Entrepreneurs solve problems. So do leaders. If you don’t understand the problem, you won’t know how to solve it. If you want help from others, if you don’t understand the problem, you’ll lead people to give you useless advice. People feel like solutions make them heroes, so they focus on what they consider solutions, but if you don’t understand the problem from the perspective of people feeling it—that is, your[…] Keep reading →
My post at Inc. today, “How Beatles Producer George Martin Succeeded Where Every Label Failed,” begins: How Beatles Producer George Martin Succeeded Where Every Label Failed George Martin signed the Beatles in 1962 after every British label rejected them. How the experts missed the opportunity happens more than you think. I played Abbey Road until the stylus on my child’s cheap record player destroyed each groove from Come Together to[…] Keep reading →
I’ve shown this representation of what I call The Worst Problem in the World at many seminars. I wrote about it about five years ago. Now you can see the video. Watch all the way through to see some solutions. Take my course if you want to get beyond it and resolve it in your life, mainly by doing the exercises in it to develop compassion and empathy.
My post today on Inc.com, “How to Win an NBA Championship as a 66-Year-Old Grandmother of Five,†begins: How to Win an NBA Championship as a 66-Year-Old Grandmother of Five Knowing your values and living by them enables you to achieve the value of what others only dream of. This is a post about values, living by them, and achieving more through it. You read Inc.com. You value achievement. Let’s talk[…] Keep reading →
[This post is part of a series on the Self-Imposed Daily Challenging Healthy Activity (SIDCHA). If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] People keep getting it backward when they congratulate me on the five years of daily posts, four years of daily burpees, and other disciplined achievements. They say, “You[…] Keep reading →
My post today on Inc.com, “Why You Should Never Let Anyone Call You ‘Smart’ in Business” begins: Intelligence is good so entrepreneurs should like being called smart, right? Wrong. People call you smart when you have nothing they care about more. Look at who doesn’t care if you’re smart in business: Customers value products and services that solve their problems. Employees want to pay their rent and enjoy their jobs.[…] Keep reading →
You get chances to do cool things: classes to take, hobbies to try, relationships to develop, books to read, movies to watch, and so on. How do you decide which to do? Most people look at the new thing and ask if it’s worth doing. I recommend not asking that question. There are many things worth doing in the abstract. Too many. I recommend instead asking what you’d have to[…] Keep reading →
[This post is part of a series on Cold Showers. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view that series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] I haven’t written about cold showers lately, probably because the water hasn’t gotten below fifty degrees since last winter, but this morning it did, so I am. The thermometer said the water was[…] Keep reading →
Returning after nearly a month always leads to thoughts on things you take for granted when you’re home. The first is that no matter how comfortable a hotel bed, no matter how well a maid prepares it, and no matter how jet lag keeps you up at night, no rest matches sleeping in your own bed. While I’ve always preferred sleeping in my bed, my past year was my first[…] Keep reading →