Reading Time: < 1 min It sounds counter-intuitive, but some of the best companies in the world work hard to sell as little as possible to each of their customers. I first shared this a few years ago when talking about how “if you don’t say no, your yes is meaningless“, where the companies I trust most often push to […]
Trust
A solid business is built on trust
Reading Time: 2 min The title of this post may seem a bit obvious, and I think it is, but taken from a wider view it can get a little interesting. In Patrick Lencioni’s book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team“, he breaks down the typical dysfunctions in the form of a pyramid, shown here. In his pyramid, you […]
It’s about time to remove the gates
Reading Time: 2 min “Gated content” on websites has historically been a great way to build an email list. I’m sure you’ve done it — there’s a great PDF that interests you like “10 ways to prepare your lawn for the fall”, and it’s free if you just give over your email address. Generally speaking, it’s a win-win situation; […]
We tend to trust the skills of automatic people
Reading Time: 2 min When it comes to sports, the best athletes are the ones that appear to do things without thinking — and it’s true. As explained in the book “Trying Not to Try“, the more automatically you can perform a task, the better you’ll likely perform at it. This is also why people often choke under pressure. […]
Do you want to be seen as trustworthy? Be trustworthy.
Reading Time: < 1 min Trust is one of the more important qualities you can build in life, whether for yourself or for your business. While there are some shortcuts you can take, they’re generally short-lived. In reading Edward Slingerland’s “Trying Not to Try“, he summed it up very nicely when it comes to building a positive reputation for your […]
Too much thankfulness can backfire
Reading Time: < 1 min It would seem to reason that if you show someone gratitude for work they did, more gratitude and thankfulness would be a good thing. It might be, but not always. An example of this came from a recent post I saw on Reddit (though the image has since been removed). A woman received a very […]
The “truth” about that “great opportunity”
Reading Time: 2 min Kevin Kelly’s “Excellent Advice for Living” had a lot of great snippets in it, and these two seemed to go hand-in-hand. First, he shared: Actual great opportunities will not have “Great Opportunities” in the subject line. I probably get 10 of these a day, with companies offering us a “great opportunity” to partner with them. […]
AI will lead to more synchronous communication
Reading Time: 2 min I’m a big of of asynchronous communication, where two people can talk to each other at different times, like via email where one party can respond to the other two hours later. It’s why many people, particularly younger ones, dislike phone calls. Phone calls demand your attention immediately, rather than giving a buffer like with […]
Negotiate with more questions
Reading Time: 2 min I always find it interesting when the data shows the opposite of what I expect. It could be something like Simpson’s Paradox, which is just so weird, or the idea that expert poker players fold 3x more often than an amateur player. In Adam Grant’s book “Give and Take” he shares a study from Neil […]
Lead with reputation and legacy, not business
Reading Time: < 1 min There are a lot of situations where it feels you should quickly steer conversations toward business, but that’s almost never the right way to go. Even if you’re at a business-focused event, keeping the conversations more personal and other-focused will lead to better long-term results. Gary Vaynerchuk can be a polarizing person, but I appreciate […]