A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and gets the world Unstuck.
Stop settling for what’s good enough and start creating art that matters.
Stop asking what’s in it for you and start giving gifts that change people.
Where Does Average Come From?
You weren’t born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained To become a cog.
Do not internalize the industrial model. You are not one of the myriad of interchangeable piecesbut a unique human being, and if you’ve got something to say, say it, and think well of yourself while you’re learning to say it better. - David Mamet
They’re in pain because they’re overlooked, underpaid, laid off, and stressed Out.
Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations makes it clear that the way for businesses to Win is to break the production of goods into tiny tasks, tasks that can be Undertaken by low-paid people following simple instructions.
Why hire a supertalented pin maker when ten barely trained pin-making factory Workers using a machine and working together can produce a thousand times more Pins, more quickly, than one talented person working alone can?
Artists are people with a genius for finding a new answer, a new connection, or A new way of getting things done.
If you make your business possible to replicate, you’re not going to be the one To replicate it.
Business stands next to plenty of other businesses, each striving to be like The other, but maybe a little better.
She picks the cheap one. They’re all the same.
Someone else is getting better than you at hiring cheap and competent workers.
The cheap strategy doesn’t scale very well, so the only way to succeed is to Add value
There are no longer any great jobs where someone else tells you precisely what To do.
Any project, if broken down into sufficiently small, predictable parts, can be Accomplished for awfully close to free.
Tiny team at Wikipedia that destroyed the greatest reference book of all time. And almost all of them worked for free.
The Internet has turned white-collar work into something akin to building a Pyramid in Egypt. No one could build the entire thing, but anyone can haul one Brick into place.
Ford’s discipline was to avoid short-term gains in exchange for always seeking The interchangeable, always standardizing.
As you eliminate the skilled worker, the finisher, the custom-part maker, then You also save money on wages as you build a company that’s easy to scale.
First you have interchangeable parts, then you have interchangeable workers.
100,000 years we’ve had organized human tribes.
250 years represents how many years our society has revolved around factories
We were all hunters. Then they invented farming, and we became farmers. And we Were all farmers. Then they invented the factory, and we all became factory Workers. Factory workers who followed instructions, supported the system, and Got paid what they were worth. Then the factory fell apart. And what’s left for Us to work with? Art. Now, success means being an artist.
It’s easy to buy a cookbook (filled with instructions to follow) but really Hard to find a chef book.
It’s factory work because it’s planned, controlled, and measured. It’s factory Work because you can optimize for productivity. These workers know what they’re Going to do all day—and it’s still morning.
Average Is Over Our world no longer fairly compensates people who are cogs in a Giant machine.
Revolutions are rare, which is why they always seem to take us by surprise. Electricity was revolutionary.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote, “By producing their means of subsistence Men are indirectly producing their actual material life.”
For our entire lives, the push has been to produce, to conform, and to consume.
Now, though, the proletariat owns the means of production.
Each person, working solo or in a team, already possesses the means of Production. They are indispensable, if they want to be.
Thornton May correctly points out that we have reached the end of what he calls Attendance-based compensation (ABC).
You have no right to that job or that career. The only way to succeed is to be remarkable, to be talked about.
You don’t become indispensable merely because you are different. But the only Way to be indispensable is to be different.
It’s not about what you’re born with, it’s about what you do.
I’ve never met someone who had no art in them, though it’s buried sometimes.
If you want a job where it’s okay to follow the rules, don’t be surprised if You get a job where following the rules is all you get to
Abundance is possible, but only if we can imagine it and then embrace it.
I don’t have room to list all the less famous people who had the same resources You do, but were willing to accept the genius label and make a choice.
If your organization wanted to replace you with someone far better at your job Than you, what would they look for?
The competitive advantage the marketplace demands is someone more human, Connected, and mature. Someone with passion and energy, capable of seeing Things as they are and negotiating multiple priorities as she makes useful Decisions without angst. Flexible in the face of change, resilient in the face Of confusion. All of these attributes are choices, not talents,
When your organization becomes more human, more remarkable, faster on its feet, And more likely to connect directly with customers, it becomes indispensable.
Everyone is a person, and people crave connection and respect.
GM saves $1.5 million a year by letting the robot arms think for themselves! The more GM enables the swarm of dumb machines to make decisions, bid against Each other, network, and interact, the better they work.
Bullet trains in Japan run fast and on schedule without a centralized Switchboard. It turns out that pushing decision making down the chart is faster And more efficient.
we’ve been taught to fit in.
