Greg's Right FIT #391

Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week. 

In this issue: 

- Thoughts on Opportunities
- Being Human
- Random Stuff

Thoughts on Opportunities

• It doesn't matter if you think you're better than competitors. What is the perspective of your customer? How do they describe the pain your product alleviating? How would they describe is the core value you provide?
• When you're setting your goals for next week, remember, your to-do list is not a wish list. Be realistic, focus on two or three actions, and prioritize accordingly.
• Like a gardener tending to your plants, keep an eye on metrics. Regular weeding, pruning, and fertilizing has a direct impact on the fall harvest. What gets measured gets managed.
• Practice your opportunity development skills, keeping in mind that authenticity is your greatest asset. Being scripted helps your prospect, but you don't have to be a robot. Be the Leonardo DiCaprio of your field. Master your script and deliver it as naturally as your own story.

Being Human - Interpreting fables

"The aphorism is a slippery plaything." — Mason Cooley

Fables are great for teaching lessons. We're drawn to stories and little fictions provide instructions for living a good life. Like the story of the grasshopper and the ant. As a reminder, the fable concerns a grasshopper that spends the summer singing and dancing while the ant works to store food for winter. When winter arrives, the grasshopper finds itself dying of hunger and begs the ant for food. The ant rebukes the grasshopper for idleness and tells it to sing and dance the winter away. 

Pretty straightforward, right? Present pain, future gain. Don't play, work. 

Did you know there are alternate readings of this fable? In some of the ancient tellings, the grasshopper entertains the ant in return for shelter and food in the winter. Everyone has their role in society being the moral of that story, vs. the ant being a sanctimonious jerk. 

I bring this up because I used an old saying to move a project along, "perfect is the enemy of good enough." We are stalled on an initiative, and I think we're close enough to launch and iterate next steps based on results. The client thinks differently. They read the aphorism as "good enough is the enemy of perfect," and want to limit re-work by taking more time to iterate pre-launch.

Which way is right? Which way is wrong? 

In this case, with their results timeline, pursing a better pre-launch is the right choice. They talked me into it. I won't be a jerk about it. It's going to be great. There is more than one way to skin a cat, as they say. (though, when was that ever a thing?) 

Random Stuff

"Brevity is the soul of wit." – someone looking at this week's note

 (image via cnet)

I had an adventure this week. While visiting my daughter in Los Angeles I decided to go full California and rent an EV. I've ridden in one and was once allowed to stomp on the accelerator for a short distance, but I wondered, what's it like to drive one in L.A traffic for a week? 

I learned. A little about driving, more about renting. 

It's been a while since I had to stand in line for a car, and it was everything I remembered. The bus to the car rental place was crammed to the gills with desperate travelers. Everyone fights for a place in line and packs like they're moving to LA for good. The signs all say to get the app to ease check in, but there is no cell service inside the building. By the time I register it's my turn as the desk.

The guy tells me "you're a preferred member, you don't need to be in line." I'm impressed with how quick their system updates my info, but I don't have the heart to tell him I have only been a preferred member for 30 seconds. He tells me he'll upgrade me to a Genesis (from my reserved Tesla 3) for no cost. He thinks it's much better, but it's unclear if it is an EV or gas car. (it's late) I say ok and haul our stuff to the lot. The first one has "no charge" written in crayon on the windshield. I go back in, fight through a pile of humanity, and get another car.

The second one looks ok, is very luxurious, but flashes a message when I start it. If you haven't been in one of these new cars it's like a starship cockpit. So many lights. I have a hard time getting my bearings, but our daughter is waiting, so I drive off. I think, this must be one of those hybrid EVs. As soon as we hit the highway I find out I'm wrong. The original message comes up, and it makes more sense this time. "Danger! Low charge!" A map pops up and shows me the nearest charging station. Very nice. Too bad I missed the memo on how to charge this thing. I navigate to the charger easily, but for the life of me can't find the port.

What ensues is a comedy of errors involving downloading apps, talking to passer's by about cats, and feeling the heat radiating off an increasingly irate spouse. Somehow, despite my best efforts, I knock the charge down even lower. Off to the rental return I speed. 

After some effort explaining why I am returning the car which includes the nice man showing me where the charging cord in the trunk is located, we are offered the original Tesla. I figure, why not? In for a dime, in for a dollar. "Gimme the tech bro ride!"

I sit there, in the dark lot, realizing I have no idea how to drive the thing. Not one to admit defeat, I learn quickly, but my poor bride has to suffer through my letting off the gas pedal(?) which results in braking. The constant jerking is like learning to drive a stick. 

After all this, we make it to the restaurant. Park. Then struggle to lock the car. We enjoy a quick visit with our daughter. (but by now the restaurant is closing)

We leave to check in to the hotel and guess what? The car is locked in the parking garage. Seems it closed 10 minutes after we parked. Missed that part. Luckily the valet is in the restaurant and lets us in. It is at this time, in the darkened, empty parking lot, I realize I have no idea how to unlock the car. 

As with all rocky starts, things improve rapidly. Days two through six are glorious. We love our daughter's neighborhood, her new workplace, and she shows us everything worth seeing. As Randy Newman said, I love L.A.! 

You may wonder, but Greg, what did you think of the car?

After watching some videos and reading blog posts it all came together. We drove all over L.A. and I, for one, welcome our new EV overlords. It was fun to drive, easy to set up, and the supercharger thing worked as advertised. 80% in 15 mins.  

Or maybe it was the perfect beach weather. Not sure. I'll let you know when my serotonins come down.