We tend to think of competitions as absolutes, that there are always clear winner and losers.
But other than in sports, that’s just not the case. (And even in sports, depending on your timelines, it’s absolutely the case.)
All in Sales
Omerisms Podcast - Episode 136
In today's episode, I talk about the idea of partnerships.
The word "partnership" is easy to throw around when the stakes are low. But when the going gets tough, we really find out who is (and isn't) a true partner.
What’s Actually Within Our Control?
I don’t know how much is actually within our control.
I know many of us like to think everything is, even as there are others who think nothing is, that we’re all simply subjects (victims?) of fate.
If I had to choose, I’d put myself more in the former camp - that we can indeed make of ourselves and our situations what we will.
Momentum Is A Funny Thing
Momentum, in a psychological sense, is a funny thing.
It’s a mindset that wields so much influence, dominating our focus, often despite the facts. And while momentum tends to build over time, the reality is that it can also turn on a dime.
You can be in the midst of a string of strong results but one bad event, particularly one that you’d banked on, or considered ‘symbolic’ and your confidence is gone.
Linguistic Camouflage
A friend of mine once mentioned how, in discussions with a client, he came across and had to translate a business writeup for them.
The write up, which I won’t share in full here, included phrases that we see on business websites everywhere:
"…drive synergistic value through patented capabilities, strategies & roadmap approaches…”
You Never Run Out Of Runway
In his first letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, wrote:
“In every business we pursue, we’re constantly experimenting and inventing. We’re divinely discontented with customer experiences, whether they’re our own or not. We believe these customer experiences can always be better, and we strive to make customers’ lives better and easier every day.
Omerisms Podcast - Episode 131
There's an allure to the grand strategy, the flourish and ambition behind the work we do. We love the exciting, glamorous and sexy parts, because that gets noticed.
And while those aspects of our work are indeed important, of far more importance is the more detailed, granular executional work, as I discuss in today's episode.
Does Hatred Define 'True' Rivalry?
Rivalries in sport and in business are fueling mechanisms.
They spur us on to stay alert, work harder and innovate more deeply, to ensure we stay ahead of our competition. More often than not, that’s defined as one or two specific competitors. In that respect, competitive rivalries are a good thing - they keep us focused on the end goal and make us better. The greatest rivalries are the stuff of legend.
This Isn't For You
In the list of priorities of any organization, and specifically the management team, keeping everyone happy cannot be high up there. Any mission and its related strategy will - if done with concerted intent, structured focus and ability to execute in mind - polarize. That is, it will have its proponents and its detractors.
And if you, as a leader, have done your homework and have determined that that strategy is fit for purpose and the best path forward, then bringing everyone along cannot be a priority.
When You Lack ‘The Brand’
A lack of a brand is a forcing mechanism.
There’s nothing to hide behind, nothing to protect you or carry you in a conversation.
A lack of brand requires you to be crystal clear about what you have to offer and what you represent. It forces you to do the work, to the point that someone decides to engage with you - because the value you offer compels that engagement.
First Principles In Times Of Hyper Growth
There’s an adrenaline rush, a state of heightened performance, that comes with growth, when things are going well. It’s a positive state because it’s a sign that others value what we’re doing and, by definition, in increasing numbers.
All of us want that kind of growth for our enterprises (and ourselves) because it is a sign that things are working. That kind of growth motivates the organization and pushes us to believe, commit ourselves and achieve more. All good things.
Stock Splits And How We Behave
Stock splits are a funny thing.
The fact of the matter is that when they are announced, the underlying fundamentals of the company haven’t changed and, if you happen to be an investor at the time (and when they actually occur), the value of your holdings hasn’t actually changed either.
Setting Your Own Yardsticks
I read a tweet the other day about a founder who was worried that his company was growing at “only” 25% a year and, as a result, felt he needed to get bought.
Now, to any objective observer, if you were to set up a business that returned 25% top line growth year over year, that would be considered, without question, a successful enterprise. I mean, we’ve all heard that stat about how 80% of new businesses fail within the first year. So then to not only get past that but to also flourish and grow, is a heck of an achievement.
Why We Need A Central Idea
There’s a passage in Ayn Rand’s book, The Fountainhead, where the central character, Howard Roark, lays out his personal rules for Architecture. He says:
"Here are my rules: what can be done with one substance must never be done with another. No two materials are alike. No two sites on earth are alike.
Owning Your Space
Rented space can be a good thing. It provides for flexibility and minimal commitment, allowing us to piggyback on someone else’s work to serve our ends. Rented space can be a good and useful thing - for the short term.
Longer than that, the problem that arises, is one of control. When you rent, by definition you don’t own. Sure, you might be able to paint the walls and move the furniture around a bit, but if you want to make structural changes, more often than not, you’re out of luck.
Nature Loads The Gun...
Nature loads the gun, nurture pulls the trigger. Or genes load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.
I believe this phrase (using “genes” and “lifestyle” instead of “nature” and “nurture”) was first used in a research paper about obesity, but it applies to so many aspects of our lives. It speaks to the complexity of life, of how we might be oriented and what we might be able to influence.
It's Not Fair
“It’s not fair.”
Each and every one of us can recount situations where things didn’t go our way, for reasons that, in our minds, were less than equitable.
Not getting that promotion when we had the experience and the achievements. Losing out on that business opportunity when we’d done what the client asked for. Not making that investment when we had the chance (Bitcoin, anyone?).
The Thing About Choices (Part 2)
In my last post, I wrote that, instead of focusing on having more choice, we should focus on having more confidence in our choice.
This is harder than it sounds, of course, as it demands that we do the work to understand our values, our decision criteria and what it is we’re looking for, as we make decisions about the work we do. If we know what we want, then we’ll make better, more confident decisions.
Omerisms Podcast - Episode 120
In business environments, surprises are not a good thing, because the main thing we want is predictability.
And the only way we can ensure predictability is for us to do the work necessary. This means both listening and communicating much more than we do, as I discuss in today's episode.
Start In The Middle
We come up with all sorts of projects that we want to get done, goals we want to achieve, but we end up paralyzed by the thought of where and how to begin. We want to do it well and do it right, but in that process of deliberation, we end up doing nothing.
So, as I’ve talked about before, better to just start. But how? And where?