You C*NT
How many times have you told yourself you CAN’T do something? Because… You don’t have experience. You don’t know how to do that. It’s not how things work. Who are you to do that? You might fail. You have a reputation. You don’t have a reputation. You have to take care of your brand. You don’t have a brand to take care of. You’re not ready. You’re too small. You’re too big. You’re too young. You’re too old. … Those are valid reasons. However, are they really true? Let me pose you a challenge:…
Red flags
When you see red flags in a prospect or a potential project, call them out. You have 2 options: Saying yes and move forward. Knowing what you’re trading off —and what you’re giving up: being at your best, or… Saying no and move forward. Knowing that when you’re at your best, you can help best. Letting go of what seems like a big or interesting opportunity is hard (and easier said than done), YET think of this: if you get to say no, you get to be in charge of your next step. Seeing red flags…
Timing and response
Watch this and hit reply. What does it make you feel?
2 rich cousins
After yesterday’s message (on the response from Samsung to Apple re: their new tablets), this reply by fellow daily emailer Wes Wheless from The Lightbulb summarized the feeling: “It feels like two rich cousins fighting in public” Spot on. Besides the comms and whether or not the message went through in their ads, the overall feeling is the same: it’s all about them. And when you (and your business) focus and react to what the competition is doing right or wrong, you’re missing the mark. It’s…
Seeing the unseen
How do you get to see the unseen? You dive in. You go below the surface and explore, test and find out what’s under there —what other people don’t get to see on the surface. How do you do it? Take a long step (or flip backwards) into the unknown. Feel the pressure as you go down, how it surrounds you and feels like a blanket. Know your tools and judgement. How are things going on? Is it too deep? Can I see things? Now relax and explore. Question everything. Find the gaps. It’s a new world…
A reputation business
Past and… future?
Decision-making advice for business tends to be “your strategy needs to be driven by data”. But data is built in the past. It’s certain. It’s factual. Forecasts, trends, models. They all take data and build a projection into the future with a certain sense of reliability, confidence, or pure imagination. They’re informed by, but not driven by data. Based in the past. Strategy, it’s about the future. Uncertain. Non-factual.
It’s about the future.
Strategy is about the future. Uncertain, risky, unknown. And at the same time, to bring you to an advantage. Strategy is an idea and approach to a goal, that leads to, with the most impactful effort, a position of advantage. While data can help you frame it, it can’t be what drives it. It’s about what could be. It’s about what could the future hold for your customers.
Creating a future
Friend-of-the-list, fellow emailer and data scientist Genevieve Hayes came back to “Past and… future?” with this response (and she knows a thing or two about data-driven things) —shared with permission, bold mine: “Data-driven approaches are like your dive computer. They’re very good at determining the optimal course of action assuming everything continues the way it has in the past. However, they can’t cope with unfamiliar situations. You need humans for that.Or to put it another way: a…
Don’t give your price ahead.
“Once I’ve convinced them, I’ll give them the price.” “I’ll save the price for the last stage.” That’s common advice. If you talk ahead about price, you’ll look greedy. You’ll lose the deal. They’ll run for the hills. And that might be true… if it doesn’t have a context. BUT if you think of it this way: talking price early. Will clear the air and put up a filter from the start. Will let both you and your customer see if there’s a financial fit. Will make things straight to see if there’s an…
