Tactics are great. Execution is essential.
But a smart strategy is like having the wind at your back. It makes everything easier.
Once we dig in on our tactics and invest in execution, it gets emotionally difficult to walk away even (especially) if our strategy is working against us.
Nearly every time I’ve changed my strategy, I’ve regretted how long it took me to realize that it was time to do so. So much time and energy wasted. You can get a lot more done when you’re working with the environment instead of against it.
Today’s the launch day for The Bootstrapper’s Workshop. It’s a strategic check-up for anyone who wants to build a business without raising a bucketful of money. Get the strategy right and you’ll have an easier time with the tactics.
PS look for the purple circle to save some money today and tomorrow.
September 10, 2019
That’s precisely why you’re stuck. Every decision you’ve made, all the status quo you’re holding on to, the fears you have–they’re all reasonable. This is a mature, apparently safe series of choices. Congratulation on being wise and careful.
The only way to get out of the spot you’re in is to do something that feels unreasonable, that’s unreasonable in the short term, that a similar person in a similar situation would say is unreasonable.
Because if that wasn’t the case, then you wouldn’t be stuck, would you?
If you truly want to get unstuck, if you want to move to higher ground or do something more worthwhile, the first question to ask is, “Am I willing to be unreasonable, at least for a while?”
September 9, 2019
People say that as if there’s something wrong with it.
In fact, once you become an acquired taste, then those that have done the hard work to like what you make are likely to talk about it, likely to come back for more, likely to insist on paying more for something that’s not simply a pedestrian pleasure, available on every corner, merely pandering for a bit more attention.
It takes guts to create a contribution to culture that’s more than simply a checklist item. And then you have an asset, one that people with voices that are fungible never do.
September 8, 2019
The easiest way to win a poll, rig a plebiscite or generally end up as number one is to have the competing votes split among many similar competitors.
Bob Marley was a magical artist, but one reason he’s such a seminal figure is that most of the other musicians of his time (in the North American market) were lumped together in one or two other categories, whereas he was pioneering a new one. You might not want to play reggae at your party, but if you did, you were going to play Marley.
In order to be “one of the above” you have to begin by being willing to be “none of the above.” To zig with intent, when the market is insisting that you zag.
There’s a caveat, though: In order to be one of the above, you need to be in the jukebox or on the ballot. And that means your innovation, while different, still has to qualify for consideration.
September 7, 2019
The eight-hour workday is precious and humane, and difficult to find in an era of always-on communication.
But there are two kinds of 9 to 5 jobs.
The first one is the industrialized cog. Protect yourself, do as little as you can, because the boss will always take more. This is the standard, and the source of the expression about watching the clock.
The other one is the linchpin. This is the contributor who brings so much emotional energy, thoughtfulness, risk-taking and passion to the job that they leave nothing in reserve. Eight hours of this sort of work is a choice, and it’s a privilege if you care about the work you’re doing. It’s also plenty. It’s plenty because of instead of ‘more’, you went for ‘deeper.’
When we see passionate people at work (at a chess tournament, a brainstorming session, writing a play or counseling), we have trouble imagining doing it for six hours in a row, never mind eight.
It’s no wonder hours have been expanding. If we’re coasting through our day, it’s the only way for the imagination-challenged boss to create more productivity. More low-value hours for no more pay. More hours is the only option if you’re not willing to put your heart into it.
The alternative is to figure out how to go all in, to make a ruckus and then to stand back and catch your breath.
If you’re lucky enough to have the choice, it’s worth seeing that you have the choice.
September 6, 2019
The best way to be in the room where it happens is to be the person who called the meeting.
Things rarely happen on their own. Everyone is waiting for you to organize the next thing.
September 5, 2019
AI can now easily (8 seconds) change the identity of someone in a film or video.
Multiple services can now scan a few hours of someone’s voice and then fake any sentence in that person’s voice.
Open publishing on platforms like the Kindle means that there’s no gatekeeper to verify the source of what you read. Perhaps there’s already a fake Kindle book by “Malcolm Godin” and “Seth Gladwell”. I wonder if it’s any good or if someone simply wanted to fool a search engine?
Don’t buy anything from anyone who calls you on the phone. Careful with your prescriptions. Don’t believe a video or a photo and especially a review. Luxury goods probably aren’t. That fish might not even be what it says it is.
But we need reputation. The people who are sowing the seeds of distrust almost certainly don’t have your best interests in mind–we’ve all been hacked. Which means that a reshuffling is imminent, one that restores confidence so we can be sure we’re seeing what we think we’re seeing. But it’s not going to happen tomorrow, so now, more than ever, it seems like we have to assume we’re being conned.
Sad but true.
What happens after the commotion will be a retrenchment, a way to restore trust and connection, because we have trouble thriving without it.
September 4, 2019
Small business is a resilient backbone of the modern world. Choosing to not simply be the day laborer or the gig worker, but someone who actually owns something.
You might own a permission asset–the right people, offering you their attention and trust. You might own a lease or a patent or some other form of property. And you might own a reputation, one that earns you better projects and a bigger say in what happens next.
As we begin a new season, it’s worth considering what you own, and far more usefully, what you can build on your way to owning even more leverage. If we are all shopkeepers, what do you have in inventory? If you own nothing but the next eight hours of your time, for sale to the highest bidder, you may be disappointed in the bids you get.
I just got a note from an Akimbo workshop participant. She said, “Today I got my first project where I will be getting not an hourly rate but an equity stake in the product. I’m doing the happy dance and thanking Freelancer’s Workshop.”
That’s why we keep showing up. So that you can show up and get paid what you’re worth. Even better, so you can make a difference you’re proud of.
On September 10th, the third session of the Bootstrapper’s Workshop begins enrollment. Find out more and sign up for updates right here. We’d love to have you join us. It’s time to own something.
September 3, 2019
It’s possible (not easy, but possible) to be a dispassionate observer. To have a sense of what the market wants, of what’s likely to work, of what quality looks and feels like.
But not when it’s our work.
When it’s your work, the moment you commit to it and own the outcome, you can’t help it. None of us can. We start to shave/bend/ignore the truth.
Some make a mistake by downgrading the work, lowering expectations and trash-talking the output of all that hard work. Probably to protect ourselves from the doom that we fear is right around the corner. This makes every criticism nothing but confirmation of what we say we already knew.
And some make the mistake of persuading themselves that their taste is universal, their talent is off the charts and that their effort is greater than anyone else’s. And so every criticism is seen as a personal attack.
The reality is nothing like this.
The reality is somewhere in between.
And it’s worth developing the skill and guts to see it.
September 2, 2019
Here it is, tested, effective and worthwhile:
Stop chasing shortcuts.
Personal finance, weight loss, marketing, careers, beating traffic, relationships, education–everything that matters to someone often comes with heavily promoted shortcuts as an alternative.
Fast, risk-free, effortless secrets that magically work, often at someone else’s expense.
But if the shortcuts worked as promised, they wouldn’t be shortcuts, would they? They’d be the standard.
A shortcut is not an innovation. It’s not a direct path, either. Those work, but they require effort, risk and insight.
If you can’t afford the time and effort to do it right, you probably can’t afford to do it over after you realize that the shortcut was merely a trap.
September 1, 2019
