I was talking to someone recently about how I would describe "sales". And to me, the essence of selling is helping someone change their status quo. They have a problem or challenge, and you have a solution that can help fix it. Selling Is Changing Inertia Because I'm sometimes super-nerdy, I described it in terms of inertia. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking inertia is about an object at rest. But actually, inertia just means that an object will keep moving in the same direction and speed unless an outside force acts on it. Newton said it better in his First Law of Thermodynamics: "Every object in a state of uniform motion … [Read more...]
You’ll Play Better in Your Suit
I'm a big fan of the movie The Commitments. If you haven't seen this story of a working-class Dublin soul band, I highly recommend finding it on Netflix. I love this film for many reasons, including a scorching soul soundtrack. It has all of the drama you'd expect when you get a group of people trying to work towards a common goal. And subsequently, it shares some powerful leadership lessons for the careful observer. It also unwittingly taught me my favorite mantra about intention. Before the band's first performance they are backstage getting dressed in black suits, basically because their manager is forcing them to. These are … [Read more...]
Not Every Seed Becomes a Beautiful Flower
A few years ago I dipped my toe into gardening with an herb garden in my home office. I've continued every summer and this year I've branched out to a few pepper and tomato plants in the yard. When I first started I wrote a piece about the metaphor of planting seeds in your business. The goal as I saw it was to see the value in activities that could have a payoff down the line. This summer I clarified another insight. Plant a lot of seeds because not all seeds you plant will grow and flourish. For example, this summer I've think I've gotten the hang of peppers. My habanero and serrano plants are bushy and full of fruit (we're … [Read more...]
When You Get There, There You Are
“I think I would really like his life.” That was a statement made by my wife last year while watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. It's one that I could echo. And it was an understandable sentiment. It seemed like a pretty good life. Travel around the world, go to interesting places, eat delicious food, spend time with fascinating people. Even his demeanor seemed well earned: grizzled and patient, with the self-awareness of someone who had a tough life and made it through. But as is often the case, we didn’t know the whole story. And one of the people who didn’t want his life... was Anthony himself. "Over … [Read more...]
How Small Steps Every Day Will Make You Have Big Change
I hope you'll indulge me for a moment. I want to brag a little. (But I promise there's a point.) I've been using a phone app to learn Spanish, which has been a goal of mine for over a decade. It usually takes me about 10 minutes a day, so it's not a huge investment of time. But it's something. And a few weeks ago, I hit my 365th day in a row practicing Spanish. I'm pretty excited about that. I'm not saying that I've mastered it (Duolingo says I'm 59% fluent, which feels about right). The next step would be to find some speaking Meetups or even a trip south of the border to immerse myself in the language for a week or two. But … [Read more...]
Are You Willing to Actually DO the Thing?
I Always Question My Answers (And You Should Too)
One of my favorite albums from my favorite bands is Question the Answers by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. You probably haven't heard of it, but I love it. (Mostly, by the way, because of how it spoke to me about my life when it came out. Anthony Bourdain said, “Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.” I think the same applies for albums). Beyond the music, it was also one of the first times I heard the phrase "question the answers." Besides just being a pithy slogan, it pointed to a deeper idea: There is no final certainty that we can achieve that lets us slack off intellectually, morally, or … [Read more...]