Category: New Business Development

I’m a perverse person.
I like to do my own thing,
take my own path.

But I’ve learned,
over the years,
that if the majority
of the people
in a similar position
to me
are taking
a certain action,
there’s usually
a d*mn good reason
for that.

So I investigate.

I look for those
d*mn good reasons.

I look for
more than one
d*mn good reason.
(Because people are unique
and different people
would have required
different d*mn good reasons.)

I talk with people
in private
because they are unlikely
to share ALL the reasons
in public.

I gather
as much information
as possible.
I ensure
I know and understand
WHY
they are taking
this action.

And then I decide
if my case is the exception.
That’s possible,
not probable
but is possible.

If everyone else
is taking a certain action,
there’s usually
a d*mn good reason why.

Know that reason
before making a decision
for yourself
or for your business.

I’m a fixer.
I think many
new product development folks
are the same way.

We like to fix problems.

But to do that properly,
we have to first listen
WELL.

We have to
thoroughly understand
the problem
often better than the person
experiencing the problem.

That means
setting aside
our quick fix offers,
our judgment,
our excuses,
our dismissals
and simply hear
what the other person
is saying,
listening with our ears,
our eyes,
our hearts.

THAT detailed understanding
is where the best solutions
are hidden.
These solutions
could lead to new products,
new services,
new businesses,
a new world.

Seth Godin
shares

“Sometimes,
we get the chance
to hear about
someone else’s experience.
In those moments,
it’s tempting to use
the opportunity
to explain a situation,
to excuse
or even to persuade.

Perhaps it pays
to simply take good notes.

Acknowledge
what you’re hearing.
Encourage
and amplify
and find empathy.”

The key to finding
great solutions
is to first
listen WELL
to the entity
with the problem.

Before I pitch a story idea
to my agent,
I ask her
what her feelings are
about that specific niche.

Why do I do this?

Because once I pitch
the story idea
to an agent,
she believes she has
first rights
to represent it.

She, of course,
will want to hear
ALL the story ideas,
whether she plans
to shop them around
or simply sit on them
…forever.

(Or, worse,
f*ck with my time
by asking for a gazillion tweaks,
never feeling the stories are ‘ready’
to be pitched.)

That doesn’t help me
at all.

So I ask her
about her feelings.
If she isn’t enthusiastic
about the niche,
I either shelve the project
or I work with another agent
on it.

Having an unenthusiastic partner
is worse than having
no partner at all.

Hear a prospective partner’s insights
on your niche
before working with them.

Research is part
of a Romance writer’s life.

Yesterday, I spent an hour
learning about the best ways
to decapitate a human.

After spending merely an hour
researching this subject,
I could write about it
semi-convincingly.
I could likely hold
an intelligent conversation
with someone about it.

I’ll have that knowledge
(hopefully)
for the rest of my life.

No one can take
that knowledge
away from me.
I could possibly
leverage it
over and over again
in the future.
It might even
save a life.

I’ve gained an asset
in an hour.

Seth Godin
shares

“If you invest
100 hours
in a rare skill,
you’re likely to
acquire it.

If you could learn
to sharpen a tool
better than your peers,
organize a high-performance
database,
see the nuances
in some sector of cryptography,
know how to build
a pretty-good WordPress site
or really understand
the arc of a
particular writer’s career,
you’d have something of value.

Something that anyone
who was focused enough
to invest 100 hours
could have,
but few will choose
to commit to.”

Knowledge is an asset.
Spend some time today
acquiring more of it.

My financial advisor fires
difficult and/or nasty clients
quite often.

Why?

Because he’s VERY good
at what he does
…which means
he doesn’t have to work.

He works
because he enjoys
what he does.
If he doesn’t enjoy
working with a client,
he lets her go.

A salesperson loved one
quits jobs
whenever she feels
extremely disrespected
or unappreciated.

Why?

Because she’s VERY good
and she doesn’t have
to worry
about finding another job.
She has companies
lined up
to work with her.

If you want to work
with the best,
remember
the best have choices.

The best don’t have
to work with you.
Often, they no longer
have to work at all.

“Everyone likes her.”

When I hear that,
I look at that person
with suspicion.

Because the only way
EVERYONE could like her
is if she changes her personality,
her stated beliefs,
her ethics,
when she is with different people.

A person like that
can’t be trusted.

“Many people like her”
is a different statement.
It might mean she irritates
the people I think are monsters.

