I like this, I think many time in your life, you are one of those 100 people. It’s just figuring out what is that grouping.
But it’s an interesting thought to think about, what would be distinctive attributes of that group that you would belong in.
I see this pattern, an entrepreneur gives something audacious a go. It doesn’t work out. So they dust themselves off, recoup, then try something again. But they try something less audacious. Safer. Less likely to fall. But also less likely to have a big pay off.
This is the wrong thing, if you tried, it didn’t work, try again, or try again bigger. (I always think, try again bigger).
The lessons you just learnt were at that scale, so that’s your experience, at that scale or bigger.
If you try something new, less audacious, you’re now learning skills, tactics for that smaller scale. Or another lens on it, as an entrepreneur, do you want to fine tune your muscles to small opportunities?
It’s like that analogy, don’t wrestle with a pig. Not only will you get muddy and dirty but the pig is better at wrestling in the mud as you are.
It is fine, to rest, recoup, but when you go out again. Go big. A ship isn’t made to be in the harbor, it’s made to be out there in the ocean.
I’ve made a habit the last few years to read the original sources.
The book. The earnings calls themselves.
So much fidelity is lost in the summaries and rewrites. If you read the original, you understand exactly what they were trying to outline. You pick up on the excitement that made other people write up or summarise this work.
I.e. a podcast episode you enjoyed is based on one or a couple of books, grab those books and read them, the fidelity of reading the source materials will yield so much more.
Those are the things that tickle the brain.
I think we’ve just entered the Age of Machines.
Remember playing Civilization? And your civilization enters a new age and everything gradually upgrades to that new age. Like the Bronze Age, the Modern age etc.
What tips us, is ClawdBot, or now MoltBot. But the first consumer (ish) personal agent, that is very capable.
Each of us, is going to have our own AI agents, that we take with us to our jobs, in our relationships, in our learning. And our own companies are going to have their own machines too.
Except for, the agents don’t sleep, they run 24/7, they don’t need lights (they do need electricity) but they don’t need restrooms. And they also don’t need to move at human speed. In fact, in a few circumstances agents have formed their own language to communicate faster (!). Turns out English slows them down.
And like every other age before it, I think we’ll see this age, as a gradual change across society. I agree the pace of change of AI is high but I think that the pace at which it is adopted by society, will be similar to other ages.
You know those beautiful macro shots on nature programs, where they’re showing you a frog up close, or as a bee gets the nectar from a flower.
That richness of detail is wonderful.
And when producing your own work, finding those areas to add that detail, adds the same sort of joy, for those who consume your work.
Buffett released his final letter as CEO.
I remember reading the Buffett biography, on the beach in Samoa. With my (then) girlfriend (now wife). And it was meaty. 800 or so pages. It was heavy, and even the physicality of it, matched the story within.
After that I went and read The Intelligent Investor (and have a few times since).
I’ve also read the Amazon letters over time and the Berkshire ones.
The art of writing, putting your thoughts into words, helps build your own knowledge but then shares it with the world.
But so, it was a little sad, to know this was the last.
“When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions. Most people just don’t put in the time or energy to get there.” -Steve Jobs.
I really enjoyed this Max Verstappen chat with Chris Harris.
In the discussion, it comes about preparation and practice. When he goes out for a lap, he’s on it straight away. Whereas other drivers might do a couple of laps to check out the track.
All drivers get the same amount of time on the track, by doing this he’s extending his exposure to race conditions over every other driver.
Another was that if you’ve practiced a lot, you end up having spare capacity to push further – when others don’t.
And I think this really is the differentiator in high performance environments. If you are well practiced, you can handle a load, that requires less effort than others. Giving you more capacity to find new areas of competition.
Readers know I love a good foreign run. Where you’re in a new town, and you take an early morning lap around town, or up to that sight and get a feel for the place. Not only does it help shake the jet lag, you get a feel for the place, and start the day off on the right foot.
If you like to keep active, travelling can make it tough. Even at hotels, no two hotel gyms are the same, and barely any are equipped well. All your at home routines are out the window.
Here’s some things I’ve found worked for me:
As a habit, I do log my exercises, but also note any abnormal conditions (i.e. where, or if something hurts). I think this is just good practice regardless. And keep a list of things to do when you get home when you get back to your regular schedule.
As good as other forms of entertainment get, nothing beats sliding into a good book.
(My eldest has just hit this age where she gets engrossed in a good book. Bliss.)
In many things, you just have to beat the average.
And averages are easy to beat, because they include everyone, including those that don’t care, are not even trying.
Just trying to be good at something, can put you above the average.
Committing extra time to learn, improve, study the best. Above average.
A friend was telling me how they were missing their sales targets, and they were getting there $100k by $100k deal. Naturally some slipped below the $100k deal target.
I suggested, in their pipeline, they should have a few deals which are $1m-$3m, as one of those, they’ll hit the number.
But by having big deals and thinking about big deals, when something comes along at $500k, will have bigger success, as it’s a cut down of the bigger sized deal, rather than a ‘ramp up’ of the smaller sized deals.
This top and tail approach, taking the big with the small, helps continue to lift the standard (or average) size of deals, but also builds momentum.
Another recent example, a friend is growing their agency, most deals are $1k-$3k/each. I said, why don’t you figure out what a $100k/month deal looks like, so you can figure out who those customers are, what you’d need to offer to get them to drive value.
A shift in thinking.
It’s a growth/expansion mindset but it’s also invigorating to try and achieve something you haven’t before, and that energy is picked up by everyone. People work with people, and people remember how they feel when they’re around you, if they feel that energy, they’re part of it, it’s exciting, they’re part of the story too.
it also means, your regular size deals now have a growth roadmap, to getting higher. So it also helps on the renewal side too.
To achieve something great, you need to build that topline and the bottom. Brick by brick. Top and bottom.
I’ve been having a bit of fun with a new newsletter this year – called Dux, the latin word for leadership.
In a time of unprecedented changes, the aim is to help ground each week with one new idea, that is impacting media/marketing/comms/business.
Each edition is simple, one idea, can be read above the fold on your phone.
I’ve love for you to check it out.
There will always be critics.
If you’re getting their attention, then it’s something worth building.
Keep building.