1. Providing a unique interface between members of the organization 2. Delivering unique creativity 3. Managing a situation or organization of great complexity 4. Leading customers 5. Inspiring staff 6. Providing deep domain knowledge 7. Possessing a unique talent.
Art, at least art as I define it, is the intentional act of using your humanity to create a change in another person.
We seek out experiences and products that deliver more value, more connection, and more experience, and change us for the better.
Faced with an infinite number of choices, many people pick the market leader.
Selling ice cream on the beach in the summer is easy. Raising people’s expectations, engaging in their hopes and dreams, helping them see further – that’s the difficult work we signed up for. From now on, your customers know more than you do about your competitors. And so your commodity work, no matter how much effort you put into it, is not enough.
A factory demands a compliant workforce in order to succeed. And so we’ve organized around this idea of compliance in all things – in school, in the foods we eat, in the way we respond to marketing. And it’s a dead end.
As we’ll see, the greatest shortage in our society is an instinct to produce.
People settle. They settle for less than they are capable of. Organizations settle too. For good enough instead of best in the world. If you’re not going to put in the effort to be my best possible choice, why bother?
Every day you stay is a bad strategic decision for your career because every day you get better at something that isn’t that useful – and you are another day behind others who are learning something more useful.
As we’ll see, the greatest shortage in our society is an instinct to produce. To create solutions and hustle them out the door.
How can I create something that critics will criticize?
Why is Nigerian spam so sloppy? If you’ve gotten an email from a prince offering to split millions of dollars with you, you may have noticed all the misspellings and other telltale clues that it can’t possibly be real.
If you’re going to quit, quit before you start. Reject the system. Don’t play the game if you realize you can’t be the best in the world. Average.
Commit to the frightening work of flying blind.
The opportunity cost of investing your life in something that’s not going to get better is too high.
A day’s work is your chance to do art, to create a gift, to do something that matters.
The factory is a dead end and so is compliance. More obedience will not make us better. That’s why graceful is in such demand.
It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers. It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail. It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo. It’s uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle. When you identify the discomfort, you’ve found the place where a leader is needed.
Then a deadline arrives and you have to cut it short. Is shipping that important? I think it is. I think the discipline of shipping is essential in the long-term path to becoming indispensable.
That’s it – three steps: motivate, connect, and leverage.