Marketing is the key skill

Self-employed people who have not scaled their business are probably not good at marketing.

Think of it this way – you are not in __X__ business, you are in the business of marketing __X__ business.

It’s not the best product or service or the best quality or the nicest people who win.  It’s those that market the best.

Is that you?

Who thought this problem into existence?

“You can’t solve a problem with the same thinking that created it.” (Often attributed to Einstein, but not verified.)

This is one of those ideas that is core to good leadership I think.  It’s right up there with –

“To set things right, you have to see things right”,

and “Who, not how”, 

and “From the invisible – the visible”,

and “What problem can you solve that would solve 1000 other problems?”.

So if you can’t solve a problem with the same thinking that created it, then you have to identify the person that created it and get them out of the way, disempower them, or agree to yield to someone else’s ideas to fix it.

Right?

Then find out WHO can solve this problem?  Who has experience in this?  Who is wise?  Who has the knowledge?  And how do we get them to look at this problem and figure out how to solve it?

The enemies of wisdom

“A chaotic existence, an undisciplined mind, and a short attention span – these are the enemies of wisdom.” – Ryan Holiday

Being a business leader requires a wisdom.  But to have created an environment where we are in the middle of constant interruption requiring a short attention span where our time is not our own, will not take us where we want to be.

Create more leaders and give them parts of your job and responsibility for parts of the business.  

Schedule regular (weekly) check-ins with these leaders so they save questions for that meeting instead of running to you each time something comes up or crosses their mind.

Create an environment where you have time to learn, observe, consider, create and do your best thinking.

Wisdom takes work – reading is a lot of it.

We must learn from others.

Here is a passage from the book “Wisdom Takes Work” called “Talk to the Dead”.

“It’s about the craziest thing in the world.  Imagine having a superposer – being able to talk to the dead – and not using it!  Imagine being able to talk with the wisest people who ever lived, as Tolstoy said, and not doing it!

When you think of the sheer price paid for the painful personal and historical lessons contained in so many biographies, memoirs, and literature, it’s almost insulting how cheap books are.

It doesn’t matter that we can read.   If we don’t, as General Mattis has said, we’re choosing to be functionally illiterate.  There are many paths to wisdom, but nearly every one of them runs through books.  Can you think of any truly wise person who does not read?” 

And that begs a very important question…are YOU reading?

Did you ever tell them that?

My friend (and Baja codriver) Dustin Gebers is a leader of a big team. That team is winning. He knows stuff.

Here’s one idea he covered in a recent class he put on for other leaders.  Dustin says –

“You expect people to be this way/do this or that – but it never came out of your mouth.”  

I think we are all guilty of this. We have expectations we never communicated.  

We assume. (You know that old saying, when you ASSUME you make an ASS out of U and ME.)

Don’t assume anything.  

Say it. Verbalize it. When you think things you are the only one who hears it. 

You have to speak it.

Are you avoiding difficult discussions?

A little misunderstanding happens because of poor communication. Then there is friction. Then underlying ill will. Performance suffers. It’s there and many know it. They are talking. You don’t want to face it. Who would? You delay. It gets worse.

I know this situation well. Many years have passed, and we have many team members, many managers, many leaders, and many functions.

In my experience, sitting down with the right person or people and talking it out usually works wonders and is most often appreciated.

You will either fix it in one honest, unrushed conversation, or start the process.

It will feel bad at the beginning of it, and good at the end.

What difficult conversation are you avoiding?

Have it today.

CRO – Chief Repeating Officer

Chief Repeating Officer.  It could be a bad thing.  

You are repeating yourself because nobody gets it and nothing is changing. You repeat years over and over because you made no progress.

That’s not a good CRO.

A good CRO has a clear, simplified strategy and understands that for the team to learn, understand, and execute on it, they must repeat themselves. They don’t change their strategy or goals much. A good CRO knows that every time they say it, they hear it, so it sounds like people should know it by now, BUT not everyone is present each time they say it. So they need to keep repeating, reaffirming, and training on the strategy and tactics that the team needs to use to get there.

A good CRO knows that putting the message on audio and video is a great way to leverage their time.

Are you a good CRO, or a bad one?

Bigger is not always better

Not everything in your life or business needs to become bigger.  

Ambition is like sunlight.  It can be diffused and scattered, or focused to start a fire.

Decide what deserves growth, what needs maintenance, and what should remain simple or even be eliminated.

Bottom line. Complexity. Excellence. Quality. Experience.

Big and good multiplied can be really big and bad.  

Not all opportunities are equal.

What is worth trying to grow?

Small wins create momentum

If the team is feeling overwhelmed, little hope, or like it has an insumountable tasks, celebrate small wins.

Divide the project into small pieces, and treat them like public milestones.  

Celebrate small wins each day and the team starts to feel forward momentum, gratitude and like the project is doable.

A team in motion is more likely to stay in motion.

What can you recognize and celebrate today?

Comfort is not the test

Making comfortable decisions all the time is what probably got you in trouble.

The right decision often feels uncomfortable.

So comfort is not the test.

Leading an organization is not a job for people who want to be comfortable.

What decision or conversation needs to happen now?