Peacefulness, equality and kindness are just as biological—and we may see their Influence increase if we can create social structures that permit them to Flourish.”
The launch of universal (public and free) education was a profound change in The way our society works, and it was a deliberate attempt to transform our Culture. And it worked. We trained millions of factory workers.
In the space of two generations, we created a consumer culture. There wasn’t One; then there was.
“WE TRAIN THE FACTORY WORKERS OF TOMORROW. OUR GRADUATES ARE VERY GOOD AT FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS. AND WE TEACH THE POWER OF CONSUMPTION AS AN AID FOR SOCIAL APPROVAL”
Charm Talent Perserverece: The opportunity is in changing the game, Changing the interaction, or even changing the question.
The law of linchpin leverage: The more value you create in your job, the fewer clock minutes of labor you actually spend creating that value.
It’s difficult to train people to be Mark Cuban or Richard Branson or Madeleine Albright. It’s easy to train people to do the slog stuff because there’s a Clear process and a manual.
A very good senior programmer (who might get paid $200,000) gets paid about the Same as a great programmer, who delivers $5 million worth of value for the same Price.
Depth of knowledge combined with good judgment is worth a lot.
Linchpins are able to embrace the lack of structure and find a new path, one That works.
Solves problems that people haven’t predicted, sees things people haven’t seen, And connects people who need to be connected.
If you seek out critics, bureaucrats, gatekeepers, form-fillers, and By-the-book bosses when you’re looking for feedback, should you be surprised That you end up doing the things that please them?
Fearless doesn’t really mean “without fear.” What it means in practice is, “unafraid of things that one shouldn’t be afraid of.” Being fearless means Giving a presentation to an important customer without losing a night’s sleep. It means being willing to take intellectual risks and to forge a new path. The Fear is about an imagined threat, so avoiding the fear allows you to actually Accomplish something.
Reckless, on the other hand, means rushing into places that only a fool would Go.
Feckless? Feckless is the worst of all. Ineffective, indifferent, and lazy.
The linchpin feels the fear, acknowledges it, then proceeds.
Art is never defect-free.
The interviewer then reminded Dylan, “But you’ve sold over a hundred million Records.” Dylan’s answer gets to the heart of what it means to be an artist: “Yeah I know. It’s a mystery to me too.”
Bowling is an asymptotic sport. The best you can do is perfect: 300, that’s it. There’s a ceiling.
If you could figure out how to bowl 320, that would be amazing. Until that Happens, pick a different sport if you want to be a linchpin.
The problem with meeting expectations is that it’s not remarkable.
If you’re remarkable, amazing, or just plain spectacular, you probably Shouldn’t have a résumé at all.
A résumé gives the employer everything she needs to reject you.
Having a résumé begs for you to go into that big machine that looks for Relevant keywords, and begs for you to get a job as a cog in a giant machine.
If you don’t have a résumé, what do you have? How about three extraordinary Letters of recommendation from people the employer knows or respects? Or a Sophisticated project an employer can see or touch? Or a reputation that Precedes you? Or a blog that is so compelling and insightful that they have no Choice but to follow up?
Show, not tell. Projects are the new résumés.
Matt Dayton skied Nordic (cross-country) in the 2002 Olympics. He taught me a Simple lesson: The person who leans forward the most wins the race.
It’s easy to find a way to spend your entire day doing busywork. Trivial work Doesn’t require leaning. The challenge is to replace those tasks with Rule-breaking activities instead.
I’ve never seen a manager there go out of his way to respect or acknowledge Great behavior.
Author Richard Florida polled twenty thousand creative professionals and gave Them a choice of thirty-eight factors that motivated them to do their best at Work.
The top ten, ranked in order:
Only one of these is a clearly extrinsic motivator (#4, money).
Emotional labor is the task of doing important work, even when it isn’t easy.
Emotional labor is difficult and easy to avoid.
Work is nothing but a platform for art and the emotional labor that goes with It.
The act of giving someone a smile, of connecting to a human, of taking Initiative, of being surprising, of being creative, of putting on a show—these Are things that we do for free all our lives. And then we get to work and we Expect to merely do what we’re told and get paid for it.
Roy Simmons “Most artists can’t draw. But all artists can see.”
Art is anything that’s creative, passionate, and personal. And great art Resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.
Art is about intent and communication, not substances.
