Stop with Why.
Don’t ask why. Don’t ask the reasoning behind. Don’t ask to justify. You won’t get a real answer. All you’ll get is a personal defense of a position, with a heavy load of feelings. It’ll feel like an attack to the other one. Even when you have the best intentions. Start with “What” or “How” “What made you get to this decision / process / move…” “How did you come up to…” These 2 words take off the load of judgement over the question, and detach the person from the behavior. And with that,…
Sometimes it’s just that simple…
When things go wrong, it has (usually) nothing to do with trust. It has nothing to do with a conscious sabotage. Sometimes, it’s just happened. With time, you’ll get to see things that go South very quickly and when you notice, it’s already done. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Or in Robert Hanlon’s words… “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.” Maybe it’s that stupid simple. 🤷
Just like sex.
I mean, there’s no competition for who makes it faster, right? Which brings the question: What if slow is better? What if don’t need to improve the efficiency BUT the efficacy? What if it’s not about how fast / efficient / productive you get to a result, but about what kind of result you’re looking for? As Rory Sutherland in this video says: “What if it’s not about the speed of the commute, but about the commute itself?” What if we’re making the wrong questions? And it’s not about speed (or…
Having a sense
Just because you’re measuring something, doesn’t mean it’s the right one to keep track of. You’re supposed to measure EVERYTHING that really matters to have a sense of where things are going. But that’s that: a sense. So that you can correct course. Everything can be measured. How you judge where that measure is directing you is what makes the difference.
Seeing things and hallucinating
They’re 2 different things. Although they might look similar. Seeing things is about how you can have a vision and kind of grasp it. How you can see the application of one thing in a different context. Hallucinating is believing you’re seeing one thing, when the reality is not that one. It’s not about a vision, but about a reality. Hallucinating “We give amaaaaazing, premium service to our customers”. Customers call. They get on hold to talk to a bot. Get ignored. Make them feel like idiots….
Seeing things
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things” That was Steve Jobs in an interview. And that’s right, it’s “just” seeing things and connecting them. Creativity comes in a way that it sees something, it makes the connection and brings…
Perspectives.
Now, it’s been 10 days since my last email after 2 years of non-stop dailies. Was on a trip in India with a client and it brought some perspective (besides the jetlag that really messed up my rhythm 🙃). It brought perspective about the level of impact. The scale of impact. Here’s a shift in my practice. From a perspective of one, to a perspective of one who leads. A small firm. A small business. If you’re running one of these you’re at a disadvantage. Or are you?? I’d argue that running a…
Keeping your promise
All your customers want and expect from you is for you to keep your promise. Kinda “Duh!”, right? And yet, you’d be surprised (or maybe not) how many people, soloists, fractionals, organizations and companies just don’t do that. Not even in the bare minimum. You want to stand out? Keep your word. The bar is so low in your market. After all, you don’t sell your offerings. What you sell are 3 things: Your promise. Your competence. Your confidence. To make your clients better.
All symptoms
All of the subjects from yesterday’s message look like somewhat related, some of them random, some of them to be grouped… and they all look like problems. But here’s the thing: they’re all symptoms. And —in the big picture— all symptoms of unclarity. To be unclear in the business, the needs it attends, to the segment it serves. If you had to score from them, how well would you do? 🙂
What’s coming
Here are a few themes that are recurring in the small/medium business I see. Which ones do you feel you resonate with? You’re struggling with getting your sales to be better. The market is highly competitive. You’re pushed to play on (the lowest) price. You can’t say No to customers. That’s losing business (and stupid). If you say No to a customer, you’re losing opportunities. Your competition is poaching your customers. Your revenue goals are not where you want them, despite everything…
