visionary option.

Whether the market zigs or zags isn’t the point. You’re making a difference.

Which option do you use?

Which would you like to use?

Let’s play a game:

Virtual clothes.

What are they worth?

We’ve been working on the Metaverse Fashion Week ’22 event over the past couple of weeks. We’re both featured as designers and supporting visuals/comms with our media studio.

To some, they won’t keep you warm when it’s cold, so they’re worth nothing.

To others, they’re an expression of your identity in a new space, and that’s worth lots.

Let’s go again:

Profile pictures.

What are they worth?

We’ve observed the NFT movement since 2021, and launched the beginning of a web3-native personal development brand. People pay a lot of money for NFTs.

To some, they can’t hang the picture on their wall, so it’s worth nothing.

To others, it’s an access pass to a community and an experience that’s worth lots.

Worth isn’t absolute.

Worth is in the eye of the beholder.

Remember that when you decide to market your work to ‘everybody’. Your tribe want you to talk to them, and them specifically. Don’t worry about others who won’t vibe with your people.

The more you learn…

The easier AND HARDER it gets.

Here’s why and how to overcome it:

#1: It gets easier because you learn how to learn.

The skill of ‘being the rookie’ and engaging new things with new eyes gets better the more you practice it. But…

#2: It gets harder because you want your past learning to help you.

Sometimes what we learn is a building block to other skills. Other times it isn’t, and holds us back because we’re stuck in an incompatible way of thinking.

We stopped ‘being a rookie’.

#3: The answer is to know when to apply past learning, and when to be a rookie.

Knowing when we’re building on what we know and when we’re building something totally new is the secret trick of expanding your knowledge and skillset.

We need to remember how (and when) to be the rookie.

How do you handle that, rookie?

Ever worked on a project that left you feeling disappointed in how one or more stakeholder(s) performed?

What’s the most potential antidote to that disappointment?

Compassion:

In business, people are less efficient forms of leverage than many other forms. You train them, love them, share a season then they leave. Outside of business, they say things they don’t mean, and they let you down.

But.

Seeing them blossom under your care is a joy. Most do not let you down on purpose, they have their own challenges to contend with. Seeing them go on to thrive in other things when your shared season is over can be a great feeling. And sharing life with good people is natural as human beings.

Feeling disappointed and being wronged are not the same thing.

Compassion let’s you maintain agency over your senses and remain a good steward of your work.

“Whenever someone has done wrong by you, immediately consider what notion of good or evil they had in doing it. For when you see that, you’ll feel compassion, instead of astonishment or rage.“ – Marcus Aurelius

Abundance is everywhere, and yet there is still scarcity:

The barriers to awareness, attention and being heard have never been lower. Yet few have much of worth to say.

Access to tools, technology and training has never been more abundant. Yet few commit the time to develop real skill.

The opportunity to be of service and help lead change has never been greater. Yet few look beyond their comforts to try.

Scarcity among abundance.

This is your opportunity to shine.

“Figuring it out” is a superpower.

If you’ve been in the marketplace for any length of time, you’ll likely have experienced the following types:

#1: The couldn’t-figure-it-out

These people make promises and then break them. Someone who is of the third type must pick up the pieces.

#2: The figure-it-out-later

These people figure out a way of figuring it out, but their chosen way requires more time, money or personnel than the project allows. And so they don’t figure it out, thus someone of the third time must pick up the pieces.

#3: Those who figure it out

These people are mindful of the constraints, and use resourcefulness to make something amazing happen within those constraints. They figure it out.

If you’re the third type, you’ll never be without work.

If you’re not the third time, consider what that means for your usefulness and your brand.

If you meet someone of the third type, do not let them go.

Which of these would you prefer to buy?

#1: “Pay less, but get less than you paid”
#2: “Pay more, but get more than you paid”

We see this play out in many areas.

The restaurants we visit. The technology we buy. The clothes we wear. The health insurance we subscribe to.

Many of us will agree that #2 is better value.

So about that project you’re working on…

Are you intentionally building #2, or are you slipping into #1?

In many segments, the market pushes us to become #1, then leave for a #2 if you yield.

Choose wisely and confidently. Don’t be swayed.

The market needs you to stick to your guns, it might just not know it yet.

“How could I be even more generous?”

“If I removed this, would anyone care?”

“What would this be like if it was easy?”

“How can I make this so good, people would miss it if it were gone?”

Funny how profound simple questions can be for our work.

They say the quality of our lives is dependent on the quality of our questions.

It’s true of our work, too.

What profound, simple questions could you ask about your work this week?

It’s International Women’s Day!

A day where we celebrate progress, equality and what makes us unique.

But equality among the sexes isn’t for one day. It’s for every day.

Each year my wife and I make the same observation about Valentine’s Day… loving your partner isn’t a once-a-year event. It’s an every day event.

