Reading Time: 2 min In reading Jonah Berger’s book “Magic Words“, he shared some thoughts on “The Curse of Knowledge” and how it can impact the ways that you communicate with others. In his words: This curse has a name, and appropriately, it is called the curse of knowledge. It’s a curse because the more we know, the more […]
Business
Be willing to miss your exit
Reading Time: < 1 min There’s a saying out there that says “bad drivers never miss their exit”, meaning a good driver will take the safe route if they are about to miss their exit, but a bad driver will make poor decisions in order to make their exit at all costs. Here’s a great example, where the white car […]
Word of mouth dominates marketing
Reading Time: 2 min As a partner in a digital marketing firm, I can appreciate the value of various digital marketing tactics. Search engine optimization, email marketing, digital ads, social media, and many other techniques can do amazing things to help get the word out about your company. Ultimately, though, the best marketing for most consumers is one that […]
Transparency isn’t the same as honesty
Reading Time: < 1 min It’s always felt to me that being transparent was a big part of being honest. It can be, but they aren’t the same thing. In his book “Lost and Founder“, author Rand Fishkin explains it this way: Transparency isn’t the same as honesty. Honesty is saying only things that are true. Many founders and startup […]
People play differently when they’re keeping score
Reading Time: 2 min “Keeping score” can make a big difference. Growing up, if my friends and were shooting hoops it’d generally be casual and fun, just tossing the ball around and chatting. However, as soon as it became a game of any kind, everything changed. It was still fun, whether it was 2-on-2 or “HORSE” or anything else, […]
The whirlwind is a thief
Reading Time: 2 min In reading the book “The 4 Disciplines of Execution“, they talked a lot about “the whirlwind” — all of that junk you have to do every day just to keep moving forward. This largely includes email, but also many meetings, phone calls, and other distractions. These are things that are semi-important, but they often prevent […]
Misaligned incentives
Reading Time: 2 min As a small business owner, I’m often looking for ways to better incentivize our staff to work hard and for our clients to stick with us. For our clients it’s not about “incentives”, but rather providing the right products, data and outcomes to satisfy their needs, so it’s not all that different from what an […]
Don’t freak out about AI just yet
Reading Time: 3 min I’ve shared a few times on here some concerns I have with AI. There are good things coming, but probably some bad things too. You’d be wise to spend time with AI tools and start learning how they work, but it’s not time to freak out over it yet. Napster Back in 1999, the record […]
Using ninety.io with Traction
Reading Time: 2 min I’ve mentioned a few times in the past how we use the EOS / Traction model at GreenMellen. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a way to organize and manage your business (with “EOS” standing for “Entrepreneural Operating System”) and the book “Traction” is a great place to start. Funny enough, my main post […]
Who you know really does matter more than what you know
Reading Time: 2 min We’ve all heard the idea of “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” and that’s very likely true. I’ve never liked that statement, as it can lead to unskilled or unscrupulous people doing work simply because of a relationship, but that’s how things often go. As I said yesterday, relationships will reign and […]