About failure
What would you say the opposite of failure is? Let me know your thoughts on it. 🙂
Over-efforting
Have you gotten to this stage/situation where you know the prospect might not be the right fit or you know (or see the signs) they’re price shopping and yet, you go and do the work to convince them? Just going into this over-effort. All of that IN HOPES of them asking you for the price (that you know they most likely say no to)? Been there. Done that. What if, instead of approaching it like a pitch, you actually look for the no? Not in a way of tricking them into closing them. Not in a way…
The bright side of the force
That’s you showing up to serve your customers. Serving them can take many forms: You doing work for them. Advising. Coaching. And telling them “No, I’m not the best one for your situation”. So you refer them to someone who could be. This last point is (the) one that makes you stand out. And how they’ll remember you. Not for the work —who remembers what specific work you did 15 years ago? But for how you helped them. It comes from the clarity of knowing who you can help best, how they can get…
In long days
Today was a long day. So this is your reminder that: When you’re extenuated. Mentally depleted. Needing a break Or just had “one of those days” You can always say no to things, make a pause, and recharge. Taking care of yourself lets you take care of the others. I’m here.
Everything is a negotiation
That’s how Chris Voss describes life —and the content of his book Never Split the Difference. While the principles are helpful, how it’s framed (in an overall, high-altitude view) tends to direct the conversations you’re supposed to have into a win. It’s seen as a ser of finite games. A hostage v. a victim. And that’s NOT how life works. When you choose to follow this “I need to win” mindset, you’re not quite giving others the option to say no. You’re fighting objections to get a final yes….
Product-Market Fit exercise
“They have an idea for a machine, and they build the machine and then, “Hmmm. Who would want this? We think it’s cool, but who wants this?” So they go do this Product-Market Fit exercise.I don’t like that. That’s how I’ve ended up launching to crickets. And that’s not fun at all.” Jonathan Stark on The Business Of Authority [02:24] Jonathan, in his now reverse-engineering of how to approach the market makes 2 main questions: How to do the thing so it keeps the promise to the person? How do I…
Trade-offs
You can choose to do one thing above other things. If you try to do many things at once, odds of not completing all of them rise. You need to choose. To decide. To trade one thing for another. To pick one as a priority. And —usually— a priority is what stands out. However… You can’t live in priorities. Or in a constant state of emergency. Because if you live in a constant state of emergency, it’s not an emergency anymore. It’s chaos. Your way out: Be ruthless with what you say no to. It…
The problem with purpose
The problem with purpose is that most business owners think every business needs one. And it’s not the case. Thinking that every business needs to have a purpose takes lots of people to “craft” one in hopes (aka aspiration) of being relevant. So that it’ll magically create loyalty. That it’ll make the biz profitable. It then becomes something like any other PR stunt such as being ESG, SDG, B-Corp certified and so on. Looks good on paper, but it doesn’t really make it through. It looks like a…
Here to convince you
When you read that, did you feel a strong impulse to say “Hell, no!”? And you’re right. That’s a natural response to “being convinced”. Which brings us to… are you using this in your comms and messaging? That you’re supposed to convince someone of [doing X]? Here’s the thing Often times, convincing tends to make you ready to counter arguments. To wait in silence for your time to speak, without being present. Instead of listening to understand and see if / how you could help. Helping your…
Point of no return
Going into things and thinking there’s a point of no return, where you just need to keep going. That’s another definition for sunk costs. When you feel you’ve already invested so much it’s not worth quitting so you hope for the best, despite all the red flags. When you know you’re desperate, but think it doesn’t show. When you think you need to prove something. When you think that prospect will be turned off by you reaching out. Here’s the thing You can return. Regroup. Retreat. Is it hard?…