Tell a story. Make it true. Make it compelling. And make it relevant.

Fishkin champions radical transparency in business, advocating for a no-secrets approach where company financials, challenges, and strategies are openly shared with employees and stakeholders. This transparency builds trust, fosters a sense of ownership among employees, and can lead to more innovative problem-solving. By being open about the company’s ups and downs, employees are more likely to stay engaged and loyal, as they feel truly part of the company’s journey. Fishkin believes that this approach not only demystifies the business processes but also prepares everyone to handle everything.

Radical Transparency Rocks

Fishkin dismantles the glorified myths surrounding startups, especially the idealized vision of Silicon Valley success stories. He argues that the common narrative often overlooks the grueling realities and the high rate of failure. The book exposes the dangers of the ‘grow-at-all-costs’ mentality and the unrealistic expectations set by success stories. Fishkin highlights that most startups face intense competition, financial instability, and a myriad of unexpected challenges. By debunking these myths, he aims to set more realistic expectations for new entrepreneurs.

Myth-Busting Startup Fantasies

Fishkin delves into the often overlooked drawbacks of traditional venture capital (VC) funding, such as the loss of control and the pressure to achieve rapid growth. He presents alternative funding options like bootstrapping, angel investors, and crowdfunding, which can offer more flexibility and better align with a company’s long-term goals. By sharing his own experiences with Moz, Fishkin emphasizes the importance of choosing the right funding strategy that suits the specific needs and vision of the business.

Smart Funding Choices

Fishkin brings attention to the critical issue of mental health among founders and entrepreneurs. He candidly discusses his own struggles with depression, highlighting how the pressures of startup life can take a significant toll on mental well-being. The relentless pursuit of success, coupled with the isolation that often comes with leadership, can lead to burnout and mental health challenges. Fishkin stresses the importance of self-care, seeking professional help, and building a support network.

Mental Health Matters

In contrast to the ‘growth at all costs’ mentality that pervades the startup world, Fishkin advocates for sustainable and realistic growth. He argues that focusing solely on rapid expansion can lead to overextension and instability. Instead, businesses should aim for steady, manageable growth that ensures long-term viability. Fishkin shares lessons from Moz, emphasizing the importance of aligning growth strategies with the company’s capabilities and market conditions. By prioritizing sustainability, companies can build a more solid foundation, avoid common pitfalls, and achieve success.

Realistic Growth

Creating a supportive and inclusive company culture is essential for long-term success, according to Fishkin. He underscores the importance of fostering an environment where employees feel valued, respected, and motivated. This includes promoting diversity, ensuring fair treatment, and encouraging open communication. Fishkin shares how Moz’s culture evolved and the positive impacts of nurturing a strong, cohesive team. A resilient culture not only enhances employee satisfaction and retention but also drives innovation and productivity.

Building A Resilient Culture

Fishkin draws extensively from his own experiences with Moz, providing candid lessons on various aspects of running a startup. He discusses the importance of making strategic hires, learning from mistakes, and being willing to pivot when necessary. Fishkin’s transparency about the challenges he faced, including hiring missteps and product failures, offers valuable insights for other entrepreneurs. He emphasises the need for adaptability and continuous learning, illustrating how even setbacks can lead to growth and improvement.

Lessons From Moz

Understanding and valuing customers is a recurring theme in Fishkin’s book. He argues that businesses should not treat customers merely as metrics but as individuals with specific needs and preferences. A customer-centric approach involves actively listening to feedback, delivering exceptional value, and building strong relationships. Fishkin shares examples from Moz where customer insights led to significant product improvements and increased loyalty. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and engagement, companies can foster trust, drive repeat business, and gain a competitive edge.

Customer Centric Approach

Embracing failure as a learning tool is a core concept in Fishkin’s philosophy. He encourages a mindset where setbacks are seen as opportunities for growth rather than definitive failures. Fishkin shares how Moz’s mistakes, from product missteps to strategic errors, provided valuable lessons that ultimately strengthened the company. He advocates for a culture that allows for experimentation and tolerates failure, as this can drive innovation and continuous improvement.

