When you do important work, work that changes things and work that matters, it’s inconceivable that the change you’re trying to make will be met with complete approval. Trying to please everyone will water down your efforts, frustrate your forward motion and ultimately fail. The balancing act is to work to please precisely the right […]
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Strategy matters more than ever…
When everyone is playing the same game, your execution is critical. Your store is like their store, your bread is like their bread, so we care very much about the care and skill you put into your product or service. Of course, that still matters, but the revolution of the web means that the way […]
Art fears business fears art…
The artist says, “that sounds like business, and I want nothing to do with it. It will corrupt me and make me think small.” The businessperson says, “art is frightening, unpredictable and won’t pay.” Because the artist fears business, she hesitates to think as big as she could, to imagine the impact she might be […]
Where does trust come from…?
Hint: it never comes from the good times and from the easy projects. We trust people because they showed up when it wasn’t convenient, because they told the truth when it was easier to lie and because they kept a promise when they could have gotten away with breaking it. Every tough time and every […]
Compared to magical…
The easiest way to sell yourself short is to compare your work to the competition. To say that you are 5% cheaper or have one or two features that stand out–this is a formula for slightly better mediocrity. The goal ought to be to compare yourself not to the best your peers or the competition […]
Silencing the bell doesn’t put out the f
Many big organizations have full-time employees who scan the social media, looking for people with a complaint. They swoop in and grease the squeaky wheel, solving the problem of the person who spoke up. The theory is that these loud complainers are a problem, and the easiest solution is to give them something to make […]
The unforgiving arithmetic of the funnel...
One percent. That’s how many you get if you’re lucky. One percent of the subscribers to the Times read an article and take action. One percent of the visitors to a website click a button to find out more. One percent of the people in a classroom are sparked by an idea and go do […]
Winning today (vs. winning tomorrow)…
Look around. You’re not number one on that bestseller list, or chosen for this RFP or invited to give that talk. It’s frustrating. There are engagements you ought to have, sales you ought to be making, clients that ought to understand you… One choice is to spend today frustrated that you’re not winning with the […]
Thriving in a wet environment…
If you’ve ever fixed any kind of machinery, you know that a device that’s exposed to the elements is incredibly difficult to maintain. A washing machine or the underside of a car gets grungy, fast. On the other hand, the dryest, cleanest environment of all is the digital one. Code stays code. If it works […]
You will be judged (or you will be ignor...
Those are pretty much the only two choices. Being judged is uncomfortable. Snap judgments, prejudices, misinformation… all of these, combined with not enough time (how could there be) to truly know you, means that you will inevitably be misjudged, underestimated (or overestimated) and unfairly rejected. The alternative, of course, is much safer. To be ignored. […]
The flipping point…
When people say, “The tipping point,” they often misunderstand the concept in Malcolm’s book. They’re actually talking about the flipping point. The tipping point is the sum total of many individuals buzzing about something. But for an individual to start buzzing, something has to change in that person’s mind. Something flips from boredom or ignorance […]
How to make money online…
The first step is to stop Googling things like, “how to make money online.” Not because you shouldn’t want to make money online, but because the stuff you’re going to find by doing that is going to help you lose money online. Sort of like asking a casino owner how to make money in Vegas… […]
Solving the problem isn’t the problem…
The problem is finding a vector that pays for itself as you scale. We see a problem and we think we’ve “solved” it, but if there isn’t a scalable go-to-market business approach behind the solution, it’s not going to work. This is where engineers and other problem solvers so often get stuck. Industries and organizations […]
Do you have a people strategy…?
Hard to imagine a consultant or investor asking the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) , “so, what’s your telephone strategy?” We don’t have a telephone strategy. The telephone is a tool, a simple medium, and it’s only purpose is to connect us to interested human beings. And then the internet comes along and it’s mysterious and […]
When smart people work for big companies...
A good employee says, “I know that this is a serious problem, it’s hurting our customers and we can do better, but I can’t do a thing about it because it’s run by a different department.” A version of this might conclude with, “And I don’t even know the name of the person who’s responsible.” […]
Don’t give up (you’re on the right track
Wrestling with a puzzle, a project or a problem, the likeliest reason to give up is the belief that it can’t be done. What’s the point of persevering if it’s actually impossible to succeed? “It can’t be done,” we say, throwing up our hands. Not “I can’t do it,” or “It’s not worth my time,” […]