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Tag: entrepreneur

“It’s showtime.”

Audible groans fill the train. A man with a bike is asked to move, and after refusing, a much taller man carries the bike to the back of the car. Reluctantly, the biker follows. Three performers fill the empty space and press play on a steady beat. Six pack abs curl around poles as the train lurches slowly towards Brooklyn. Flipping, stomping, twirling, hopping. A second dancer begins his routine, less steady than the first. It’s impossible not to wonder if someone will be kicked in the face. You’re waiting for a slip, an accident, but miraculously it doesn’t happen.

The dancing stops, and the boys start asking for money. Except no one gives it to them. In fact, the dancers are hardly acknowledged. And they become angry.

“I’m going to quit. I’m going to stop doing this!” one performer scowls.

The commuters keep their eyes fixed on books, each other and away from the demanding, outstretched hands. “C’mon New York, where are you?” they plead. Then the insulting begins. It seems to carry on entirely too long. Their jabs become worse and more desperate and there’s a palpable tension in the air.

When we do art, when we give of ourselves and become generous with the world, we can’t ask for a certain outcome. Do your art, but make sure it’s for the right reason. Sell, market, produce, copy and manufacture all you want, but don’t demand attention. Earn it.

(H/T permission marketing, Seth Godin)

5 ways to be a great manager

Managing people is hard. I think this is why there are so many bad bosses. Now that I’m leading a team of my own, I’ve realized how much skill goes into becoming a great manager.

While leadership traits may come naturally to some, managers can make the effort to create cohesive, hardworking teams and establish workplaces filled with satisfied employees.

Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile. -Vince Lombardi

My top 5 tips for successful managerial roles:

1. Great managers find out what makes a person tick. Instead of hiring for a position and letting an individual fend for themselves, a good manager asks questions, learns about the person’s history and experience to determine what motivates that person to do their best work.

2. Great managers are like social workers. They not only consider the work environment, but they consider their employees’ home and personal life, too. If a worker consistently shows up late for work, a bad manager is quick to fire; however, a good manager asks questions to figure out the problem and address underlying difficulties.

3. Great managers aren’t afraid to shuffle positions and redefine roles. Sometimes you hire someone who isn’t a fit for the duties you need performed, but you discover they excel in other ways. A great manager spots talent and builds an environment to cultivate it.

4. Great managers make employees feel good. Employees want to feel valued and part of a team. Every worker wants to be respected and utilized. Using rewards and incentives and delegating responsibility, great managers create team cohesion and satisfaction among team members.

5. Great managers exhibit the skills and behaviors they hope their employees display. Communication is open, direct and straight forward. Skilled leaders observe and take time to respond to situations instead of reacting to circumstance. They display kindness, fairness and enthusiasm. They ask questions if they don’t know.

Odds

fail try fail try try try SUCCESS fail fail fail try almost try try try made it try fail try SUCCESS try fail try SUCCESS try fail fail try almost made it try fail try SUCCESS try try try try SUCCESS fail SUCCESS fail try SUCCESS fail fail fail try try fail try fail try fail SUCCESS try try almost try SUCCESS made it fail fail fail try try fail almost try try fail try fail SUCCESS SUCCESS SUCCESS fail try try try try try try SUCCESS try fail try fail try made it try fail fail try try SUCCESS try almost try try try fail try SUCCESS

(Try often, fail often, and your odds of winning increase. You never know when you’re going to hit.)

 

 

Ten times better

A “little better” doesn’t cut it. You have to be much better. Much, much better. Ten times better.
This is how you separate yourself from the competition.
This is how you improve.
This is how you win.
Everything is crowded. The marketplace, the speaker lineup, the dating scene, the applicant pool.
In an age where your value corresponds to your ability to separate yourself from the rest, your focus must narrow on becoming your best version.
A notch doesn’t tip the scale. Throw your weight around and put full effort into your vision.
Your best self and your most original idea depend on it.
(H/T David S. Kidder. I presented Startup Playbook to college students in Nepal last week, and they loved it.)

The boy who hung the curtain rod

I went downstairs to bring the workers coffee. When I returned, the boy, age 16 or 17, was standing on a table hammering enthusiastically. He had set three fixtures in place, and the curtain rod rested squarely upon them. Great work — except he was standing outside.

“What are you doing?” I asked, somewhat perplexed to see adornment of this kind hanging on a building’s exterior. “Have you ever seen curtains on the outside of a house?”

“Brother says me to,” was his reply. It was an order, the task assigned to him.

We need to teach our young people to think, not to follow.

 

Lead with your art

I’ve been transfixed by the story of Vidal, the random kid photographed on the street and the subsequent events that have followed — over one million dollars raised, scholarships, field trips, a meeting with the President.

Vidal’s principal, who publicly admitted to feeling discouraged and ready to throw in towel before this fantastic story unfurled, asked President Obama, “When is the time you felt most broken?”

He tells the story of losing a Congress bid. His relationship with his wife was on the rocks, he was questioning himself, his work, his decisions. He was 40. He had invested time and energy and great sacrifice but didn’t feel like anything was working.

He decided to shift his focus and concentrate on the work.

“…If you can keep it about the work, you’ll always have a path. There’s always something to be done,” he answered, “…if you’re worrying about yourself — if you’re thinking: ‘Am I succeeding? Am I in the right position? Am I being appreciated?’— then you’re going to end up feeling frustrated and stuck.”

I remember when HONY first began. Brandon took photos quietly, documenting photos of strangers on the street and posting accompanying blurbs.

“There were a lot of lonely times…All I did was take photographs. I never took a day off. I worked every single holiday. I took thousands of portraits before anyone paid attention. But even though I didn’t have much to show for it, I knew that I was getting better, and I knew the photographs were special,” Brandon writes. Drip by drip, his photos became a Facebook page with thousands of loyal and inspired followers. He got a [best-selling!] book deal and a partnership with the UN.

Recommit if you must: Lead with your art, focus on the work. It will fall into place.