An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to Challenge the status quo. And an artist takes it personally.
Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient.
Marcel Duchamp was an artist when he pioneered Dadaism and installed a urinal In a museum. The second person to install a urinal wasn’t an artist, he was a Plumber.
Art is the product of emotional labor.
If it’s easy and risk free, it’s unlikely that it’s art.
The moment you are willing to sell your time for money is the moment you cease To be the artist you’re capable of being.
Passion is a desire, insistence, and willingness to give a gift.
“Wait! Are You Saying That I Have to Stop Following Instructions and Start Being an Artist? Someone Who Dreams Up New Ideas and Makes Them Real? Someone Who Finds New Ways to Interact, New Pathways to Deliver Emotion, New Ways to Connect? Someone Who Acts Like a Human, Not a Cog? Me?” Yes.
Perhaps your challenge isn’t finding a better project or a better boss. Perhaps You need to get in touch with what it means to feel passionate.
Nobody Cares How Hard You Worked It’s not an effort contest, it’s an art Contest.
All your competitors are using the same spreadsheet, so your opportunity for Quantum growth and significant market advantage is tiny. The easier it is to Quantify, the less it’s worth.
The job is what you do when you are told what to do.
Your art is what you do when no one can tell you exactly how to do it.
The job is not the work.
Passion is caring enough about your art that you will do almost anything to Give it away, to make it a gift, to change people.
Passion for your art also means having a passion for spreading your art.
The economy is ruthlessly punishing the fearful, and increasing the benefits to The few who are brave enough to create art and generous enough to give it away.
Real Artists Ship
Outside the box there’s a vacuum.
You can’t ship if you’re far outside the box.
Artists think along the edges of the box,
Ship always, and then change the world.
The only purpose of starting is to finish, and while the projects we do are Never really finished, they must ship.
Thrashing is the apparently productive brainstorming and tweaking we do for a Project as it develops.
Thrashing is essential.
Typical amateur project, all the thrashing is near the end.
Thrash late and you won’t ship.
Professional creators thrash early.
The closer the project gets to completion, the fewer people see it and the Fewer changes are permitted.
Every software project that has missed its target date (every single one) is a Victim of late thrashing.
Start-ups have fewer people to coordinate, less thrashing, and more linchpins Per square foot.
Get scared early, not late. Be brave early, not late. Thrash now, not later.
The lizard brain will fight (to the death) if it has to, but would rather run Away.
Society pushes artists to be geniuses, as opposed to encouraging artists to Allow the genius within to flourish.
Every time you find yourself following the manual instead of writing the Manual, you’re avoiding the anguish and giving in to the resistance.
One part of your brain worries about survival and anger and lust. The rest of It creates civilization.
The lizard brain is here to keep you alive; the rest of your brain merely makes You a happy, successful, connected member of society.
When put on alert, the lizard brain wins, every time, unless you’ve established New habits and better patterns—patterns that keep the lizard at bay.
Each system (in the brain) becomes more civilized but less powerful:
Four lobes to the cerebrum,
The conflict between what feels good now and what we ought to do.
The amygdala resists looking people in the eye, because doing so is threatening And exposes it to risk.
The lizard hates your genius, and tries to stamp it out.
The resistance loves school.
If school is about fitting in, the resistance happily agrees.
Being productive at someone else’s task list is not the same as making your own Map.
The reason the resistance persists in slowing you down and prevents you from Putting your heart and soul and art into your work is simple: you might fail.
You become a winner because you’re good at losing.
We exaggerate just how uncomfortable we are.
When you have a great backup plan: You end up settling for the backup.
As soon as you say, “I’ll try my best,” instead of “I will,” you’ve opened the Door for the lizard.
Finding good ideas is surprisingly easy once you deal with the problem of Finding bad ideas.
One way to become creative is to discipline yourself to generate bad ideas. The Worse the better. Do it a lot and magically you’ll discover that some good ones Slip through.
The devil’s advocate is actually a card-carrying member of the resistance.
They think they’re being mature and realistic when they’re actually cowering in Fear.
Three biological factors that drive job performance and innovation are social Intelligence, fear response, and perception.
Public speaking brings all three together.
We check Twitter because of our fear of being left out. We buy expensive Handbags for the same reason.
Don’t listen to the cynics. They’re cynics for a reason. For them, the Resistance won a long time ago.
It’s not an accident that successful people read more books.
Here are some signs that the lizard brain is at work:
Don’t ship on time. Late is the first step to never.
