Life Lesson

It’s four degrees below zero out. There’s a lengthy line leading to a bus that’s going to take people to a craft beer and cheese festival. It’s clear where the line starts and that there were people waiting in line for awhile.

The bus pulls up past the start of the line to the middle of the line and opens its doors.

The fact is those who started the line, started it at a terrible spot. The fact is those in the middle of the line and who were looking straight into the open doors of the bus had an option. Do they enter or do they respect those who were in line first?

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Jump back to September when I went to INBOUND15, a large marketing conference. People were waiting in line to see Amy Schumer provide the night’s entertainment. The line twisted this way and that, but when the doors opened, a stampede ensued.

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Back to the bus.

The girl closest to the open doors motioned to those at the front of the line (a solid 15 feet away from the bus doors) to get on first.

She wasn’t just respecting the order of the line, she was respecting her tribe. I spoke outloud, “this is why I love craft beer drinkers.” If it was a line of people who love Amy Schumer waiting for the bus, I guarantee once those doors opened it would be a free-for-all.

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We have the option to choose many tribes as we go through life. I think it’s worth paying attention and asking what makes this tribe great versus that tribe? Is it a tribe that has members who care for each other? Or is it a tribe with members who will step over you to get what they want?

 

Stay Positive & If You Can’t Find One, Lead One. Chances Are People Are Waiting For You

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I’ve seen an increase of those who are fascinated with starting, but once they make their first sale, get their first client, deliver their first download, they slowly back out.

Starting is easier than you think. It’s the continuing that’s hard.

What’s odd about it is, by default when you start, when you put in that 15 minutes, the rest gets easier.

What are you doing if you’re not in it for the long run?

 

Stay Positive & By All Means, Start, But Continue Too

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There are two moments of total impact that a brand makes.

The first is at businesses inception. It’s based on the values the founder holds. It’s based on the reason the business exists. Think of Toms or Warby Parker or Krochet Kids. They started with impact.

A note on starting with the impact: you’re better off  starting with impact than trying to tack it on. People can sniff out the fakes. No one you ask will associate JCPenney with X charity even though they have a jar at the register to collect donations. It’s not why JCPenney exists.

The second moment of total impact is far down the road and what we hope to stretch. It’s the impact we have after we make mistake after mistake trying to generate a difference, trying to do things differently, trying to create change.

Impact is that thing that happens when we stop trying to avoid blunders and embrace them.

 

Stay Positive & Turn Your Misstep Into A New Form Of Dance

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Some stumble when trying to show proof of concept (PoC) for something that doesn’t exist yet.

They falter in their attempt to show PoC because, to them, PoC means to show the demand for what they’re offering, that people want it and use it in their own ways already.

However, PoC won’t truly exist for a new idea because the new idea doesn’t exist yet.

We can do as much market research as we want to pinpoint the best strategy for deployment, but, at the end of the day, what matters is if the idea worked or didn’t work – and the only way to show that is to have tried, delivered, shipped.

The telling rarely works before the showing.

That’s why it’s called show and tell, in that order.

 

Stay Positive & Set Out To Prove Your Way

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There’s a lot you can get from looking at your competitors.

You can learn what to do and what not to do.

You can track and compare the variety of USPs.

You can gain information for how to steal some share.

Most importantly, though, by looking at your competitors you may realize how similar you are.

Sometimes the first step to being different is to realize you’re just the same.

That knowledge inspires some hustle.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Just Think Differently, Do Differently

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It’s worth pondering what you get out of a transaction beside money.

In addition to the sale, what do you learn?

Why not validate your business and ask what need the item is fulfilling in the customer?

Why don’t you note what each customer is wearing and find a trend?

Every transaction is an opportunity to learn more, to get a level deeper in knowing who your target is. When you merely scan an item and start thinking about the next person you need to scan an item for, you’re missing out on your opportunity to have a stronger marketing strategy.

 

Stay Positive & ABL (Always Be Learning)

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