Life Lesson

We got to a crux in conversation with a couple of authors the other day. It wasn’t about how to write or how to self publish. It wasn’t about the need for a marketing budget. It was about enjoying the process.

One author switches to working on short stories to continue enjoying the process of writing when editing his novel gets hard.

Another author simply takes a break each time she starts to get frustrated while editing.

Yet another said they had written down all the challenges they expected to face so they couldn’t complain when they happened (ex: I’ll have to cut some great ideas).

It was a great reminder to construct a way to enjoy the process of our jobs or relationships or parenting or -insert your muse here-.

It’s far easier to enjoy a process when we’re intentional about enjoying the process.

Stay Positive & The Plan Is Yours

Half the battle is answering the tough questions.

A business plan isn’t effective because it’s a plan; it’s effective because it forces a person to answer the tough questions in writing.

1-1s result in both parties feeling fulfilled when the manager invests more in asking questions than talking.

And so on…

Stay Positive & Battle Gear Off

You want an effective marketing plan: create two columns.

Mark one as The Measurable and the other as The Unmeasurable.

Not put your tactics and strategies under each.

Are they balanced?

Can you imagine which one has more influence on the other?

Would be a bummer if that was the column you had fewer things in, wouldn’t it?

Stay Positive & Unmeasurable > Measurable

My daughter swiffered the floor (she’s three, mind you).

“Daddy, did I do a good job?”

If a good job is doing a job. Yes. If a good job is removing all of the dog hair on the floor of a room. No. If a good job is feeling proud of the effort you put in. Yes. If a good job is showing your sister how to be engaged in household chores. Yes. If a good job was doing it well enough that we don’t have to redo it again later. No.

Your team might not ask for the feedback, but they want to know if they are doing a good job.

Of course, you could make it so they don’t have to wonder what’s a good job.

Handing them the swiffer is one thing. Telling them what a good job looks like with it is a whole other.

Stay Positive & BRB, Gotta Go Reswiffer With My Daughter

It’s a beautiful expression, really. Even more so when you think about all that can be categorized under it.

• Interrupting destructive habits
• Awakening our heart in the work we do
• Being curious about the interesting as well as the uninteresting
• Raising a family
• Innovating through empathy
• Leaving a legacy
• Advocating for social change
• Developing your philosophical system
• Restoring nature, hope, or motivation

Stay Positive & Ain’t Life Grand?

A leader’s job is to blend two objectives.

1. The needs of the business.
2. The wants of the team.

That’s it.

Succeed in achieving those two things together and you’ll be the most sought out leader in the world.

Stay Positive & Never Said It Was Easy, Though

There’s far too much internal debating about content, product, GTM, and alike.

At some point (and that point happens far earlier than we ever think), it’s best to put it in front of the target and get feedback.

Of course, the feedback may not be perfect. Perhaps it’s best to get thoughts from 2-3 targets to really round it out. But you don’t need far more than that to validate killing, continuing or simply shipping a project.

Asking the target (not through some formal survey or incentivized email, but on the phone, in person or on a video call) gives you the shield to protect an idea as others intend to share how they think or feel about it (or perhaps when new team members join the project and want to influence it).

“I think this works best” holds no weight against a statement like “I talked to a target prospect and they said this would be strong collateral.”

It’s not perfect, I’ll admit. But perfection isn’t the goal. Alignment and shipping the thing is.

Stay Positive & When Did You Share The Work With The Target Last?