Could you make a list? A list of things that you probably could understand if you put your mind to it, but don’t.
Things like:
How the Federal Reserve works
Why things from China are so inexpensive
How Google Analytics works
Why kids like using FaceBook
How the guys in the factory make the widgets you sell
Six ways to make your web browser work better
How to make a great spaghetti sauce
Editing a wikipedia entry
Selling stuff on eBay
Has there ever been a better time to learn what you don’t know? It’s faster, easier and cheaper now than ever before (and, of course, there’s way more stuff now that we don’t understand). If I don’t learn it now, when will I?
I noticed a little while ago that I was using the word "just" and the phrase "sort of" in my writing. All the time, in fact. In my last book, a search and replace removed more than 80 unnecessary ‘justs’.
Just say it.
Don’t hide behind waffling terms that don’t mean anything.
On the other hand, as I passed the skating rink in New York with the Donald’s name plastered all over it, I’m reminded of a new trend I’m seeing more of, which is the act of declaring whatever you’re working on ‘the best ever,’ ‘the best in the world,’ etc.
Saying it doesn’t make it so. In fact, it probably makes it unso.
Surly cashiers fail. Smiles from real people succeed.
Humans like humans. They hate organizations.
Engadget shares this photo of an xBox 360 signed by the entire xBox team (and Bill Gates). Way better than an impersonal letter apologizing for mishandling a computer that was sent in for repair, no? (They had cleaned off a customer’s machine covered with sentimental graffiti).
Do you know what most people want? They want you to care.
I saw a marketing dilemma at the hot new restaurant I went to the other night.
We got there on time at 6:30 and the restaurant was about a third full. We were promptly seated at the worst table in the place, in the back, in the corner, cramped by the kitchen.
We were first-time patrons, having secured a reservation via Open Table. That made us doubly second-class citizens, I guess.
We asked for a better table, pointing to one a few feet away. "Oh, I’m sorry, that one is reserved."
The chances, of course, that a particular table is reserved are close to zero. What he meant was, "oh, we have a regular customer who deserves that table more than you."
Hence the marketing dilemma: who should get your best effort? Should it be the new customer who you just might be able to convert into a long-term customer? Or should it be the loyal customer who is already valuable?
Sorry, but the answer is this: you can’t have a bad table.
No one wants to settle for the bad table, your worst salesperson, your second-rate items. Not the new customers and not the loyal ones…
Which means you need to figure out how to improve your lesser offerings. Maybe the table in the worst location comes with a special menu or a special wine list or even a visit from the chef. Maybe the worst table, for some people, becomes the best table because of the way you treat people when they sit there…
Treat different people differently. But don’t treat anyone worse.
We recently acquired what might be the worst toaster in the history of the world. It’s pretty fancy and shiny and microprocessor controlled. And it makes toast.
But here’s what I have to do to use it:
Choose the number of slices, and bagel or bread.
Remember whether it counts the slices from the left or the right (the left).
Insert the bread.
Push down the handle.
Choose toast or defrost.
Make sure the darkness level is right. (This doesn’t count, because it usually is).
Press on.
Wait till it beeps.
Lift the handle I pressed in #4.
Turn it off.
Most toasters, of course, consist of steps 3 and 4 only.
I thought about this when I got a note from eBay asking me to pay my bill for an item I sold last month. It says:
To view your invoice and make a payment: 1. Go to http://www.ebay.com and click "My eBay" at the top of most eBay pages. You will need to sign in. 2. Click the "Seller Account" link (beneath "My Account" on the left side of the page). 3. Click the "View invoices" link, and then select the invoice you want to view from the pull-down menu. 4. To make a payment, click the "make a one-time payment" link in the "eBay Seller Fees" section.
It took me more than 11 clicks to send them $6.
The opportunity online is to fix your toaster. When you want to make toast, the site should get out of the way and let you make toast.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
In 1983, I was lucky enough to lead the team that turned one of his novels into a computer game, the first time science fiction authors had worked in that medium. His computer game ended up grossing more than most of his books ever did.
He really was a genius.
The most important thing you can take away: Naming things is important. He made magic things real by describing them and talking about them in ways that felt real. Once something feels real, making it real is a lot easier.
Safe for work, audio is okay. Thanks to Ken for pointing it out. [And Bryan points out this original. Hope the client didn’t pay too much for the new one!]
You were going to spend how much to distract me from what I was doing?
This is controversial, but here goes: I think if you’re remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular, you probably shouldn’t have a resume at all.
Great people shouldn’t have a resume.
Here’s why: A resume is an excuse to reject you. Once you send me your resume, I can say, “oh, they’re missing this or they’re missing that,” and boom, you’re out.
Having a resume begs for you to go into that big machine that looks for relevant keywords, and begs for you to get a job as a cog in a giant machine. Just more fodder for the corporate behemoth. That might be fine for average folks looking for an average job, but is that what you deserve?
If you don’t have a resume, what do you have?
How about three extraordinary letters of recommendation from people the employer knows or respects?
Or a sophisticated project they can see or touch?
Or a reputation that precedes you?
Or a blog that is so compelling and insightful that they have no choice but to follow up?
Some say, “well, that’s fine, but I don’t have those.”
Yeah, that’s my point. If you don’t have those, why do you think you are remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular? It sounds to me like if you don’t have those, you’ve been brainwashed into acting like you’re sort of ordinary.
Great jobs, world class jobs, jobs people kill for… those jobs don’t get filled by people emailing in resumes. Ever.
So, there’s plenty of bad economic news floating around. From the price of oil to Wall Street to bailouts to the death of traditional advertising.
Which is great news for anyone hoping to grow or to make an impact.
Change (and the fortunes that go with it) is almost always made during the down part of the cycle. It might not be fun, but it’s exciting. (Where do you think Google came from?) The opportunity is to find substantial opportunities (in any field) that deliver real value and have a future. Those jobs/investments/companies/ideas are undervalued right now, but not for long.
March 15, 2008
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