Not actual risk, but the feeling that you're at risk?
How many experiences are you missing out on because the (very unlikely) downsides are too frightening to contemplate?
Are you avoiding leading, connecting or creating because to do so feels risky?
Feeling risk is very different than actually putting yourself at risk. Over time, we've created a cultural taboo about feeling certain kinds of risk, and all that insulation from what the real world requires is getting quite expensive.
It's easy to pretend that indulging in the avoidance of the feeling of risk is free and unavoidable. It's neither.
January 9, 2014
TL;DR is internet talk for "too long; didn't read". It's also a sad, dangerous symptom of the malfunctions caused by the internet tsunami. (Here's a most ironic example of this paradox…)
The triathlete doesn't look for the coldest bottle of water as she jogs by… she wants it fast and now. That mindset, of focusing merely on what's fast, is now a common reaction to many online options. I think it works great for runners, not so well for learners.
There's a checklist, punchline mentality that's dangerous and easy to adopt. Enough with the build up, wrap this up, let me check it off, categorize it and quickly get to the next thing… c'mon, c'mon, too late, TL;DR…
Let's agree on two things:
1. There are thousands of times as many things available to read as there were a decade ago. It's possible that in fact there are millions as many.
2. Now that everyone can write, publish, email you stuff and generally make noise, everyone might and many people already are.
As a result, there's too much noise, too much poorly written, overly written, defensively written and generally useless stuff cluttering your life.
When we had trusted curators it was easy. We read what we were supposed to read, we read what we trusted, regardless of how long it was, because the curator was taking a risk and promising us it was worth it. No longer. Now, it's up to us.
One option is to read incisively, curate, edit, choose your sources carefully. Limit the inbound to what's important, not what's shiny or urgent or silly.
The other option is to assume that you already know what you need to know, and refuse to read anything deeply. Hide behind clever acronyms, flit from viral topic to flame war, never actually diving in. It appears that this is far more common than ever before.
Here's what I've found: When I read in checklist mode, I learn almost nothing. It's easy to cherry pick the amusing or the merely short, but it's a quick thrill with very little to show for it.
Judging by length is foolish. TL;DR shows self-contempt, because you're ignoring the useful in exchange for the short or the amusing. The media has responded to our demand by giving us a rising tide of ever shorter, ever more amusing wastes of time. Short lowers the bar, but it also makes it hard to deliver much.
Please, give me something long (but make it worth my time.)
Perhaps a new acronym: NW;DR (not worthwhile; didn't read) makes more sense. We've got plenty to choose from, but what we need is content that's worth the effort.
January 8, 2014
This course is practical and, for many of you, a stretch.
It's based on Copyblogger's free subscription materials, an overlooked gem online. Sonia has been writing for Copyblogger for a while, and her approach is insightful, generous and powerful.
The short version: If you do anything online, you're an online marketer, and online marketing is largely about the copy you write and how it resonates (and spreads).
As you get the materials for this course, you'll also be signed up for Copyblogger's materials, but they are good folks and you probably won't mind getting it–and it's easy to unsubscribe once you have the materials, if you choose.
CLICK HERE to download the latest version of the course, updated on January 7, 2014.
If this is the first thing you've read here, please subscribe to this blog! There's a button up top that says "subscribe". Or you can click here to do so. You might also want to read past posts to catch up with what this is all about.
January 7, 2014
The problem with most business and leadership advice is that it's a little like this:
The two circles aren't the point. Getting the two circles right is a good idea, but lots of people manage that part. No, the difficult part is learning to see what an owl looks like. Drawing an owl involves thousands of small decisions, each based on the answer to just one question, "what does the owl look like?" If you can't see it (in your mind, not with your eyes), you can't draw it.
There are hundreds of thousands of bullet points and rules of thumb about how to lead people, how to start and run a company, how to market, how to sell and how to do work that matters. Most of them involve drawing two circles. (HT to Stefano for the owl).
Before any of these step by step approaches work, it helps a lot to learn to see. When someone does this job well, what does it look like? When you've created a relationship that works, what does it feel like?
Incubator programs and coaching work their best not when they teach people which circles to draw, but when they engage in interactive learning after you've gone ahead and drawn your circle. The iterative process of drawing and erasing and drawing some more is how we learn to see the world.
You will.
The answer to the what if question is, you will.
A better question might be, "after I fail, what then?"
Well, if you've chosen well, after you fail you will be one step closer to succeeding, you will be wiser and stronger and you almost certainly will be more respected by all of those that are afraid to try.
January 6, 2014
Everyone who eats at your restaurant expects a good cup of coffee, and it's difficult to wow them, because, of course, your competition is working to do the same thing.
