Not everyone is going to like you. Most people don’t learn this lesson until they’re in high school, college, or God forbid your first career.
The sooner you accept that, the more successful you’ll be.
Are you willing to accept that not everyone likes you?
Many startups think because they use cool hiring management funnels and fancy personality tests that their hiring process is dialed in.
More likely, you’ve made it too complicated.
All the cool processes and funnels only serve you if you get the fundamentals right.
It’s challenging being surrounded by people who are smarter than you. That’s the goal.
If you want people to blindly sing your praises, that’s great. This isn’t for you.
But if you want to grow a company that’s bigger than you, surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.
ALWAYS negotiate over the phone, not email.
On a call, you can convey emotion.
Over email, you only have words on a screen—you rely on chance.
If your opponent expects a game of chance like Candy Land and you’re ready for chess, who wins?
Here’s how to play chess in negotiations:
“Are you sure?” and “Why?” are the two most underused questions in business.
Asking these questions forces people to confront their assumptions and explain their reasoning.
If you use them more often, you can prepare people to question their own thinking—including their uncertainties.
If you only sold products, it wouldn’t matter how good your relationships are.
All that would matter are the products you sell them.
But your client’s experience with you matters just as much as your products, and those positive experiences wouldn’t be possible without the relationships you build.
We love when our Tribe makes mistakes.
In the long run, mistakes actually accelerate people’s learning process.
That’s why we embolden our Tribe to make mistakes, and why we teach through mistakes we’ve made throughout our careers.
Will you give people the OPPORTUNITY to learn from their mistakes?
There’s no such thing as Low-Level tasks, duties, and responsibilities.
And if you refer to people’s tasks as Low-Level, what makes you believe people will execute them to the BEST of their abilities?
There are only tasks, duties, and responsibilities—period.
Set expectations early and often, or they will be set for you. Almost EVERY challenge we face as a company has been a result of us not setting Clear Expectations. If you work with ultra-successful clients, this is a common challenge. Here’s how we use Clear Expectations to lead leaders.
If a meeting can start without you, then you shouldn’t be in it. That’s just one way we make our meetings more productive. Our meeting style may not work for everyone, but if you try our strategies, you’ll immediately cut your meeting costs.