Greg's Right FIT #445

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

In this issue: 

- Thoughts on Being Wrong
- Being Human
- Random Stuff

Thoughts on Being Wrong

• Very often, we set out to fix things that are wrong. The problem with that is, at some level, wrong things work. Instead, direct energy into finding things that are right and sharing those best practices internally. 
• If you invest in the right tool, and it's the wrong size, you won't get the results you want, regardless of what you spend. Running shoes four sizes too big will tear up feet. The right fit is part of choosing the right tool.
• Jumping to conclusions is part of how we're wired. To minimize jumping to the wrong conclusion, ask yourself if the opposite is possible too.  
• Take credit for the good things that happened to you, and walk away from defeat. Dr. Martin Seligman's "Learned Optimism" teaches us to practice self-love. Be kind, to you.

Being Human - So wrong

"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future." – Danish

This week I tackled a junk drawer. This one was in a piece of furniture we moved to the basement and it held some old phones, a lot of cords, and many, many, keys. Along with these remnants were a couple thumb drives. I popped one into my computer and up popped a presentation from 2013. 

Back then, I was a year into consulting and one of my go-to ideas was to show people how their prospects were using Google. At the time, B2C advertising tactics on Google Ads were significantly ahead of B2B ad tactics and I thought I had a window of time for showing people "the future of B2B lead generation." Especially long, complex sales cycles. 

11 years later I have a report. 

I was wrong. The opportunity for B2B sellers is still there over a decade later. 

What changed? What did I miss? 

For starters, the tactics I am referring to are a small part of a big cycle. There is a lot more money being spent by B2B sellers on the search platforms, just not in the sliver of tactics I was promoting. The more I think about it, reviewing proposals, completed projects, and advisory work, I have another reason. 

Quota. 

I teach people to talk about more than budget, because money isn't the only resource. Another resource is labor. And the one quota falls into is the third big resource to consider, timeframe. When I look over all the prospects, proposals, and work over the last decade, the client needing to hit a mark/quota in a specific time frame is the biggest determinant of which tactics are installed, and which ones get pushed to the side. 

Zig Ziglar had a quote that went something like, you need to make measurable progress in a reasonable amount of time, that's why those third grade chairs are so small. 

Wait, I'm wrong about that too. It's Jim Rohn, and he said, "Life asks us to make measurable progress in reasonable time. That’s why they make those fourth grade chairs so small – so you won’t fit in them at age twenty-five!"

When the time frame allows for reasonable progress, my tactic is a winner. On the other hand, when we need a specific result sooner rather than later, there are better ways to get there.

As for that 2013 presentation, I reran the examples and found my recommendations still apply. The firm I presented to has been sold, so I sent it to a competitor to see if it might help them. 

I'll check my prediction again in 10 years. Maybe something will change by then. I'm good with being right once every 20 years.

Random Stuff

"Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?" – Phyllis Diller

A Q&A with Greg.

Interviewer: What did you do yesterday? 
Greg: Cleaned out an old drawer. It yielded a lot of keys. For some reason, I don't find it easy to throw them away. My 2000's era Oakley blade sunglasses? Easy. Straight to the bin. But this square key that might be the neighbor's? This round one could be be to my old man's safe. I have no idea. Hard. I keep it.

I: When you say "so many" how many are you talking about?
G: 53. Some are here because the kids used to babysit various pets, but that hasn't happened for, well, a decade? Some are from, well, I don't know where they are from. 

I: Why are you cleaning the drawer?
G: A friend is looking for a replacement phone. Their kid's friend squashed the last one and, before dropping big bucks on a new one, they asked if anyone had a spare. I have two in the drawer and one is new enough to use. I cleaned it up, erased it, hit reset, and it's good to go. 

I: Any treasure in the drawer?
G: Not really. I am tossing a smattering of cords away. There's a picture of my five or six-year-old daughter at my sister's wedding. A couple of funeral cards, some business cards, and two remote controls for fans we no longer own. 

I: . . .fans?
G: Yeah, and there's a Green Bay Packer's lanyard. A Chelsea FC lanyard. A motion detector for the alarm system, a laser pointer for the cat. (still works from 2 cats ago) I see a Kindle charger reminding me I need to send one to my daughter. These travel plugs remind me I need to go back to Europe. I see a new book of stamps, a half-used book of postcard stamps, and $.22 in change. There are two religious medals, and a set of earbuds I can use with my laptop which still has a mini-jack outlet. 

I: Sounds like a lot of junk. 
G: Trash trash trash. Nothing of value to anyone, as far as I know. I certainly don't need it. Except for the old iphone. That will be useful to someone. You know what? I should probably dig the sunglasses out of the bin and look them up. They're 20+ years old at least. Might be vintage now. 

I: Do you have a picture?
G: I can take one. A quick peek at eBay and . . . yep. People are selling Oakley Half-Jacket version 1.0s for anywhere from $59 to $350. 

I: Treasure.
G: Hmm. Go figure.