Tag: decision making

Can Partners Accept Criticism?

A cover artist
went on a rant
recently
talking about
how writers ‘attacked’ her
over a recent cover she created.

The comments I saw
were critiques.
They weren’t attacks.

No one likes criticism.

But a cover artist
or any other partner
who can’t deal with it
is someone I don’t want
to work with.

Because what she’s saying
is…
it is my way
or no way.

That’s not a partnership.
That’s a dictatorship.

The writer
wouldn’t be an equal partner
in that relationship.
They would have no say
in any decisions.

Don’t work with people
who can’t take criticism.

You Will Never Fit In

You and I are business builders.
That alone makes us rare.
It makes us different.

We don’t think
like everyone else.

We see, for example,
opportunities everywhere.
Other people don’t.

We will never truly
fit in.
We’ll always be
a little bit strange,
a little bit dangerous.

So don’t factor
you
‘fitting in’
into your decision making
for your business.

Make the right decision,
not the most popular one.

Confirm And Then Re-Confirm ‘Facts’

I post my truths
about business and the world
here.

But they could be
exactly that
– MY truths.

They might not apply
to your business
or your situation.

What I do,
when faced with
someone’s truth,
is ask myself
if my experience is similar.

In my corner of the world,
for example,
COVID is out of control.
It is everywhere.

That might not be the case
in your part of the universe.
Look around you.
Are the pharmacy shelves
holding cold medicines
empty?
When you’re in a crowd,
are people coughing?
Are hospitals full?

‘Truths’ also aren’t constant.
Reality shifts.
We gain more knowledge.
People change.

So I re-confirm my truths
every so often.

Are the hospitals still full?
Are quite a few people
around me
still sick?

I do this with
ALL of the truths
I’m basing my decisions on.

Confirm it is a truth.
Re-confirm it remains
a truth.

Make better decisions.

All Or Nothing

I have some non-writing projects
on the go
and I won’t have
much time for writing
over the next couple years.

I was debating
whether or not
I should continue
publishing books.

Then I realized…
I was being a f*ckin’ idiot.
This doesn’t have to be
an either/or,
all or nothing
situation.

I could publish
one book a year
instead of
my current five books a year.
That would give me
time
to do both.

I suspect
one of the decisions
you’re currently contemplating
isn’t an either/or,
all or nothing
situation either.

Contemplate all the possibilities
between those two extremes.