Tag: team work

An important metric

FabrizioLeave a comment

There is one important metric that should be considered in any report.

It’s the cost of what you have achieved.

Not only monetary cost – though that is always a fantastic way to start, that would immediately set you apart from the vast majority of people – but also the cost in terms of energy, in terms of time spent, in terms of forgone opportunities.

Adding the cost to your reports can very much give you a clearer picture of how effective your work is.

It’s surprising how many teams are not aware of how much their achievements cost.

Losing control

FabrizioLeave a comment

When you lose control, your instinct tells you to control whatever it is left. The problem is, often what is left does not need your control.

If your relationship is going downhill, you strengthen your grip on your kids. Do this, don’t do that, come here, go there. Of course, they don’t need any of that.

If your team is failing to meet their goals, you double down on your team members. This is wrong, we should try that, why is this happening. Of course, they don’t need any of that.

If your creativity has hit a plateau, you focus more and more on the small details. Let’s refine the tone, let’s make it perfect. Of course, the details are – in most cases – meaningless.

It’d be great if you could just let go of control in the first place, so as to not risk to lose it at any point. It would save a lot of trouble.

Outreach

FabrizioLeave a comment

I was checking your profile today, I was impressed.

I noticed that we both work in marketing.

I think it’d be great to be connected here.

I am sure none of the people who have reached out using this opening would be connecting to someone using the same. Yet, when we are on the selling side, when we have something we care about that we want to share, when we are confident that our solution will really be the best option, or even when we just have to send out 1,000 message per day, we forget the basics.

A good place to start from when crafting a cold message is: what is an opening that would make me want to know more?

If you look at your sequences and are honest with yourself, it will be the opportunity for you to change approach. And perhaps increase your key metrics.

Defensive

FabrizioLeave a comment

It’s so easy to feel attacked when somebody gives you critical feedback or even just points at some mistake you made. It’s even easier when you are tired, when you are going through a rough patch, when you have had bad experiences in your past, or when you are generally not used to get feedback.

If you can just hold your thoughts for a little longer, though, you can see that’s not the feedback that’s hurting. It’s the tiredness, the fear, the stress, the insecureness.

Say it.

“I’m tired”.

“I’m under a lot of stress and I needed an easy win”.

“I’m sorry, I will fix that, it’s just something I don’t feel particularly confident with”.

That little labelling exercise will completely shift the narrative. From defensive you become open. And when you are open, anything can happen.

Decisions

FabrizioLeave a comment

One problem with business decisions – not always the most important, but certainly the bulk of them – is that they evaporate as soon as those making them leave the room where they were made.

Another problem with business decisions – perhaps a consequence of the first problem – is that they are not given enough time to prove right or wrong.

A third problem with business decisions – a sub-product of our lazy brain – is that the ones that stick actually tend to stick forever.

Keep track of what is decided, give it time to bear fruit, and be flexible enough to revisit it periodically. You can make this more effective if you manage to build different networks in the company – at team level, but also cross-functional – that make decisions and are held accountable for it.

As long as only one person, or the same group of persons, calls the shots, you will always have problem number one, problem number two, problem number three simultaneously.