Don’t stand out
Why would you even want to stand out? It’s risky. Looking different will get attention, and not all of it will be “the right” attention. Involves breaking from the standard. To be the weird one. Is not a guarantee for success. The opposite: it might feel closer to failure. It gets push back (and the “need” to justify). Why so expensive? It makes you different…
The paradox of choice
The more options they have to choose from, the better decision they’ll make. Not really… The more there is, the more analysis to do. The more trade-offs to evaluate. The more ways of finding the one that fits better at all of the features. And here comes your friend, Analysis Paralysis. Went to buy a stuffed animal with my 5-yo. The quantity of them to choose from? Overwhelming. Big. Small. Medium. Light. Heavy. Birds. Mammals. Reptiles. Monsters. Fantasy. Puppets. Dolls. Asking “Which one…
Measurement and metrics
While we use interchangeably measurement and metric, there is a different between both of them. A measurement is the reading of something—the figure. A metric, is that same measurement, applied by judgement / criteria. USD 100K is a measurement. It just counts the money: 100 000. A metric would be if it’s above, on, or below an arbitrary point. If your costs are 200K, this metric of 100K would be bad. If your costs are 10K, then it would be good. 🙂
The easier way
If you want to improve your sales, would you go for selling more units*, selling more units for a lower price each, or selling the same units for more? selling less units for more? *Unit: any offering you quantify. ie. A consultancy, a workshop, a product, a service, a productized service…
More for less
From yesterday’s message, lots of readers replied with “I’d choose to sell less units for more $”. That’s awesome. 🙂 However, you’d be surprised with how many business owners go with “More (units) for less (price)”. They’re not wrong. It makes sense from an intuitive POV —and from what we have always been taught (from uni to bros): “It’s all about growth. It’s all about reach.” The missing detail: to get that kind of reach, you need bigger pockets. And more time. So, if you’re not one of the…
Intelligent?
Just seen today at a trade show: “Intelligent Solutions” Does this mean the competitors are either dumb and/or problematic?
No bulletproof way
If you’re trying to create advantage, you’ll need to embrace risk. There’s no bulletproof way to surprise.
Hard is simple.
Hard conversations can be simple. They are, actually. Though they feel hard because you’re invested into it. You have consequences you’d rather not dealing with. Yet —in the vast majority of cases— they’re simple. And here’s the thing: you already know in your gut which way to go. Trust. Your. Gut.
Time and Change
You’re about to get into shifting the way you do work for a better way. That’s what you think. That’s the goal. But, what’s “better”? It’s too abstract. Too fuzzy. Too hard to be on the same scale for everyone —you, your team (if you have one), your customers. A simple way to know and quantify this: Make 3 columns. Past. Present. Future. Choose one aspect that you need to do “better”. Write it down. What it’s been in the past. What it’s now. What you want it to be in the future. This will…
PSA on innovation
Jobs To Be Done is a theory with 2 approaches. They both center on how to find the thing that makes customers tick. This, based on markets and needs. One of them (by Tony Ulwick) has this assessment tool: https://strategyn.com/innovation-assessment You might want to give it a try. 🙂