Procrastinate, claiming that you need to be perfect.
Ship early, sending out defective ideas, hoping they will be rejected.
Suffer anxiety about what to wear to an event.
Make excuses involving lack of money.
Do excessive networking with the goal of having everyone like you and support You.
Engage in deliberately provocative behavior designed to ostracize you so you’ll Have no standing in the community.
“I don’t have any good ideas”—actually, you don’t have any bad ideas. If you Get enough bad ideas, the good ones will take care of themselves. And as every Successful person will tell you, the ideas aren’t the hard part. It’s shipping That’s difficult.
“I don’t know what to do”—this one is certainly true. The question is, why does That bother you? No one actually knows what to do. Sometimes we have a hunch, Or a good idea, but we’re never sure. The art of challenging the resistance is Doing something when you’re not certain it’s going to work.
“I didn’t graduate from [insert brand of some prestigious educational Institution here]”—well, MIT is now free online, for anyone who wants to learn. The public library in your town has just about everything you need, and what’s Not there is online. Access to knowledge used to matter. No longer.
“My boss won’t let me”—of course she won’t. Why would she? You’re saying, “I Want to do some crazy thing, and if it doesn’t work, I want you to take all the Blame. Of course, if it does work, I’ll get the credit. Okay?” No, not okay.
Nothing in this book argues that you need the perfect boss to become Indispensable. I’m saying that if you become indispensable, you’ll discover That you get a better boss.
“Well, that’s fine for you, but my gender, race, health, religion, nationality, Shoe size, handicap, or DNA don’t make it easy”—Can’t you just hear the lizard Brain behind every word in this question? Precisely how many counterexamples do You need before you get over this excuse?
If you want to produce things on time and on budget, all you have to do is work Until you run out of time or run out of money. Then ship.
You feel like yelling at your admin. Your conscience tells you not to, but you Want to. The resistance is not a factor here. The voice telling you not to yell Is your conscience, not your lizard brain.
Listen to that feeling. It’s not the resistance.
Leo Babauta’s brilliant little book Zen Habits helps you think your way through This problem. His program is simple: Attempt to create only one significant Work a year. Break that into smaller projects, and every day, find three tasks To accomplish that will help you complete a project. And do only that during Your working hours.
There’s not a lot of genuine fear here in our world, so when it appears, it’s Worth noting.
Anxiety, on the other hand, is dangerous paralysis. Anxiety is the exaggeration Of the worst possible what-if,
Get out of bed and check the light. After all, there are burglars in the bushes Just waiting for you to fall asleep without that light on
This approach says that if you’re worried about something, indulge the worry by Asking people to prove that everything is going to be okay. Check in Constantly, measure and repeat.
This just leads to more anxiety, because everyone likes reassurance and Positive feedback.
Second approach is to sit with the anxiety, don’t run from it. Acknowledge it, Explore it, befriend it. It’s there, you’re used to it, move on.
Shenpa is a Tibetan word that roughly means “scratching the itch.”
Your shenpa is a reflex that forces you to answer every criticism with a Defense and a criticism in return.
The lizard brain is responsible for shenpa. It’s the interaction between our Normal rational world and the intense fears that the lizard lives with every Day. Fortunately, we don’t have our shenpa
“Thanks for the feedback, boss,” you say. Then you repeat the feedback in your Own words, to confirm to him that you heard him, and you walk away.
in that moment when you would break the silence to give the squirming lizard some solace, don’t. Sit. Wait
The more you want to give in to the inner voice of anxiety, the more resilient You become.
It often seems to come down to high school. As you wrestle with the resistance And you make a list of all the reasons you’re skeptical, overly busy, Cash-poor, and generally unable to do some art, please add to the list “and People will laugh at me if I try.”
“The odds of a plane crashing from turbulence are essentially zero, so I sit And enjoy it. It’s like a ride at an amusement park.”
A world where linchpins are valued and cogs are not,
When we sprint, all the internal dialogue falls away and we focus on going as Fast as we possibly can.
You can’t sprint every day, but it’s probably a good idea to sprint regularly. It keeps the resistance at bay.
Here’s how I make stuff.
The first step is write down the due date. Post it on the wall. It’s real. You Will ship on this date, done or not.
Write down every single notion, plan, idea, sketch, and contact. This is when You go fishing. Get as much help as you like. Invite as many people in as you Can.
This is where the thrashing and dreaming begin.
