Life Lesson

In a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, he writes about a character named Frank warning his friend against following anybody.

“Thinking the guy up ahead knows what he’s doing is the most dangerous religion there is.”

It’s half true as leaders have two core responsibilities.

The first responsibility is where Vonnegut is wrong. Leaders are map makers for others. They share their knowledge of both what worked and what didn’t so others either avoid the same mistakes or celebrate the same wins. Making their path worth following is the point.

The second responsibility; the one where Vonnegut is the most right is that leaders are also trailblazing. They’re trying new things, making more mistakes than anyone else and are constantly dancing with fear, uncertainty, doubt, vulnerability… the list goes on.

So the advice ought to have been, “Thinking the guy up ahead knows what he’s doing si the most dangerous religion there is. But carry on. You’ll learn a thing or two.”

Stay Positive & Lead On

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A friend was talking to me about a prototype he was working on. My reaction was doubt. I was already thinking of all the reasons it wouldn’t work, people wouldn’t buy it; all the work that would have to go in to bring it out into the world in scale and even then, then it requires even more work to sell and amplify and so on.

Recognizing all the doubts, I looked behind them. Hanging out was a lot of excitement. Excitement for how this endeavor would change him, his family and friends, how it could change the industry, how there would be so much learning and growth and positive change by leading his dream. I even got excited at the fact that I could find all my doubts stomped at some point in the future.

The most exciting of things are always hiding behind doubts, and instinctively our doubts like to stand in front of our excitement, be it right away or seconds after we get excited about something. (20 seconds to be specific)

Whether we’re the one with the idea or the one listening to someone’s idea. We have a choice to speak on behalf of the doubts or the excitement, to others and to ourselves.

Stay Positive & Which Will You?

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The scary parts are the parts of the project, goal, objective that matter.

And the scary parts aren’t easily transferable. Not if you want to reap the reward of a leap.

If you’re scared, that’s a sign you’re onto something.

Stay Positive & Dance With It

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Face value, most interactions with a brand are mundane.

Booking a hotel and checking in is banal. Looking at a restaurant menu is uneventful. Purchasing a hammer out of the half dozen options on a wall is pretty boring.

It’s on the marketer to make at least one detail of every part of the journey interesting. Not everything all of the time, but at least something every step of the way.

The descriptions of the rooms could be more interesting and the language used on the thank you page for booking could be more interesting, too. The menu design could be more interesting as well as the testimonials of a dish. The product package could be more interesting, too.

No one tells stories to another unless there’s something interesting about them. (And if they try to, no one listens unless there’s something interesting about it.)

The interesting part is what we need to create. That’s on us.

Stay Positive & They’ll Have A Side Of Interesting, Please

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What people enter with is on them. There’s not much you can do about that.

What people leave with, on the other hand, you have a lot of influence on.

Do they leave with a story? A feeling of having contributed to something bigger than themselves? Do they leave with a higher status? A beer they can share with others? A smile?

Just as important as knowing what you’re goal is that they leave with, does everyone on your team know, too?

What a great gut check to perform beyond a transaction.

Stay Positive & Own It

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Wayfinding isn’t merely finding a mark on a map, reaching a predetermined destination or crossing the finish line.

What makes being a wayfinder a unique (read: valuable) characteristic is that a wayfinder creates an identity at every location, a story at every mark on a map, a narrative at every milestone along the way to the finish line, at it, and after it.

They find a way, certainly, but along the way they find meaning.

Stay Positive & Make Way

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You might not be in a position that you can bring only the “this might not work” option. You know, the gutsy one that just feels right. The option that gets eyebrows to raise and stakeholders to adjust their ties with nervous hands. The one that’s different than the other ideas you’ve come up with, but still on target.

But it’s always worth bringing it along for the ride. The only guarantee it won’t work is if you don’t bring it. Otherwise it’s fair game even if it doesn’t feel like fair game.

Stay Positive & Surprise Others (Then Yourself)

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