Reading Time: 3 min Over the past few weeks, I’ve been moving my primary notes database from Roam Research to Obsidian. It’s a move I’ve long known I was going to make, but I’ve been waiting for Obsidian to add a few more features to help me get there. They added them, and now I’ve moved. It’s similar to […]
If we spam you, please be polite to us
Reading Time: 2 min I recently came across a fascinating thread on LinkedIn where salespeople were frustrated by being “ghosted” by potential clients. They’d reach out, and simply get no response. Ghosting someone isn’t generally a nice thing to do, but there was a big difference with this thread — almost everyone in there was sending cold emails (you […]
Alternative facts come from a lack of detail
Reading Time: < 1 min “Alternative facts” are a real thing, at least to some degree. Here are two quick examples. First is this image that has been shared around quite a bit: The second are the facts that Chick-Fil-A is mathematically the fastest drive-thru restaurant, but they’re also mathematically the slowest drive-thru restaurant. Both are 100% factual, from the […]
You’re not really selling time
Reading Time: < 1 min A common way to price your offerings is with an hourly rate, but that’s not generally the best way to go. It can certainly help frame what price point might be appropriate, but even if you charge by the hour, your clients aren’t really just “buying your time”. In a recent post by Jonathan Stark, […]
Saying “no” is intellectually lazy
Reading Time: < 1 min As you are growing your business, developing the ability to say “no” more frequently is a great thing. No to unnecessary meetings. No to clients that you don’t fit with. No to things that waste your time. In many cases, though, the answer should be a bit more nuanced. It’s easy to say “no”, but […]
Clear is kind
Reading Time: < 1 min If you follow Gary Vaynerchuk very much, you’ve probably noticed that his big push lately is for “kind candor“. In his earlier years he did well with the “kind” part, but hid from the “candor”, which was a big disservice to those on his team. You don’t need to hide from the truth, but don’t […]
Enjoy your obscurity
Reading Time: < 1 min We all tend to want to reach more people, whether that’s through our creative work, sports, acting, etc. Even on this blog, which I’m doing almost entirely for my own growth, it would be kind of fun to have more traffic. That said, a bit of obscurity can be a good thing. If you look […]
Reading can be high-leverage work
Reading Time: < 1 min I shared the question last month of whether reading can be considered “work” or not, and I’m still a bit torn on the idea. I think that reading certainly generates benefits for my work, but I also don’t think that it’s the best use of my time during the day. It’s something I’ll continue to […]
What does “done” look like?
Reading Time: < 1 min With most things that we work on, there is some end goal in sight. Publish the website. Mow the grass. Run a marathon. In some cases, though, there isn’t a “done” to be found. This blog is a great example of that, in that I have no end goal in mind. In most cases, though, […]
Your visitors have their own mission
Reading Time: < 1 min Your company very likely has a mission statement that you’re proud of, and you probably should be. Having a solid mission is a great thing, but your customers care almost nothing about it. When they come to your site, they don’t want to hear about your mission — they have their own mission that they’re […]