“Many people who think like you
like her”
is a different statement
also.
It likely means we have beliefs
in common.

Not everyone will like you
or your brand
or your products.

Seth Godin
shares

“Most of the brands
we truly care about
stand for something.
And the thing they stand for
is unlikely to be,
“whatever you want,
we have it.”
It’s also unlikely to be,
“you can choose anyone
and we’re anyone.”

A meaningful specific
can’t possibly please everyone.
That’s the deal.”

You won’t please everyone.
Accept that.
Embrace it.

Every so often,
I put a plastic bag on my hand,
carry another one
and pick up the garbage
around our block.

Because someone
has to do it.

No one wants
to do this,
of course,
including myself.

It is dirty,
isn’t glamorous,
isn’t something
I can impress friends
with,
but it has to be done.

I would bet big money
there is a task
right now
in your business
that no one wants
to do either.

It has to be done.
But you’re delaying doing it.
Others are delaying doing it.

Do it.
Today.
Either pay someone
to do it
or do it yourself.

Then do something
fun
for the business,
for yourself,
to celebrate.

Pick up the garbage.

One of my best friends,
years ago,
bought a house
on her own.

This was unheard of
in my family.
Very few couples
in my extended family
owned homes.
No single people
were even considering this.

Until my friend
bought her home
on her own.

A few years later,
one of my sisters bought
HER home on her own.

She had always wanted
to own her home
but she didn’t think
that was possible
for someone living solo.

Until my friend bought her home.

My sister is a school teacher
in a small community.

Last week, one of her students
announced she was going to
own her own home.
Her parents half-jokingly told her
she should marry rich.

She said, “No, I’m not marrying anyone.
I’ll have a house to myself.”

My friend has inadvertently
given an entire generation confidence
to achieve their dreams
on their own.

You might not think
people notice
what you’re doing,
how you’re bringing
your dreams to life,
striving to achieve
your goals,
but they DO.

You ARE making
an impact,
a bigger impact
than you will ever
truly know.

The moment I reveal
a title, a cover, a premise,
a story,
someone is copying it.
The next day,
there are dozens
of books coming soon
that are similar.

Plagiarism is bad
and has to be fought.
The copying of ideas
might or might not be bad
and it can’t be stopped.

So I walk away
from that battle.
I merely assume
I will be copied.

Not completely
and often not well.

Copycats don’t understand
the nuances
of the product
they’re copying.
They don’t know why
I launched that product
and often the things
they change to avoid
plagiarism or copyright issues
are some of
the most important aspects
of the product.

But that’s THEIR problem.

I work
on the next idea,
an idea
at the moment
only I have.

Seth Godin
shares

“The internet is
a copying machine.
Ideas morph
and change
and spin
as they move
from one end to the other.

Ripping ideas off wholesale
and violating intellectual property rights
is nothing to be proud of
–each of us can do better
than that.

But holding ideas
too tightly
in fear
of the ripples and echoes
they’re going to cause
is the real problem.”

If you’re successful,
you WILL be copied.

Continue making products better
and
work on the next product.
That’s the best way
to stay original.

After a certain leader’s
tax returns
were shared this week,
there has been
quite a bit of judgment
shared
from non-business people
about them
(and there SHOULD be
– they’re indications of
legal charges
and security breeches
that will likely happen).

One of the common
pieces of ‘insight’
I’ve been hearing
over and over
is

“He’s losing money.
He’s a loser,
a terrible businessman.”

He IS a terrible businessman.
He doesn’t listen to experts.
He takes action
without weighing the consequences
or considering other options.
He doesn’t compensate or value
his partners.
I could write a 200 page post
on how ill suited
he is for building businesses
or for running…anything.

But he is NOT a loser
merely because he lost money.

EVERY business loses money
in the beginning.

When I was part
of the
new business development team
for one of the world’s largest
beverage companies,
we strived to merely break even
with a new brand
at the ten year mark.

We strived to break even
with a new line extension
at the three year mark.

The first year
was always rough.
It was almost always
a loss.

(The products didn’t lose money
for fifteen years, however.)

And I would equate
a pandemic year
with a first year
because almost everything
is new,
almost everything
has changed.

It is almost like
we’re ALL starting over
this year.

If you’re losing money
on your business this year,
you’re not a loser.

You’re a normal business builder
struggling with abnormal times.