People focus on emergencies, not urgencies,
On a regular basis, collate the cards and read ’em aloud to the team. This Process will inevitably lead to more cards.
Then, put the cards into a database.
Let the team play along. Rearrange. Draw. Sketch. Make sure everyone Understands that this is the very last chance they have to make the project Better.
Then goes through the database and builds a complete description of the Project.
If it’s a Web site, then you have every single screen and feature.
Take this blueprint NOT to everyone, but to the few people who have sign-off Control,
Then say, “If I deliver what you approved, on budget and on time, will you ship It?”
Once you get your yes, go away and build your project, thrash-free. Ship on Time,
The resistance is happy to set up unachievable goals as a way of dissuading you From doing the work.
The list of excuses in reserve is longer than you might expect.
The only solution is to start today, to start now, and to ship.
In the Pacific Northwest, Native American tribe leaders established their power By giving everything away. They could afford to give everyone a gift, because They were so powerful and the gifts were a symbol of that power.
You best give a gift without knowing or being concerned with whether it will be Repaid.
A waiter does his art for table twelve regardless of whether or not those Customers are big tippers. An artist paints his painting without knowing if Someone is going to buy it. The magic of the gift system is that the gift is Voluntary, not part of a contract.
Usury goes all the way back to Moses. The rule was simple: you couldn’t charge Interest on a loan to anyone in your tribe. Strangers, on the other hand, paid Interest.
If money circulates freely within the tribe, the tribe will grow prosperous
Strangers, on the other hand, are not to be trusted.
Gift. As a result, the bond between you strengthens.
For the last five hundred years, the best way to succeed has been to treat Everyone as a stranger you could do business with.
Human beings have a need for a tribe, but the makeup of that tribe has changed, Probably forever. Now, the tribe is composed of our coworkers or our best Customers, not only our family or our village or religious group.
A loan without interest is a gift. A gift brings tribe members closer together.
If there is no gift, there is no art. When art is created solely to be sold, It’s only a commodity.
Consider the family that exchanges cash at Christmas. If everyone is giving and Getting the same amount, there’s not much happening, is there?
Gifts don’t demand immediate payment, but they have always included social Demands within the tribe.
Three Ways People Think About Gifts 1. Give me a gift! 2. Here’s a gift; now You owe me, big-time. 3. Here’s a gift, I love you.
Metcalfe’s law says that the value of a network increases with the square of The number of nodes on the network.
It’s possible to destroy an artist by refusing his gifts. It’s possible to Destroy him by wasting his gifts as well, or by receiving them in the wrong Way.
The best recipients are the ones who can reciprocate in kind. With honest Gratitude.
The most successful givers aren’t doing it because they’re being told to. They Do it because doing it is fun. It gives them joy.
Great work is not created for everyone. If it were, it would be average work.
If you appreciate a gift, consider saying, “thank you and . . .” Thank you and I dog-eared forty of the pages.
Respect is the gift you can offer in return.
If you are fortunate enough to find an artist, you should work hard to pay him As much as you can afford, because if you don’t, someone else will.
How do I know what art to make? How do I know what gifts to give?
This is the crux of it. Once you commit to being an artist, the question is an Obvious one. The answer is the secret to your success.
You must make a map. Not someone else. You.
The diamond cutter doesn’t imagine the diamond he wants. Instead, he sees the Diamond that is possible.
Buddhist might call this prajna. A life without attachment
We need to sit and seethe, as if that seething is magically sending horrible Vibes to the offender and he will never do it again.
If you accept that human beings are difficult to change, and embrace (rather Than curse) the uniqueness that everyone brings to the table, you’ll navigate The world with more bliss and effectiveness. And make better decisions, too.
The ability to see the world as it is begins with an understanding that perhaps It’s not your job to change what can’t be changed. Particularly if the act of Working on that change harms you and your goals in the process.
We assign motivations and plots and vendettas where there are none. Those angry Customers didn’t wake up this morning deciding to ruin your day,
If you’re able to look at what’s happening in your world and say, “There’s the Pattern,” or “Wow, that’s interesting, I wonder why,” then you’re far more Likely to respond productively than if your reaction is “How dare he!”
There’s a difference between passively accepting every element of your Environment (and thus missing opportunities to exploit) and being wise enough To leave the unchangeable alone, or at least work around it.
On one axis is passion. The other, attachment.
When you see a bump up ahead, do you say, “Oh my god we’re doomed!” or do you Say, “Isn’t that interesting?”