We change the culture when we form habits that establish new normals.

Habitual equality.

Habitual exercise.

Habitual refinement of your craft.

This is how great things are made.

This is how we look back and say, “Remember when I started this project? Look at us now!”

This is how we look back and say, “Remember when we needed an International Women’s Day? Look at us now!”

Opportunities are like busses.

There’s always another coming.

When we forget this, we FOMO into buying things that aren’t right for us.

When we forget this, we cling to ideas regardless of the others all around us.

When we forget this, we miss the great for the good.

Don’t miss this.

“Gaming the system”, as a phrase, means exploiting something.

“You have to play the game”, as a phrase, means trading morals for outcome.

But studies have found that playing games increases brain activity in areas associated with learning.

And Duolingo, the learn-through-play language app, is reportedly a $700 million business, thanks in no small part to gamification.

Perhaps “gaming the system” isn’t just a bad thing.

Perhaps it also means taking full ethical advantage of markets that haven’t yet deployed ‘play’ as a vehicle for engagement.

Perhaps it’s time to game the system your work operates in.

Play has been underrated.

It’s the key to accelerated learning and growth.

Here are the 4 keys to that growth:

#1 Power

Many people feel powerless in reality. It’s completely untrue, but perception prevails. Play equips folks to act upon new power.

#2 Purpose

Nobody in reality gets purpose just handed to them. But they do in games. Play gives practice with purpose.

#3 People

There are a lot of lonely people out there. But games can pair you up with other people in seconds. People blossom in community. Play gives them that.

#4 Progress

Progress lacks obvious feedback and micro-achievements in reality. Games celebrate every little win you make.

Whatever you’re building at the moment… consider this question: How could I equip people with power, purpose, people and progress?

Social media makes you forget this:

Everyone in your feed is hurting.

Here’s how to help them out a little today:

#1 Share their successes

If they’re showing off, they’re probably compensating for something they lack. Even the greatest successes still need your kindness.

“When someone is properly grounded in life, they shouldn’t have to look outside themselves for approval.” — Epictetus

#2 Share their losses

Just because they don’t broadcast their losses, it’s foolish to suppose it’s all sunshine and roses for anyone. We have the opportunity to lift others up.

“The key is to keep company with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” — Epictetus

#3 Check your intent

Tempted to rip someone a new one? Consider choosing the other handle.

“Every problem has two handles. You can grab it by the handle of fear or the handle of hope.” — Margaret Mitchell

#4 Don’t wreck yourself

Trolls troll. Spammers spam. Most of us have been targeted by these things. Don’t feel you need to dignify them with a reaction.

“If someone succeeds in provoking you, realise your mind is complicit in the provocation.” – Epictetus

Kindness is great arbitrage; it costs you so little, yet means so much to others.

There was a time when one person could know everything that was known.

It wasn’t even that long ago.

Knowing a lot is a losing battle. Here’s what’s better:

#1 Simplifying
Hard things are hard, until they’re made simple. Email servers used to cost millions to setup and run, now they’re $40–80/month. We want things to be simpler.

#2 Expressing
Your take may be unlikely anyone else’s. Artists and musicians thrive on this, as do so many in the creative class. We want to see your perspective.

#3 Serving
Your ability to guide us, cater for us and deliver us the by-product of you knowing what we do not is immensely valuable. We want to be helped.

#4 Progressing
The Earth was the centre of the solar system until Galileo, to the Catholic Churches dismay, proved otherwise. We want you to move things forward so the other three types can innovate for our benefit.

We don’t get know everything.

We get to do so much better than that.

We’ve heard of P2E (Play to Earn).

I think the bigger breakthrough is hidden in plain sight: Pay to Learn.

Some of us learned by reading books.

I still like to do this. Perhaps you do too. But it’s not as popular as it used to be. Many become “booksmart” though, with no applied knowledge to make the learning useful.

More recently, many of us learned by watching videos.

There’s a YouTube video (or 100) that will cover the thing you want to learn. According to research described in HBR, watching alone can lead to an overinflated sense of one’s abilities to match that skill.

Next, we will learn through play, community and experience.

This next phase will solve the problems that came before it. No more ‘booksmart’, nor overinflated sense of ability, for learning is applied immediately.

It’s how we learned as children.

And it’s the next frontier for learning and opportunity to create new learning experiences.

People so often speak with such conviction online.

Committed to their causes.
Committed to their sports teams.
Committed to their favourite products.

It’s much rarer to see someone committed to themselves. At least, to see it at the same level as the examples above.

Committed to honing their talents and skills.
Committed to dignifying their bodies with routine exercise.
Committed to seeing through their visions and dreams.

How much better would your work and pursuits be if you were to give it a try?

“Because other people are fools, must you be so too?” — Marcus Aurelius