All in Aspirations
The point of a brand is, in one way or another, to tug on our heartstrings.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a consumer brand, or a B2B brand, the goal is entirely the same: to establish a preference that has, as its basis, criteria well beyond the rational.
Attaining leadership - in a business, in an organization, in any sphere of life - is a difficult task. It demands a lot of us and absorbs us as we pursue the path. At times, the task feels beyond us, and yet we persevere and work towards our ambitions. So when we get there, it feels like an achievement. Because, of course, it is.
The thing we forget, though, is that we haven’t actually reached the end of the path.
The problem is apathy.
When we’ve been burned long enough, when we’ve been ignored long enough, when we’ve been taken for granted, we might decide we don’t care. So, then, we ignore the issue or avoid it. We get on with other aspects of our lives, and deprioritize those things that have caused our problems.
This month's podcasts focus on war stories, recounting situations and experiences that were unique, intriguing and (always) educational.
In today's episode, I share a story from my early days in Management Consulting and specifically about working with a partner who, seemingly, liked to talk in riddles. There was, of course, a method to his madness, as I discuss on the show.
One of the things I love about kids is their ability to just go after something they want.
Put a paintbrush in their hand and they create. Give them an instrument and they play without reservation. Ask them to tell you a story and they simply do it. They don’t worry about their technique, or their current skill level, or how their artistic choices will be perceived by the world.
More often than not, we tend to judge how a particular situation will turn out based on how easily that outcome comes to mind, which is influenced by what we’ve seen, experienced or heard most recently.
This is called the Availability heuristic or Availability bias, which suggests we weigh our judgements towards the most recent news.
Reiss Nelson is a 20 year old up and coming English footballer, who plays as a Forward for my club, Arsenal FC.
On Saturday, he came on as an attacking substitute in the 82nd minute of the 2020 Community Shield game, the traditional season opener when the prior season’s League Champions (Liverpool this year) play the FA Cup winners (Arsenal). At Full Time, the score was tied at 1-1 and so the game went to penalties.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I reflect on article I read about Lauryn Hill and the importance of creating art for yourself and not for anyone else. This is true of all truly great creators - not simply in the Arts but in business as well.
You know, the older I get, the less patience I have for the idea that we should let anyone or anything other than ourselves be the guide for what we do. That the perspectives of others are, at best, suggested inputs, and at worst, detrimental guidance (intentional or otherwise).
And the reason for this loss of patience is that I have grown tired of my own personal issues in this regard.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I discuss the nature of ideas, and specifically great ideas. What is it about great ideas that makes them endure? What kind of environment allows such ideas to break through? What do we need to keep in mind to make sure these ideas break through?
One of the things I love about kids is that they just get started.
Ask a 5 year old to paint, and they don’t worry about what they’ll paint, their technique, the precise color mix or anything else. They just grab a brush, pick a color and get going. No times wasted thinking, analyzing, pre-judging. They just do.
As we get older, we lose this. Too much thinking, analyzing and pre-judging. Before we’ve even tried.
"We're a technology company that happens to be in Home Loans."
I heard a CEO say this on TV recently and I have to say, it irked me. Is that what his company did? They delivered ‘technology’? What the hell does that mean? Isn’t tech a means to an end, and not the end in and of itself? Does his company exist to knit together bits and bytes and provide hardware or software?
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I talk about ideas and how the great ones are - and should be - polarizing. They should engage or enrage, but nothing in between.
Is it that we don’t believe we deserve to be ambitious? Or is it the fear that we are likely might fail?
Which one explains why we don’t wholeheartedly commit? Which one explains why we become “dabblers” - just dipping our toes in the water but not really getting wet?
Something stops us from committing ourselves, which seems a worse fate, to me, than even trying in the first place. We pretend to engage, to get involved and take on the goal, but really we’re not.
If you’re going to be in business, then you can only be in business to solve problems.
What I mean by that is that you aren’t doing what you do to simply ‘do work’, or to run a business (for all of the budding entrepreneurs out there).
You’re doing what you do because it helps your customer tackle a specific issue, something that they’re willing to pay good money (or some other form of consideration) to have tackled.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I talk about where ideas get their start. Many times, we think of successful businesses as always having been full formed, from origin through execution. The reality is that it all starts with a hunch.
A few years ago, I was at a Van Halen concert - specifically, the David Lee Roth Reunion incarnation. Halfway through the gig, Diamond Dave sat with an acoustic guitar without the band and said to the crowd:
"When I die, I want you to sprinkle my ashes over the 1980's".
I had a different post I wanted to put out today but, instead, I felt compelled to share a few thoughts about John Lewis’ posthumous Opinion piece that was published in the New York Times yesterday. Written a couple of days before he passed away, it’s his final message to us all, and it speaks to the underlying ideals and principles that guided him through almost the entirety of his life.
This month, the podcast is focused on talent, specifically what we can and should expect of our people, as well as how we evaluate and manage them.
In today's episode, I close out the month by talking about standards and the little compromises we make to accommodate this or that particular team member. It's far better to raise the bar, set our own standards and bring our people with us.
What is this idea of “being a hero”? I don’t know how to really comprehend it, that is, what makes someone become a hero?
I mean, it’s a concept we talk and hear about incessantly - all over the media, in our news, in a lot of our personal conversations. But I don’t know if we really internalize what it means.
