Step Back to Make Clean Decisions

Fear clouds judgement.

What’s the worst that can happen?

Walk yourself through how you would handle the worst-case scenario.

It’s not that bad, is it?

Pay Attention

Gaining knowledge reveals how much we actually don’t know.

The Universe is always teaching us.

Are we paying attention?

There’s an Open Door

The competition is not fatal until you’ve decided it is.

Challenge them. 

There is always an open door for those willing to look for it.

No Postponing

Don’t postpone your intentions for tomorrow.

Today is the only promise you have, so use it with intent.

This Is the Moment

Progress starts the moment you act.

Execute with clarity even if you don’t yet have all the answers.

You already have what you need so use it with intent.

The Foundation That Will Outlast Us

This is the year where we invest in a flourishing future by breaking ground, laying the seeds, and nourishing the foundation that will outlast us.

We may never witness the harvest, just as we did not witness the labor that made today possible.

Without expectation of credit, we choose this work as a labor of love. 

Because we get to.

Poke Now, Not Later

Poke all the holes you want in your strategy. At the beginning.

Be sure to invite all the important people to this poking session.

Poke until you cannot poke anymore holes.

Gaining buy-in from the onset will save the team from countless fire drills and expenses later on.

Haste Makes Waste

Shortcuts are traps.

If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over?

Resistors and Conductors

Expect resistance and conductance on your journey to change. 

Here are some useful questions from Seth Godin that help us identify the resistors and conductors.

1. Who gains or loses in status from changes in the system?
2. Are there forms of communication and interoperability wired into the system?
3. What are the forces that oppose substitutions?
4. Are there individuals or nodes with the incentive and power to hold things back or push them forward? And are there other nodes that can work in opposition?
5. Are there behaviors that seem like superstitions based in history instead of reality?
6. Where are the feedback loops that amplify or diminish signals?

No Place for Substitutes

The market is eagerly working to call you a commodity that can be replaced by a cheaper option.

And yes, there are substitutes out there.

But even with the available choices, why is your product irresistible to them?

You are doing the hard work of creating such a compelling product, experience, and story that the very idea of a substitute fades.