GarthBox

There was once an adage around the fact you’ll receive 10x more complaints than you will compliments.

In response, you can follow Jay Baer’s advice and Hug Your Haters. There’s merit in that.

However, better to make a better product than let the complaints continue.

Simply because one assumes that people are more likely to complain than compliment doesn’t mean it’s okay.

Those who take the complaints as a nudge to get better are the ones, who, well, get better.

 

Stay Positive & You Are After Better, Right? Not More?

Photo credit

Like a long-distance relationship, work can be done between remote locations.

That’s why there’s Zoom, Slack, Skype and Microsoft Teams.

But just as what’s required from the long-distance relationship, both parties at work need to put in the effort, time and care into communicating across the distance.

Alas, the work gets done, but more often than not, it’s only good enough work.

The next layer of communication is a bit deeper and more personal. It involves close proximity and the ability for face-time, but more often than not, one party still sends an email, and if it’s important, maybe a phone call.

The result is better work because the feedback loop is tighter and the connection to one another is stronger by geographic nature. So, unlike the long-distance interactions, you can more clearly sense the team effort, efficiency and 2X the care.

The third, more meaningful layer involves close proximity and proactive face-to-face communication. This includes the drive-bys, the running into one another throughout the work space, the in-person meetings and, more often than not, work sessions with all parties involved.

No work is better than work done by a team whose sum is greater than all its parts.

 

Stay Positive & Give Sending An Email A Second Thought

Photo credit

We’re often so quick to take something that exists and bring it to another level.

A presentation already has 15 slides, what if we add 5 more?

There’s already a committee for recruitment, let’s add another for retention.

How can we grow X by 20 percent?

Of course, growth is a good thing … except when it’s not.

And it’s not when we’ve forgotten the why of why we started in the first place.

Too often we fall back on the anchor of where we are, rather than the why of how we got here.

Next time you’re working to elevate an idea, consider how long ago it was at zero and why it all began. You may discover that less is more or maybe adding 5 isn’t enough, you need to add 50.

 

Stay Positive & All About Retrospection

Photo credit

Think of thrashing as the hard work and speed you put into your work when you’re faced with an immediate deadline.

Focus tightens. You lean on others for help. You make executive decisions. You move forward more quickly. You must more passion the anyone else.

Now imagine thrashing early. Before the deadline looms. Before anyone asks you to take the leap.

Why?

• Because you’re going to have 1,000 more things to do on top of the one thing you should have thrashed early at when the deadline finally looms
• Because you’ll find flaws or situations that would have set you back later, but instead set you back now (which is fine because now you have time to solve)
• Because that thing you just thrashed early on? It’s done. You can move onto something else that matters.

The list can go on if you’d like, but three solid reasons should be enough to start thrashing early.

 

Stay Positive & Better Sooner Than Never, That’s The Saying, Right?

Photo credit

Every relationship can be built a little stronger by being more human.

Every business, too.

Actually, every group, tribe, friendship, marriage, workplace, dentistry, brewery, service place, environment and online  interaction can be built a little stronger by being more human.

More often than not, we don’t need more wit, wisdom, facts, flash sales, features, benefits or manipulation.

We just need a human who cares on the other end. And the other end needs that from us.

 

Stay Positive & Time For More Empathy

Photo credit

Each year I sit on a panel of judges for a college marketing course. This year the students pitched Buffalo Wild Wings and Chick-fil-A. One presentation stuck out for a few reasons.

1. They started by calling out the brand for what it was doing terribly at. Not just listing problems, but actually showing and reporting that these were true pain points from the target, not just their internal fodder.
2. They dug deep to focus on business solutions, not merely marketing tactics. Sure, they showcased some flash, but they weren’t there to win a pitch, they showed up to grow a business.
3. Lastly, and most importantly, they understood the philosophy that if a business invests in its employees, employees invest in customers and customers invest in the business so the cycle can continue. It’s this cycle that make brands like Zappos, Dupont and Delirium Cafe so remarkable.

If you’re going to pitch anything from a marketing plan to an idea, then stand for something. If you’re going to stand for something, standing up for the team members is a great place to start.

 

Stay Positive & We Before Me, Right?

Photo credit

No doubt, you can certainly grow steadily, slowly, always forward.

An alternative way is a twist on the ol’ saying, “One step forward, two steps back.”

I call it slingshot growth: one step back, two steps forward.

Slingshot growth isn’t for everyone, though.

If you’re a cautious one, if you don’t like to dance with fear, if you’re trying to prevent any amount of scope creep, then slingshot growth isn’t for you.

But for those who are okay saying “this might not work,” and for those who don’t mind the little voice inside your head speaking up telling you you’re making a mistake, who’s not okay with status-quo … this growth strategy is for you.

 

Stay Positive & It’s Okay To Do Things Differently, If They Work For You

Photo credit