I have been pondering about it for a while. We know we need to talk to target customers as soon as we can, but we don’t. We know we need to track key metrics – but we don’t. We know we need to reach out to mentors and founders who have been there and done that – we don’t. We know we need to engage with the press and basically invest in marketing (time, not necessarily money) but we don’t.
If you look around enough is being shared about the importance of story telling as part of your communication strategy. As an individual whether we are telling stories to our children, our spouse – our friends or colleagues or to our customers, this is one skill that we need to hone. And so that we are clear, although it is sounds like selling – it is not. Great story telling aids selling but not the other way around.
Arguably one key attributes of a successful leader – political or otherwise is the ability of listening. Not just hearing but listening with a open mind with limited bias filters applied to our auditory function.
This is a complex question. When did you figure what you wanted to do when you grew up? Are you doing what you are doing for the love of it or for money? or Prestige?
There is this really quick but effective read that I found where Mark Manson the author of Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope wrote about how applying Pareto to your life may throw up some surprising results.
The day after Apple reveals their juicy new iPhones I thought it would be appropriate to point at the elephant in the room. The issue is real. We are all spending enormous time staring at our phone. Lot has been written on the ills of this. I spend 2-3 hours on my phone a day and get a lot of work done using my phone as an extended screen of my laptop. I have no games. But I do get a lot of notifications from apps. These distract me often. This article by Ryan Holiday on Forge addresses this issue head-on.
From time to time shortcuts to success ideas become alluring enough. A recent study by HBR found that CEO’s work on an average 62 hours a week and attends 37 meetings. How do they manage to get work done?
You believe you are smart, rational and always taking the best decisions the situation permits. Well, think again.
Richard Thaler, the Nobel Laureate economist thinks otherwise and Eshe Nelson says, you would do better to pay attention.
As an entrepreneur you need time to just sit and do nothing. Sleep. Read a book. And not go out and party. Or group watch a movie. Or even take care of the kids. Managing ones scarce unscheduled time is crucial. It is one of the most valuable resource that you have.
In his latest letter to shareholders Jeff Bezos spoke about the essential DNA that drives the growth of Amazon. Key amongst them is the power of wandering. That was in my mind and led me to the wonder about the power of laziness with relation to work. The counter view to what we call laziness could be getting more done in a given timeframe, reducing low value work from your schedule or simply prioritizing life over work.
