On a ledger
Do you give your clients what they ask for or what they, really, deeply want? That was Christopher Nolan with Heath Ledger. He didn’t focus on what the fans were asking for —an “evil” actor. He focused on what they deeply wanted: a serious actor who’d tear the role and make them feel. Who’d blow their minds. Nolan stuck to his guns. The studio backed him up. They trusted the process (and the project), even when they “didn’t get it”. And that’s how we ended up with the best Joker. Now, when…
Telling hands from brains
Know how to tell when you’re hiring an order-taker (hands to do a job) from an advisor (brains to think different)? They’ll do everything you do. Everything you need. They’ll keep you happy — until you’re not. You won’t get push back on what to do. You won’t get asked the uncomfortable questions to explain WHY you have to do what you say you have to do. It’ll just be to get things “better”, without defining what “better” is. And to “get better”, you’ll get sold on more things. More metrics….
The cost of time
Pricing can’t include the cost of time. Because time… Doesn’t have a cost. Can’t be stored. Can’t be bought. Can’t be traded. Price is the representation of your promise —and of the opportunity cost to your buyer. It gives a context to the thing you can do with that money and what other ways you could spend that money on that you say no to. Time is nothing more than a constraint. I cannot cost.
Ranking number 1 on Google
Optimizing keywords and your website to have all the stats at 100%. Loading time Responsiveness Image Alt text Accessibility And so on… That’ll get you to be number 1 on Google. The question is: What kind of number 1 on Google you want to be? What if you’re first on Google right next to McDonald’s? Odds are, it won’t drive the prospects you want to your expertise business (unless you do want to be looked for after McDo for a strategic decision). Optimizing for the wrong thing will make you…
Who’s McKinsey?
• You and Larry David wrote Seinfeld together, without a traditional writers’ room, and burnout was one reason you stopped. Was there a more sustainable way to do it? Could McKinsey or someone have helped you find a better model?• Who’s McKinsey?• It’s a consulting firm.• Are they funny?• No.• Then I don’t need them. If you’re efficient, you’re doing it the wrong way. Interview to Jerry Seinfeld – Harvard Business Review While “better” means for the interviewer a way to keep the show…
A shitty business strategy
Charging by the hour is nonsense. Time is not a measurement. Time is not an asset. Time is nothing but a constraint. “Selling” time focuses on the seller, not on the buyer. It transfers the risk to the buyer, taking the seller’s efficiency unclear (and the more inefficient, the more they make). It turns the goal-setting from “Something concrete to get the thing done”, into a financial assessment of “Something should be done BUT how much (more) it’d cost me? Do I have the money to (keep)…
Customer Failure
There’s this new discipline called Customer Success. I take that is opposed to whatever everyone else does: look for ways the customer fails. Was there something called Customer Failure? As in, we the business will do everything we can to make you fail and don’t get a return on what you’re paying? That’d be a scam, right? It just seems a given. That you want your customer to succeed. Or is there something else?
How fast can you…?
A prospect reaches out to you and says “I want a strategy by the end of the week. How fast can you deliver on it?” Since you don’t do magic, you might have a few questions to ask: Who’s your ideal client? What’s your market segmentation? What’s your most and least profitable product? What’s your most and least sold product? What’s your goal for the year? How would you define a good year? How would you define a “Meh” year? What would a home run year look like? Etc. Here’s the thing If you…
The opposite of self-conscious
Unaware of caring That can make you do things you think you’re not prepared for. To go and jump into the pool —and invent water on the way down. To ship and do. To care about your clients and how you could help them. To make a change that’ll improve their lives and businesses. Focusing on this will help you stand out. Just like a kid unaware of caring in the early 70’s. His name is Anthony Kiedis [TS 08:15].
Good intentions, crap approach.
Some of the answers to yesterday’s email brought up some intense feelings: Confusion, disrespect for their work, concern, lack of professionalism, lack of taking things seriously. Now, here’s the setting for it: You need work. I’m getting you work. Free work. But work at the end. It will build your “personal brand”. It will be an investment of your time. You’ll have a return on this work (reputation, value, brand, etc.) You’ll show your value and they’ll pay you what you ask next time. The…