Scarcity creates value, and what’s scarce is a desire to accept what is and Then work to change it for the better, not deny that it exists.
It’s human nature to defend our worldview, to construct a narrative that Protects us from uncomfortable confessions.
It’s not a surprise when a scientist is surprised. That’s what happens when she Is doing her job properly.
There is no map. No map to be a leader, no map to be an artist.
You can either fit in or stand out. Not both.
Serious artists distinguish between the work and the stuff they have to do when They’re not doing the work.
You will achieve this goal by giving selfless gifts, and those benefit Everyone.
If you’re going to play the cowbell, play the cowbell.
In the circus, the only way to make it as a trapeze artist is to leap.
People aren’t going to follow you because you order them to. They’re not going To seek out a new path because you tell them that they must.
Does Your Job Match Your Passion? Or does your passion match your job?
Transferring your passion to your job is far easier than finding a job that Happens to match your passion.
Fill in the sentence, “I could be more creative if only . . .”
“If only” is a great way to eliminate your excuse du jour. “If only” is an Obligator,
If you had a chance to remake your life with a wish, what would you wish for?
Would you leave behind your family, your town, your appearance?
Ishita Gupta wrote, Every day is a new chance to choose.
It’s the understanding of which hard work is worth doing.
The only thing that separates great artists from mediocre ones is their ability To push through the dip.
You will fail at this. Often. Why is that a problem? In fact, this is a boon. It’s a boon because when others fail to be remarkable or make a difference or Share their art or have an impact, they will give up. But you won’t, you’ll Persist, pushing through the dip.
How often do you beat yourself up? How often does the lizard brain set out to Slow you down or wreck your career by highlighting the critics, the failures, The missteps? They get away with their cheap shots because you allow them to.
Most generous thing you can do is open yourself to the feedback that improves Your art and helps it spread. Discerning the difference between feedback that Helps and criticism that degrades,
If you can’t sell your ideas, your ideas go nowhere. And if you lie about your Ideas, we will know and we’ll reject them.
There are five traits that are essential in how people look at us: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extra-version, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability.
Why is “being good with people” so diminished as a competency?
It’s an art, which means that the person who provides it is an artist.
When the interactions are genuine and transparent, they usually work. When they Are artificial or manipulative, they fail.
Research has shown that we can easily distinguish hundreds or even thousands of Microgestures. We know that people all over the world smile in similar ways That have nothing to do with culture
Pentland’s research shows that speaking quickly after someone has addressed you Has a fundamentally different impact from leaving room between the words and Sentences.
If the placebo effect is enough to cure cancer (and it can), then it can change Your client’s mind and dramatically shift the way people perceive your Organization.
The communication of enthusiasm and connection and leadership starts with the Gift you give, not with the manipulation you attempt.
Creativity is personal, original, unexpected, and useful.
Unique creativity requires domain knowledge, a position of trust, and the Generosity to actually contribute.
Delivering unique creativity is hardest of all, because not only do you have to Have insight, but you also need to be passionate enough to risk the rejection That delivering a solution can bring. You must ship.
When you meet someone, you need to have a superpower. If you don’t, you’re just Another handshake. It’s not about touting yourself or coming on too strong. It’s about making the introduction meaningful. If I don’t know your superpower, Then I don’t know how you can help me (or I can help you).
Trying and failing is better than merely failing, because trying makes you an Artist and gives you the right to try again.
The vivid truth is this: now that we have the freedom to create, we must Embrace the fact that not all creations are equal, and some people aren’t going To win.
That doesn’t mean you’re a loser. It might mean that you’re making the wrong Art, drawing the wrong map.
The pitfalls:
Understand that there’s a difference between the right answer and the answer you can sell.
Too often, heretical ideas in organizations are shot down. They’re not refused Because they’re wrong; they’re refused because the person doing the selling Doesn’t have the stature or track record to sell it.
Focus on making changes that work down, not up.
Interacting with customers and employees is often easier than influencing Bosses and investors.
Don’t ask your boss to run interference, cover for you, or take the blame. Instead, create moments where your boss can happily take credit.
The act of deciding is the act of succeeding. The barrier to success is a choice. Up to you.
We don’t have a talent shortage, we have a shipping shortage.
The Lonely Crowd, by David Riesman, with Nathan Glazer and Reuel Denney
The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, by Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.
Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity, by Hugh MacLeod