Four thoughts and three questions to wrap 2022
As we careen towards the end of another year and start reflecting on everything we did and didn't do, I wanted to share a few tactical thoughts and end with three questions to help you reflect on the year.
Cultivate a possibility mindset
Saying yes to ideas you don't know and then learning as you go is how you grow, fast.
We want to know we'll be successful in advance, but that usually translates into following rather than leading. Most forward-looking ideas require us to step outside what we're comfortable doing. They require us to stretch.
It makes sense that if you already know how to do this 'new' idea, then it probably isn't that new. Look at the areas of your life where you don't know something but hopped online to figure it out by watching a YouTube tutorial or reading about it. That's how I've managed to figure out most home renovation projects from making a concrete fireplace hearth, to finishing quality drywall (THE MESSIEST ACTIVITY EVER) to basic electrical wiring and plumbing (which I personally despise). But
It's even how I learned to drive a manual transmission car on the job. I said yes to a summer job and then pretty much started driving around the city. Definitely wasn't smooth at first but I got there and somehow the car managed to be okay afterwards. Conquering the manual tranny was required to get the job.
Say yes. Then get to work. If you need to, consult with others. This is also the time to look at the type of people you surround yourself with. Are they curious problem solvers or perpetual complainers? Do they focus on all the reasons they can't do something or do they look at obstacles as challenges to surmount?
It's a lot more fulfilling to dream in what's possible.
Know yourself: Aptitude vs. Attitude
Just because you can dream it doesn't mean you can do it successfully. (You need certain things - i.e. the right build, voice, etc.)
Take sports. Some kids are hardwired with talent and through coaching and practice can become superstars. Others have deep passion for a sport and happily engage in practice and coaching yet will never be as good because they lack the innate ability. It takes a balance of ability and desire to reach your full potential.
Which is why it's important to know yourself and your capabilities. Some may read this and see it as an excuse not to try something. That's a mistake. For like most things in life, it's not clear cut. There's a middle ground. You also don't NEED to be number one in your chosen profession. You simply need to be in the top 10% to achieve significant success. In short, outside of the Olympics, there's likely room for you.
Talent isn't enough either. You need to practice. You need coaching. Talent needs to be nurtured and coaxed. Combine the two and you can be nearly unstoppable.
Are you operating in the pressure tense?
No, I don't mean under 'pressure', but in both the present and the future.
Jim Taylor and Watts Wacker introduced this term in their 2000 book, The Visionary's Handbook: 9 paradoxes that will shape the future of your business.
The premise is that while we're living in the present (whether we're ACTUALLY mentally there or not) we're also looking towards and living in the future. If you invest in a stock, the price you pay reflects the expected future value of the company. Same for saving for retirement, you're preparing for your future life. Hence "pressure" tense.
To look towards the future, act upon your goals potentially disrupts your present life. Especially if you're embarking on something radically different then what people expect of you. Those in your life have an image of who you are. Disrupt that image and you risk disrupting your relationships. Conversely, if you're only living in the present, the quality of your future life may decline.
Businesses are always preparing for the future as they manage present transactions. The present also becomes rapidly obsolete. More so today than in the past. In the book, they give the example of the technology in your car - which in 2000 is far less than the glass cockpits of today. By the time your car reached 100,000 miles the technology within it was more than three generations old. Buy the latest iPhone and in a year (or less) there's a new one with a better camera and shinier features. Same with buying the latest digital camera with massive resolution. A decade ago a 16 megapixel camera was state of the art. Today, it's 60 - 100 megapixels making 16 seem pretty quaint.
And so it goes. Yet to live solely in the future means missing out on the life happening before your eyes. We need to exist in both. Recognize that acting on future potential creates uncertainty in the present while the present wants to hang on as long as possible, preventing you from planning for the future. It's hard to compartmentalize each, keeping them on separate roads because they'll eventually collide. They need to collide.
Know too that the future you imagine today will not be the future you experience when you arrive. No matter how well you plan. And so you need to reconcile having one foot in the present and the other in the future. Ignoring the future makes you fragile and prone to going with the wind. Ignore the present and you risk not ensuring current problems and opportunities are met, which also makes you vulnerable. For if those you serve feel their needs are not met, they'll go elsewhere and talk, hurting your future prospects. It's a bit of an art to balance both.
That brings me to my final thought for this letter: increasing your resilience by being a generalist even as you specialize in your core craft.
"Specialize most of the time, but spend time understanding the broader ideas of the world.
This approach isn’t what most organizations and educational institutions provide. Branching out isn’t in many job descriptions or in many curricula. It’s a project we have to undertake ourselves, by reading a wide range of books, experimenting with different areas, and drawing ideas from each one."
- Shane Parish
The more general your overall skillset, the more you can take advantage of the options that come your way. It gives you more resiliency against uncertainty.
The more specialized you are, the more fragile you are in the face of change should your specialty become obsolete. It can be frustrating because I and many talk about the importance of specializing and differentiating yourself so that you're "the only choice" for your niche. Writing this, it can sound as if I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth. It's true that being a 100% generalist also makes you replaceable and undifferentiated in the eyes of those that matter. The key is to specialize enough while being aware of the market around you, and gaining tangential skills that make it easier to pivot should you need to.
To provide some context to this, I can offer my skillset mix. Training in advertising and magazine journalism, I set out as a graphic designer and art director in my early jobs. This stemmed from my near life-long photography habit. I then expanded into channel marketing, then consumer marketing and managing creatives, to communications to the entire marketing mix but in B2B technology. Let's just say that Proctor and Gamble is not likely to ever think of me to lead brand marketing for Pampers. But as a marketer, I have a versatile tool kit. And a decent ability to create, retouch and produce studio or location images.
Outside of this, I've developed an ability to do some home renovations. Should the marketing world implode on me, I COULD be a handy person (bonding and licensing aside) building decks, fences and assorted small remodel projects. Or a landscape designer and water-feature builder. Or maybe an auto detailer who starts a detailing shop and scales.
I bet you have a number of skills that you could tap into should you need to. If not, consider your aptitudes and what you COULD do with a little nudge. You may never have to, but there's some comfort in knowing that you can. That you have resiliency. It helps you take the risks you need to reach your goals. Think optionality. It's magical.
Now let's wrap up with three questions from Marie Forleo via my friend Holly Horne:
Look back at 2022:
- What's one thing you did that you're proud of?
- What's one mistake you made an the lesson you learned?
- What's one limiting story you're ready to let go of before the new year?