I’ll bet on the thing you become known for, the legacy you leave, the actions you take that make the post impact aren’t the things that are flashy and you get attention for.
No doubt, it’s the action you take quietly, but consistently, with care and finesse and magic day in and day out.
I’m all for putting a monetary value on our time and even more for putting it to things that one may never consider putting it to.
There’s value in not commuting so far to work.
There’s value in keeping the windows at the cafe clean every single day.
There’s value in how often we let others know we appreciate them.
There’s not always an immediate return and there’s definitely not a quantifiable one for all actions you could take.
But at some point, you have to ask what it’s worth to you to do something.
You’re better off getting in the habit sooner than later. It’ll make decisions easier and will remind you that there’s impact in all you do – even the tiniest of actions.
You can show people the right way of doing something, but when they have a hundred other items on their to-do list, knowing what’s right doesn’t always mean it will be done right.
That’s why it’s just as important to show what the wrong way looks like. It’s really a safety net for you/your brand.
That’s why product manuals display images of the right way and the wrong way. It’s why brand guidelines do the same with how to use a logo.
If you’re running into an issue with team members doing things that aren’t right – even when you have showed them how to do it right – it might be time to focus just as much on communicating what’s the wrong way.
People are more risk-adverse than they are progressive.
Stay Positive & When Things Don’t Go Right, Go Left
Sausage tastes amazing. There’s so many variants, so many toppings, so many unique recipes.
Watching sausage get made isn’t that fun.
It’s concerning. If you’ve ever watched sausage get made, you probably wondered how the heck it would turn out to be something anyone likes.
A lot of the remarkable work in the world was made like sausage.
It’s okay if you’re the one making sausage–you know that it’s going to work out in the end.
From an outsider perspective, it’s hard not to try to change the process, it’s hard not to freak out about what the end result will be, it’s hard not to put a halt to it.
It doesn’t require invites and postage or clever RSVP emails.
You don’t need a hundred other people to celebrate a milestone of yours.
The best way you can celebrate is by noticing that something is worth celebrating. You observe your heart rate increasing, you hear your little squeal of excitement, you catch yourself smiling.
Too often we go through life and work without celebrating moments big or small.
If it means we need to change how we celebrate to make sure we do–that’s a change worth making.
Keep doing what you’re doing so long as what you’re doing is for the target.
Those who make the meaningful impact show up again and again and take customers where they hope to go.
They don’t make cuts because of a bottom line or because they don’t want to do the emotional labor. They don’t switch the logo and revamp the website every other year. They don’t pay for a super bowl ad. They don’t pivot their marketing every time they have a bad sales weekend.
The successful disrupters almost do the opposite of what we think of when we think of disruption; they stick to their commitment to the people they sought to serve.
Stay Positive & Drip By Drip By Drip, Disruption Happens