August 29th, 2011 by Kris
Quick post today about exclusivity.
What do you do well? Where are your weak spots?
I believe strongly that we should all play to our strengths, not our weaknesses. In your brain, you are literally “hard wired” to do somethings better than others. The more that we push into our areas of strength, the more that area of our brain grows. Guess what? When we work on our weak spots, there is still growth, but not the exponential growth that happens with strengths.
Now, I’m not saying abandon your weaknesses. I still need to work on my timeliness, I still need to work on fiscal fastidiousness. But, where I excel, now that’s where I can expect real growth. Keep this in mind this week as you run into your daily challenges!
With this in mind, think about that one thing that you shoot, that one thing that you design, that one thing that’s not work, it just flows out of you. Is your business built on this? Can it be? It probably should be. It might be something completely esoteric.
Meditate on the things that bring you joy and the things you look forward to and your gifts will shine thru. Try working on something where you are already a rock star and see what happens! Good luck! We’re all looking forward to the results.
KD
August 24th, 2011 by Kris
A few snaps from a trip out to the bay area last year. Finally had a chance to mess with them, anyway these were the three strongest. Let me know what you think! Enjoy. -KD
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August 22nd, 2011 by Kris
Repost from Seth Godin’s Blog last week.
“Not just the first one.
And not all three.
But you really need at least one.
1. Results. If you can offer a return on investment, an engineering solution, more sales, no tax audits, a cute haircut, the fastest rollercoaster, a pristine beach, reliable insurance payouts at the best price, peace of mind, productive consulting or any other measurable result, this is a great place to start.
2. Thrills. More difficult to quantify but often as important, partners and customers respond to heroism. We are amazed and drawn to over the top effort, incredible risk taking on our behalf, the blood, sweat and tears that (rarely) comes from a great partner. A smart person working harder on your behalf than you’d be willing to work–that’s pretty compelling.
3. Ego. Is it nice to feel important? You bet. When you greet us at the door with a glass of white wine, put our name in the lobby of the hotel, actually treat us better than anyone else does (not just promise it, but do it)… This can get old really fast if you industrialize and systemize it, though. Read the rest of this entry »
August 19th, 2011 by Kris
August 15th, 2011 by Kris
This weekend I spent a little time in the Great Smokey Mountains. Now, if you’ve never been, it’s worth seeing. It’s truly a remarkable place. We went with some friends who are big conservationists and they shared with us that around 90% of the people that visit the national park never get out of their cars. This got me thinking about perceived value vs intrinsic value. These travelers decided to go see the beauty, appreciate the scenery but for some reason, are just passing thru. Are they are missing something? Is there intrinsic value of getting out of your car, even for a few minutes into the park, walking the trails, breathing the air, that intrinsic value of being in nature?
What if we look at this as it reflects on our business lives? I think we all recognize that ”je ne sais quois” that a large client can bring. The platform that hitting that benchmark number of followers on twitter can give you. Even just landing a gig at some big studio can change so much. But, I wonder if we are missing some aspect of intrinsic value here? With that large client, are we leveraging that relationship against other clients to just get more work, or are we using those new resources to push forward into new relationships? Are we just happy to have 1,000, 5,000, or 10,000 followers on twitter, or are we engaging in conversations that elevate our art and enrich the short amount of time we have on this planet? These are daily struggles for me, and I know it’s a very individual thing. Maybe it’s something completely different for you.
This week I challenge you to find something in your life that you take for granted and dig in, find some of that intrinsic value and get out of your car, even just for a few minutes.
-KD
