Life Lesson

Now more than ever we need to listen.

Not to everyone. Not to those who don’t see us.

But to those who are close to us: our customers, friends or audience.

What do they want out of us or the brand or the restaurant or the factory.

It has always been about listening and then responding accordingly, but now it’s more important than ever because they’re finally expecting us to listen.

And if we don’t, they’ll find a replacement.

Stay Positive & Listen Then Act, Not The Other Way Around

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Thinking through various scenarios, it’s tough work. It’s time consuming. It’s emotionally draining. It’s going to hurt your brain if you do it right.

So here are a few reminders to make it less painful and more likely that you do it now rather than later because if it’s later then you’ll rush it; As with all things, haste makes waste.

• Write and then talk the scenario out loud: Hearing the path will make it more clear if it’s a path worth pursuing than if you merely read it. If it doesn’t sound convincing saying it, then it’s likely not a good scenario.
• Find someone you trust to get you to think more deeply: You’re not at this alone. Share your scenarios with someone you trust the opinion of (and who is likely in your target audience or at minimum understands your brand or business or goal). They’ll gut check you.
• Draw the line between what you want and what you’re doing for others: When the line is blurred or we only look at one side of the coin, decisions get made that we regret. The only way to find the balance between WIIFM and WIIFT is to draw the line and detail both sides.
• There are no wrong scenarios to start: Put them all out on the table, in the notebook or on the wall. Cutting scenarios too soon prevents you from thinking through ideas that might be worth taking from one scenario and applied to another.

Stay Positive & Back To Planning

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Stuffing the envelope doesn’t help the recipient. You’ll end up having it returned because there’s not enough postage. You’ll end up having the recipient ripping the material trying to open it. You’ll be igniting a series of negative perceptions of yourself.

The same goes for the final two minutes of a meeting.

There’s more harm than help when we rush and cram information, entertainment, work, and connection.

Pause and propose an email follow up. Take conversations offline. Break it up into two sessions.

p.s. Whether you ask permission for a meeting to go over or postage to be waived, you’re still stealing time and attention; not earning it.

Stay Positive & Grab A Second Envelope

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Consider the last meal you ate. It’s very likely you remember tasting the first bite as well as the last.

But every bite in between?

That was simply going through the motions.

The cure to enjoying the full journey – whether it’s the meal we’re eating or the work we’re building or the down time we’re enjoying – is curiosity.

Curiosity puts intention to our attention. It drives us to be present for each moment. It gives us reason to find joy in the in between.

Stay Positive & Curious, Of Course

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Yes, it’s time to adapt – it always is, really.

But what’s vital is the time we take to adapt.

Fortune favors the quick.

Say, for example, you’re on a hike and you find yourself interrupting someone’s disc golfing course. Rather than going through as intended, following the path you were on, you turn to avoid disruption and down a new path. You don’t think long about it. You don’t stand and wait for hours or days or months. You pivot quick and carry on your hike because you know two things 1. It’s the journey that’s important and 2. You’ll reach your destination one way or another.

The same can be said for the way our brands and businesses need to pivot.

Fortune favors the quick.

Stay Positive & Life’s A Hike, Business Is, Too

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There’s a thread that goes through the best of everything, and it’s movement.

The greatest bonding and conversations happen between a couple that runs or walks together.

The best work is produced by those hustling around an agency, building, connecting with colleagues and actively creating.

If you’re in a rut, it’s likely because you’re standing (or worse) sitting still.

Move and the best will follow.

Stay Positive & Forward

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When you pause to appreciate a beverage before drinking it, you’ll enjoy it more.

When you eat slowly, you don’t eat as much and you feel better once you realize there are leftovers.

When you reread an email before hitting send, you’ll find spelling errors, phrases that might be interpreted in a different way than intended – and you might even find words to cut so it actually gets read.

All the important information we can take in or give happens when we slow down at the finish.

It should be a sprint until the end, not through the end.

Stay Positive & Double Check

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