All in Careers
So what’s the average age of successful entrepreneurs in the US? Not just entrepreneurs in general, but the founders at the fastest growing new ventures?
45.
That’s right. The average successful, high growth entrepreneur is, at founding, far older than conventional wisdom and the mainstream media would have us believe.
I was going to start this post with a comment about how crazy and unprecedented 2020 was, but then I realized that a) it would be cliched, b) I’ve already made that point in numerous posts over the last year and, c) it would be cliched.
Instead, I’m going to focus this post on two things - the things I’m proud I’ve been able to do on this blog over the last twelve months and then share a bit of my mindset for the coming twelve.
This month's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic that's absorbed all of us this year. I'll share my perspectives on how I've assessed this impact and how I interpret its impact going forward.
Today's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on how 2020 and COVID-19 has forced us to rethink how we need to approach 2021 - specifically in terms of options and agility.
It’s the end of the year and about when we start thinking about 2021 and what our plans are for the New Year.
Some of these ideas that we’re considering are new - new hobbies we want to take on, new skills we’d like to develop, new ventures we’d like to create. The thrill and excitement of doing something we’ve never done before is intoxicating, something to really look forward to.
One of the hardest things to get your head around when you’ve decided to create something new, is that no one has the answer to what you need to do.
How your offering should be designed, what it should do, how it should be priced - all of this is up for debate. There may be comparables out there - models that you can compare to and get ideas from, and they can offer a guide, a few suggestions along the path.
This month's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic that's absorbed all of us this year. I'll share my perspectives on how I've assessed this impact and how I interpret its impact going forward.
Today's podcast take on the idea of Work From Home (WFH) and how it's changed many of our views so significantly this year. That said, I also think the idea that it's here to stay is overrated.
The ability to be present is, it seems to me, a talent. It’s a hard skill to develop and hone.
I don’t know if that’s the case for you, but it’s certainly been the case for me, something I’ve personally struggled with over the years.
Part of this is a tendency to take on multiple priorities. Part of this is a tendency to obsess over a situation or a task, to let it absorb me entirely.
This month's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic that's absorbed all of us this year. I'll share my perspectives on how I've assessed this impact and how I interpret its impact going forward.
Today's podcast discusses how the pandemic has reset the equilibrium of what we thought was our "physical-virtual" balance, for good reason. This is likely to endure well after the pandemic is over.
The Signal-to-noise ratio measures the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It’s commonly used in science and engineering applications but, of course, it has as much application in our professional and personal worlds, metaphorically speaking anyway.
When someone close to us emotionally recounts a personal situation and demands that we get involved and do something about it - and we do.
The fact of the matter is that my most productive periods have come when I’ve been immersed in my work and not the idea of it.
What does that mean?
So, is that your analysis? Or is that your opinion?
We’ve entered an age when we seem to have conflated the two together. This is most evident in the mainstream media - where you’re either Left or Right, wrong or right, up or down, etc. But it’s not just the mainstream media, it’s as true in so much of our professional and personal lives as well.
This is how we need to be. This is how we need to think. This is how we need to act.
To become a Yokozuna (or Grand Champion) in Sumo Wrestling, there are, broadly, two sets of criteria that have to be met.
The first relates - as we might expect - to power and and skill, specifically performance in recent tournaments with a standard of two consecutive championships as an Ozeki (or an equivalent performance). This is reasonably objective, quantifiable criteria, one that is reasonably objectively measurable.
This month's podcasts discusses the idea of happiness. It's such an important ideal and the next few podcasts talk about how we define it, grapple and fight for it, and ultimately, continue to pursue it.
Today's episode closes the month on a philosophical note - the idea that happiness is like Inbox Zero - it is elusive, we will never permanently achieve it, but we shouldn't stop striving for it.
I was doing an Interval workout on the treadmill recently, following along with an online trainer (i.e. where you alternate bursts of high intensity effort with periods of lower effort).
At one point, having just completed a particularly intense interval, the trainer announced, “Well, that was a tough one. And we get to do that two more times!”
It was a curious choice of words. We get to do that two more times. Not we have to, or we need to. We get to.
Diving into something new can be daunting.
We don’t know ‘the ropes’ - what exactly to do, what constitutes success, whether we have what it takes, or whether we’ll even get “there”. Despite our interest and our passion, we get nervous, especially when the results are in any way public.
One of my favorite quotes is “Own your outcomes”, and speaks to the need for us to take ownership for whatever happens to us.
It doesn’t mean we can control whatever happens to us, because many times we can’t. Things happen, whether we like it or not.
But what we can do is take ownership for our situations, stop complaining or commiserating, and control how we respond. In other words, run the problem and don't let the problem run you.
An uptick in responsibility is the natural accompaniment of career advancement. This can come in many forms - managing more people, greater accountability for specific results, etc.
And the natural accompaniment to that increased responsibility is increased stress (at least if you take your role seriously).
Which isn’t, of course, a bad thing.
I like to think I’m a pretty rational guy. That I consider the pros and cons when making decisions. It’s been drilled into me - through college, business school and then consulting - specifically, the need to be balanced, thoughtful and to consider all aspects before deciding on a path. Nothing controversial or unique about that. I’m sure we all think and behave the same way.
But that rationality belies a reality of making decisions that all of us also grapple with: the role of intuition.
I think it’s ingrained in us, this desire to get things done by ourselves. In many ways, it’s a compulsion, and the bigger, more complex the issue, the stronger the desire to go it alone.
It might be an issue of strategy or one of people; a difficult relationship or a complex initiative. When we’re in its ‘throes’, we absorb ourselves in, well, ourselves.
This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.
Today's episode focuses on the power and value of community. We weren't meant navigate the world alone, no matter what we might think. And the last few months have shown the value and need for human connection, more than ever before.
