The thing on resolutions
Doing new year’s resolutions can feel motivating. Here, fellow daily writer Shweta, from Superlista shows that temporal landmarks are important events to start afresh. However, the thing with resolutions is not the resolution itself, but making it realistic and actionable enough for you to keep at it. Because otherwise resolutions end up being wishful thinking. And wishful thinking, when assessed from the future into the past, brings judgement, resentment, overanalyzing and remorse. This is…
Dumping New Year’s Resolutions
The thing about resolutions is that they usually stay behind at some point in the year. You can do commitments. You can do promises. You can do goals setting. But to start the new year, make things simple for you. Star with ONE thing. This one thing can take 2 forms: One with the big picture in mind. Or One to be a high actionable thing to implement asap (and keep at it). Either way you go, you can give it a try with this: Grab a piece of paper, write down your desires/thoughts/wishes/goals…
When is it good enough?
Having high-complexity projects means you’re assuming that 1. You need to budget for a longer timeframe. 2. Things will usually take longer when not everything is under your full control. So, what do you do there? Do you wait till everything is done and ready to implement? Or do you start shipping at certain milestones/stages? Both have trade-offs. Choosing which one is the right one comes with a deep understanding of what you’re trying to achieve at the end. And that’s the first thing to…
A new year is coming
And while most do “resolutions”, you could take another road. Nevertheless, it’s about, first, thinking of your goals for the next year. And picking a strategy to get them. Which, also brings us to the default of strategic planning. However, is a strategy a plan —as most people and “gurus” say? Because if it is… What in the hell would strategic planning be? A planning plan????? It all starts with know what each thing is. It all starts with clarity.
Prospects goals
You should not know your prospects’ goals. But understand them. And know how to get them closer to those goals. Sometimes, the goals that are on the surface are just intuitive responses to symptoms. And most times, this self-diagnose is not the right one.
Product-Market Fit
Stop looking for it. Because if you fit in, you can’t stand out. And when you don’t stand out, all they compare you on… is (the lowest) price.
Times to pause
Enjoy your holidays. Unplug. Be with your fam. Make a pause. Recharge. That’s what you could use this time at the end of the year for. Whatever you do, you got this. Now and next year.
Bringing problems to your clients
I’ve never heard of a business that says “We bring problems to our clients”. Have you? In that same spirit, it feels obvious to say “We bring solutions to our clients”. Assuming you’re reaching out to them, you’d want to find out if they have challenges they can overcome. And that transformation… would it be a problem? Assuming they reach out to you, they come for you to help them with something. So… would that also be framed as a problem? If you’re using “solutions” in your business,…
Can I con you?
That’d be a weird way to start a conversation. If you get to think of it, asking “Can I be honest with you?” sounds just as weird. Because, if you get to ask that question, your counterparty will think “So you weren’t being honest up till now?” It also implies to yourself that you’re holding things up “waiting for the right moment”… which is quite probable to never arrive. Blair Enns takes this approach of “Kind ruthlessness”. You keep the behavior of saying what you think —being ruthless…
What if —the other take
Friend of the list and fellow emailer, Genevieve Hayes replied to the What If email with a great opposite take to constraints. “I think the other interesting exercise is asking yourself “what if everything was perfect and there were no constraints”? I find that thought exercise helpful in working out what to cut from my life (i.e. things ! still don’t want to do even under the best of circumstances).” What’s the position you take so that you can come up with new things? What would you need to…