But of course, it's not everyone who wants a cup of coffee. Some want a cup of tea, or a cup of herbal tea, and those folks are used to being ignored, or handed an old Lipton tea bag, or something boring.
What if you had thirty varieties for them to choose from?
Everyone who stays at your hotel expects the same sort of service, and it's difficult to wow them, because, of course, your competition is working to do the same thing.
But of course, it's not everyone. Some people travel with their dogs, and they're used to being disrespected. What if you gave those people a choice of a dozen dog toys, three dog beds and a special dog run out back?
When you delight the weird, the overlooked and the outliers, they are significantly more likely to talk about you and recommend you.
January 5, 2014
Sometimes, we're so eager to have an opinion that we skip the step of working to understand. Why is it the way it is? Why do they believe what they believe?
We skip reading the whole thing, because it's easier to jump to what we assume the writer meant.
We skip engaging with customers and stakeholders because it's quicker to assert we know what they want.
We skip doing the math, examining the footnotes, recreating the experiment, because it might not turn out the way we need it to.
We better hurry, because the firstest, loudest, angriest opinion might sway the crowd.
And of course, it's so much easier now, because we all own our own media companies.
January 4, 2014
… three ways to deal with the future.
Accuracy is the most rewarding way to deal with what will happen tomorrow–if you predict correctly. Accuracy rewards those that put all their bets on one possible outcome. The thing is, accuracy requires either a significant investment of time and money, or inside information (or luck, but that's a different game entirely). Without a reason to believe that you've got better information than everyone else, it's hard to see how you can be confident that this is a smart bet.
Resilience is the best strategy for those realistic enough to admit that they can't predict the future with more accuracy than others. Resilience isn't a bet on one outcome, instead, it's an investment across a range of possible outcomes, a way to ensure that regardless of what actually occurs (within the range), you'll do fine.
And denial, of course, is the strategy of assuming that the future will be just like today.
If you enter a winner-take-all competition against many other players, accuracy is generally the only rational play. Consider a cross-country ski race. If 500 people enter and all that matters is first place, then you and your support team have to make a very specific bet on what the weather will be like as you wax your skis. Picking a general purpose wax is the resilient strategy, but you'll lose out to the team that's lucky enough or smart enough to pick precisely the right wax for the eventual temperature.
Of course, and this is the huge of course, most competitions aren't winner take all. Most endeavors we participate in offer long-term, generous entrants plenty of rewards. Playing the game is a form of winning the game. In those competitions, we win by being resilient.
Unfortunately, partly due to our fear of losing as well as our mythologizing of the winner-take-all, we often make two mistakes. The first is to overdo our focus on accuracy, on guessing right, on betting it all on the 'right' answer. We underappreciate just how powerful long-term resilience can be.
And the second mistake is to be so overwhelmed by all the choices and all the apparent risk that instead of choosing the powerful path of resilience, we choose not to play at all. Denial rarely pays.
January 3, 2014
http://skl.sh/19WeEP0
To start off the year, the folks at Skillshare asked me to teach a course for them. You can find the details on the course at the link above. Reviewing the final footage, I'm excited at how well it turned out, and I'm hoping it will resonate with you.
In this course, I'm teaching specific tactics, and using the Skillshare platform to provide supplemental materials and a chance to interact with others if you choose.
Lately, it feels like I've recently had precisely the same discussion with a dozen different entrepreneurs. They've built (or are about to build) something they're proud of, and then, without warning, they hit a wall.
The problem, surprisingly, isn't their marketing. It's a miscalculation buried deep into the structure of their project. Again and again, the same issues keep coming up. I decided it would be worth creating a course to share my thoughts on how these seven different issues can be avoided (or even better, turned into advantages).
The course features seven lessons plus an intro about business models, together with exercises for each. You get about an hour of original video, along with ebooks, exercises and a chance to post your questions and your work.
If you use discount code BLOG (until January 10) on their site, you will save a few bucks.
I'm going to be actively answering questions online for the first round of students who take the course when it starts on January 15 (it's self-paced, so you can watch it when you want). Hope you find it worthwhile.
January 2, 2014
You've saved and scrimped and spent hours on the plane, and now you're in Paris for the trip of a lifetime. It's likely you'll never be here again, and you've only got three days.
Question: How much time are you going to spend in the hotel room watching reality TV on cable? For that matter, how much time will you spend checking your email, grooming your social network status or browsing around online to see what's new?
You only have three days.
Now it's a week later, and you're back at your desk. Consider the fact that the most interesting or most beloved or most trusted people you will ever know are sitting right next to you, or can be invited over in just a few minutes. Is it worth postponing that once-in-a-lifetime interaction so you can do a Netflix binge or watch some YouTube videos?
The world is waiting. Your turn….
January 1, 2014
