SFS Minute 979: Failure, or Not?
School for Startups Minutes
This week, I have been talking about things that sound important but aren’t. In the end, that 4:45 email that our boss sends, that we really didn’t need to worry about, looking busy when you’re actually just wasting time doing work that no one notices, and making a big decision that turns out not to be a big decision - these are all things we worry about, but we just shouldn’t be worrying. Maybe that’s the lesson. I want to throw one more thing out for you to consider. I’ll do that right after this. Here’s a pleasant thought. Many of the things that we do that feel like failure...
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SFS Minute 978: Big Decisions
School for Startups Minutes
Many decades ago, back in the 90s, when I was starting my very first business, I spent about a year writing the business plan, trying to decide on the name, arguing about what the logo should look like, and deciding how many partners we should have. We discussed so many things that were completely irrelevant, that never needed to be discussed, but they got discussed. We spent a year getting ready to start the business, and in the end, it turned out very well for us, but I learned a very important lesson. I’ll share that lesson with you right after this. Think about these two paths of...
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SFS Minute 977: No One Notices
School for Startups Minutes
A couple of years ago, my wife and I were getting ready for a party. It was early summer, so we assumed that a lot of people would want to go outside. We did all of the things that you do at the beginning of the season. We got the pool ready, we pressure washed, we cleaned all of the furniture, and we put new flowers out. We did everything, and in the end, not a single person asked to go outside. For some reason, the party stayed in the kitchen, and no one wanted to go look at all of the work we had done. Boy, that felt horrible that day. Anyway, this week we are talking about all the little...
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SFS Minute 976: Looking Busy
School for Startups Minutes
This week, we’re talking about things that sound important but are not. I’ve already talked about how so many work emails come in at 4:45 marked urgent, but are actually not really relevant at all. Today, I want to talk about things that make us look busy but don’t create any progress. We all have forms that have to be done, meetings that you have to go to, and emails that you need to respond to, and we all know that they actually have no value, don’t move the ball forward, and are a useless waste of time. How do we respond to this, and what do we do? I’ll tell you my best idea right...
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SFS Minute 975: 4:45 Emails
School for Startups Minutes
It’s 4:45 in the afternoon, and you get an email marked urgent. You open it, dreading what it could be. It’s from your boss to the entire office. A lot of people have already left and won’t see it, so can it really be that urgent? You open it, and it says there is a staff meeting tomorrow at nine o’clock. This is quite an unusual pattern, and you know that if you hadn’t read the email, you would have been in big trouble the next day. How do we handle situations like this? What do we do when our bosses or our spouses create urgency when there is really none? That’s what I’m going...
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SFS Minute 974: Action for Fear
School for Startups Minutes
There are certain things that are true that are uncomfortable, and we don’t like talking about these things because they make us think about things that are very uncomfortable about ourselves, our family, and our business associates. This week, I’ve been talking about five of these life truths that we just try to ignore. I’ve pointed out some things that are very uncomfortable, and I hope that you will forgive me for that, but I have one more to present, and I’ll do that right after this. Fear is very real. We all have things that we are afraid of, situations that we dread, projects...
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SFS Minute 973: Launch Ugly
School for Startups Minutes
There are many life truths that we just don’t like to admit or to acknowledge because they’re too uncomfortable, and they lead us to places where we just don’t want to go. Well, this week, I am going there and talking about some of these life truths that we need to acknowledge so that we’ll be happier people and better at our jobs. I’ll give you another one right after this. This is particularly true for all you businesses out there. You need to launch your new product before you think you do. Launch ugly. As a matter of fact, we are taught to present our best selves: perfect,...
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SFS Minute 972: Perfection Delay
School for Startups Minutes
There are certain things we just do not want to admit. And this week, we are talking about five of these life truths that are just not very cofortable. I’ve already suggested this week that one of the ideas is that you are not the spotlight of the world. Not everyone is constantly thinking about you. I’ll give you another one right after this. Another life truth that we don’t want to admit all the time is that perfection is just a delay tactic. When you say it’s just not ready yet, you know that sounds reasonable and thoughtful, but most of the time it’s hiding something else....
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SFS Minute 971: Spotlight Effect
School for Startups Minutes
This week, I’m introducing five life truths that are just very uncomfortable. These are not things we like to talk about or acknowledge, but we need to in order to be happier people and better business people. These are things that we need to talk about and acknowledge. I’ll give you an example right after this, There is something called the spotlight effect. It is the belief that people notice us far more than they actually do. In reality, everyone else is standing around in their own imaginary spotlight, worrying about themselves, wondering what you are thinking about them, which means...
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SFS Minute 970: Talking About You
School for Startups Minutes
This week, I’m going to introduce five life truths that are just not very comfortable, but are, as I said, true. We must learn to deal with these before we can be happy as people and successful as business people. So this week, I’ll introduce the five, and I’ll start right after this. First unfortunate life truth: no one is thinking about you. We spend an incredible amount of time worrying about what other people think about us. What will they say about my idea? Will they think I’m qualified? Will they like what I’m wearing? And so we wait, we try to do better, and we hold back just...
info_outlineI hope you're keeping score. This week, I am revealing five personality traits of professionals versus the things that amateurs do. I hope you're keeping score to see how many of the professional traits you are already doing. I'll share one more professional trait right after this.
Amateurs assume that people understand what they want or what they are thinking, but that's very rarely true. Professionals understand that you need to communicate clearly and confirm every decision, confirm that everyone is on the same page, and that there are no misunderstandings. Clear timelines, clear responsibilities, and clear next steps all prevent confusion and help the business or your personal life prosper, and you eliminate all of those fights and confusions because of poor communication. Be clear with what you want.