Sometime I feel stressed about saying the exact right thing or doing the exact right thing. If I'm talking with someone or persuading someone and the conversation doesn't go the way that I wanted, I tend to look internally to see what I did wrong, leading with the belief that if I said and did the exact right things, it would've gone differently. Do you ever feel that way too?
I see a lot of other people stressing about it too. Micro-managers who worry their teams will perform poorly, coaches who get frustrated when they can't make their team's win, employees who spend way too long at a job they hate, product developers who over-analyze projects to death.
It's clear how this mindset can steal from your life, when you constantly spend valuable brain space looking for ways where you went wrong. It's equivalent to running a marathon with your shoes tied- it's slow, you trip over yourself and ultimately, it's your own fault.
So I'm here to provide some practical encouragement to myself and to you in math terms :)
Big Idea- Life is much more tolerant than you believe.
If you've ever done statistics, you're probably familiar with the concept of tolerance in a statistical way. It's the level or result a test needs to reach to be accepted as a fact. So many of us have a belief that life's tolerance is super high and every moment matters, like it was a test; and to get the results you want, you have to work hard to prove you were right..
So much is wrong with it. For starters, you can't force the truth. It's exhausting and futile. Plus, even if you were to succeed, you would end up with a lie.
This is a progression we're seeing in software today as well. As we shift away from static tables and logic to the more dynamic artificial intelligence. In the past, your software had to have all the right inputs to create the right outputs. Artificial intelligence, instead says- give me whatever inputs you have and I'll give you the best output.
This is something we can carry into our lives. We will never have enough information to make the perfect decision. There is a time and place for reflection, but it is not every time and every place. Progress is made by making the best decision with the information we have. If you're constantly finding yourself making the wrong decision, then take the time to reflect, find out what you need to learn to correct your decision making and move forward again.
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Friday, October 6, 2017
Start with the Inputs
The real challenge to taking your business into the next century are the things that you haven’t even considered as data yet. Consider a company that captures data about their customers. From a marketing perspective you like to know where they came from, from a sales perspective you like to know how much they’ve bought on the year, credit- aging, receivables-orders, shipping-location.
But do you know when they’re ready to buy more products? Do you know if they’re subscribed to that magazine that you’ve been spending thousands on? Too creepy? How about being able to run a report that orders customers by the size of their company or annual revenue? How about generating a cost analysis of production errors by employee?
In the past, measuring metrics like production errors were only appropriate for large manufacturers with heavy-handed operational guidelines. It would cost too much to implement for the smaller businesses. In 2017, Duke University developed “smart wheels” a technology that measures wear and tear of tires. While this may seem overkill, but when you consider the cost of replacing tires and the savings a company can realize by either avoiding blown tires or replacing them too soon you can see why the technology has been pursued. Keeping an eye on pioneering activities like this can help you reap the rewards when they become cost effective for your industry.
Reading the data is one step, saving the data in a useful way is another. The systems of yesteryear are great for performing the day-to-day functions you need to succeed, but younger companies are get the benefit of those competitive advantages built into their software from day one. If you’re feeling behind, it’s likely that the vehicle (software) you use is holding you back. While supporting Team Horner’s journey to change their software, we found a great guide called ERPFocus. They gave the following 5 signs your software needs changing:
- You aren’t mobile
- You don’t integrate easily with others
- The vendor isn’t keeping up with your needs
- The vendor isn’t keeping up with the industry
- You’re needing functions that aren’t ‘standard’.
If you want to run with the big dogs, you need a software that can not only keep your digital information, but track and capture more than you’ve done in the past.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
What is Fiverr?
Fiverr
Fiverr is a website where you can find freelancers to do creative works like writing, singing, drawing, video ads, voice overs. The name comes from its pricing model where everything is in $5 increments.
How can I use Fiverr in my business? Creative work can be hard to find. Fiverr is a gold mine for these things, you can watch videos of contractors performing the work to easily find people who have the skill and also match the style you like. Here’s a quick link so you can see an example: Fiverr Whiteboard Video
What things should I know about Fiverr:
- Most of the costs on fiverr are not $5. A $100 job will be sold as 20 units of $5
- The website will tell you how quickly the contractor typically turns around a project, this can be useful if you’re on a tight deadline
- Each contractor is shown with their quality and reliability based on past sales
- Be sure your team provides the fiverr freelancer with a clear outcome. The costs of the service may be minimal, but a lot of time can be wasted if they are vague about the requirements.
Important Keywords to know:
What is a Gig?: A gig is a job accepted. Think of it just like hiring a musician for a ‘gig’.
How do I get started with Fiverr?
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