Category: leadership

Exactly the same

FabrizioLeave a comment

It’s not enough that you make your story clear for yourself. You also have to make it clear for those you serve.

Most companies have a clear idea of why they are in business, of the problem they solve, of the new world they want to build. But then they stop there. They fail to put in the work that is necessary to spread the word, to tie goals into their vision, to buy others into their perspective. And that’s why most companies feel like they are exactly the same.

Differentiation also means leveraging that unique story and making it relatable. If you don’t understand this, you are in a perfect competition.

If you’re innovating in a nascent market, the push for recognition of your product category needs to be a major chunk of your go-to-market strategy.

Stewart Butterfield, From 0 to $1B

Hitting a wall

FabrizioLeave a comment

When a plan hits a wall, two questions can help.

What do I know today that I did not know when I came up with the plan? This will tell you if the conditions have changed, if the stop came because of that, if there are shifting forces that you underestimated. It tells you whether the general direction is still valid.

To what degree do I still believe in the original plan? This will tell you if you are still committed or if it’s time for a change instead. It help you stay clear from easy, short-term fixes, and it tells you whether it’s worth it to try once more.

Rest assured, most plans hit a wall at some point.

Breath life into values

FabrizioLeave a comment

If you have company values and you don’t talk about them often, have them in company presentations, discuss them at company events, represent them with stories and examples, wrap them around basically everything your company does, then it’s better not to have company values at all.

A small example. We started our company event yesterday with a question about who would remember our company values. Not many hands went up. In the afternoon, we planned a game where the assigned scores were based on actions that reflected our values. In the evening, everybody was pointing at things and discussing events, stressing how this or that was indicative of a given value. Some for fun, some for real.

If you have company values, breath life into them.

Tell stories

FabrizioLeave a comment

Tell about yourself with examples.

You are not self-motivated, you have started your own solo business and grown it to 200k ARR.

You are not a team player, you have joined a team and found a way to help your peers get the recognition they deserved.

You are not a marketing professional, you have researched audiences for five companies and found the most effective way to build a connection with their audiences.

Don’t tell about labels, tell stories.

That’s how you are going to win us over.

Note: It’s just as valid for products and services.

Combine

FabrizioLeave a comment

It’s never been “work at the office” versus “work from home”.

It’s about giving people the possibility to choose where they are more productive and can deliver their better job. And most likely, for most people, that will end up being a healthy combination of the two.

Not everything is a war and the most beautiful stuff is often found in the middle.