The hockey stick problem
Anyone who's spent any amount of time around me knows I have many interests. Many ideas. Some practical. Some not so much. I'm always thinking about what's possible, exhaustively researching different scenarios to surface the sure bets. Thing is, there are no sure bets. No matter how long I - or you - research and evaluate, we'll still be in the same spot. Like Groundhog Day, which is tomorrow! Since I know this about myself I made commitment to only work on the things that matter. I'm keenly aware of when I stray. Because the ideas keep coming. Whether in my head or sparked by something I read. And I read a lot. Even with the 80/20 rule top of mind, the struggle is real.
How about for you?
I've also talked with several people recently who've been struggling with where to start and what to focus on. They flit from thing to thing to looking for the answer to their money woes. Or the right time to start. Again, there's not a 'right' time. And there's not ONE SINGLE RIGHT PATH. Yet flit we do.
After listening for awhile, I direct them to the parking lot. No, not the one where they parked their car. The one for ideas and opportunities. Those that can't be addressed right now, but can be parked, or saved, for later. It's easier to let an idea go if you know it's safely tucked away to be retrieved should you need it.
More than that, these conversations reveal that many of us suffer from too many ideas. We're not sure where to turn. And so around and around we go. Nowhere super fast. Always in perma beta.
Sometimes the biggest thing between you and success is you. You gotta get out of your own way. Right now. Not tomorrow. Now. While that may be a tall order, baked in as such habits are, just be better tomorrow. And then the day after that.
The trouble with hockey sticks
You know how almost every business chart shows the new product, or the business, or whatever shiny thing they're working on starting slow and then shooting up like a hockey stick? It's a standard issue business slide.
It's what we all strive for. Plan for. Expect.
What's hard is that we don't know exactly when the rise will happen. We make predictions. And have some insight based on experience. But only in the rearview do we find certainty. And so when you're at the base of the hockey stick, working away day after day, it's easy to lose passion for the thing. It's taking too long and so it must not be the right thing. So we discard it and move on to the next shiny idea. It's one of the reasons we flit. The glam is gone and the trudge is on. So then move on again to an even shinier opportunity.
Blinded by the light maybe?
Too many ideas also make us lose focus on what we're working on. We half ass it and doom it as a result. Proving to ourselves it wasn't the 'thing'. Down and down we spiral.
Rare is the viral flare that just happens. It typically goes slow until it goes fast. And only when you show up repeatedly. Sometimes the odds are in your favor. It can be due to timing. A lucky break in the midst of doing the work you were meant to do. There are many exceptional people out there who remain obscure. And also many less exceptional people who seem to attract all of the awards.
I'm currently reading Obama's book, A Promised Land. I'd read Michele's book Becoming too. Timing is how it worked for Obama's senate race. Years of consistently showing up, then mounting a campaign where a series of events sparked his momentum and there was no looking back. But it was far from certain when he started. If he lost that race, that was to be the end of his political career. We all know things turned out very differently.
The field became wide open and he ultimately won by 40 points. That senate race led to his historic 2004 democratic convention speech while he was still an Illinois State Senator. Which put him on the national map. The tour bus left the terminal and never slowed.
Timing played a role for his Presidential race too. He had the wind at his back and was inspiring millions of people in a way that was rare as Ted Kennedy told him. Time chooses when you run. It's not when it's convenient. Had he waited a few years, he may not have become president.
We know things take time. That we have to do the work.
We still quit before we see traction. Trained by our impatient culture to expect instant returns. Watch a movie and it is done and dusted in two hours or less.
Mind the gap
Ask yourself how much you believe in what you're doing? Increase your odds of hitting the hockey stick slope by understanding what gap you are filling. If you know you're filling a gap, then your odds of success increase significantly. You don't need to be completely blind. Be calculated and ruthless with your time and focus. Remember slow and steady. But focused on a real need. What does the world need most that you are most qualified to deliver? That's where to direct your gaze. Be attuned to your customers. Know that no matter what you do or where you work you have customers. If you're working in a job, your customers may be your colleagues and boss.
Know your value. There are four key kinds of value we seek:
- monetary (most obvious: making people money or saving them money)
- social value (think status)
- functional (you're solving problems people want solved and now)
- Psychological (you're helping people overcome mental obstacles.)
Know which kind you deliver on. If you can deliver two or more, even better. Knowing the type of value you offer helps you refine how you pitch it, who you connect with and what you do. The more clarity and focus you have, the higher probability of hitting the upslope on your hockey stick.
What you don't know is how long the base of the stick will be. Worry less about that.
Early bird gets the worm and slow and steady is your ticket to success. But that doesn't mean that things don't move fast. We live in soundbites. Think about how you can break down your value into things people can do in 5 minutes to FEEL a sense of what's possible. 5 minute "sprints" are easy to snack on. Easy to trick your brain into acting upon and thus push through the resistance designed to thwart your progress. Always choose progress over stagnation. Go forward even if it's a micron.