Failing Forward

Fishkin highlights the significant role of community and networks in the success of startups. Building and leveraging a supportive community can provide invaluable feedback, resources, and opportunities for collaboration. Fishkin shares how Moz benefited from a strong community of users and industry peers, which helped in refining products and expanding reach. Engaging with a community also fosters a sense of belonging and support, which can be crucial during challenging times.

The Power Of Community

And lastly, if I’m most impressed by reading about the book, it’s the “community” aspect of it. Rand Fishkin shares invaluable information and insights on building a community and why it’s important for the lifecycle of your product. I absolutely agree. Your community can really come forward to make it or break it for you if you have successfully created an emotional and personal bond with them.

“Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World” by Rand Fishkin pulls back the curtain on the gritty realities of startup life. Here are ten captivating takeaways:

Rand Fishkin, the founder and former CEO of Moz, reveals how traditional Silicon Valley "wisdom" leads far too many startups astray, with the transparency and humor that his hundreds of thousands of blog readers have come to love. Everyone knows how a startup story is supposed to go: A young, brilliant entrepreneur has a cool idea, drops out of college, defies the doubters, overcomes all odds, makes billions, and becomes the envy of the technology world. This is not that story. It's not that things went badly for Rand Fishkin; they just weren't quite so Zuckerberg-esque. His company, Moz, maker of marketing software, is now a $45 million/year business, and he's one of the world's leading experts on SEO. But his business and reputation took fifteen years to grow, and his startup began not in a Harvard dorm room but as a mother-and-son family business that fell deeply into debt. Now Fishkin pulls back the curtain on tech startup mythology, exposing the ups and downs of startup life that most CEOs would rather keep secret. For instance: A minimally viable product can be destructive if you launch at the wrong moment. Growth hacking may be the buzzword du jour, but initiatives can fizzle quickly. Revenue and growth won't protect you from layoffs. And venture capital always comes with strings attached. Fishkin's hard-won lessons are applicable to any kind of business environment. Up or down the chain of command, at both early stage startups and mature companies, whether your trajectory is riding high or down in the dumps: this book can help solve your problems, and make you feel less alone for having them.

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

business

Business

startup

Startups

books

Books

Rand Fishkin

Lost and Founder

We all have fears but,most of the times the fears that we have aren't as scary or feary as they may look. This is so because most of the times it is just the fear we have with in that makes us to fear something on the outside .

Fear

It is upto you to decide whether to face your fears or to chicken out.To whether decline thoughts that are destructive or not.To believe in yourself or not To work towards Ur goal or not

We All Have Choices

Our strongest thoughts create our fate and destiny.If your thoughts are destructive ( fear, panic) it is for the best to change them now into constructive ones

Thoughts

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

Facing  your fears 

People share things that make them look good. This "social currency" enhances their status or gives them a sense of belonging to an exclusive group. To leverage this, companies need to craft messages that make their audience feel special or in-the-know, thereby encouraging them to share content that reflects positively on them.

Social Currency

Triggers are stimuli that prompt people to think about related things. For example, associating a product with common daily activities or objects can increase its visibility. By linking products to frequent triggers, companies can create consistent reminders, making people more likely to discuss or use their products regularly.

Triggers

Content that evokes strong emotions—whether positive like awe or amusement, or negative like anger or anxiety—is more likely to be shared. Emotional arousal stimulates action, so marketers should aim to connect with their audience on an emotional level to foster engagement and sharing.

Emotional Content

When behavior is observable, it becomes imitable. Making private behaviors public can increase their adoption. For instance, visible branding or easily noticeable product usage can serve as a social proof, encouraging others to follow suit and adopt similar behaviors.

Making Behaviors

People share useful information that benefits others. This practical value can be tips, how-tos, or discounts. By providing content that offers real-world benefits, companies can encourage people to pass on information, knowing it will help their friends or peers.

Driving Practical Value

People do not just share information; they share stories. A compelling narrative can wrap a product or idea in a way that makes it more engaging and memorable. Crafting stories that naturally integrate the core message can help in spreading it organically as people enjoy retelling engaging tales.

Share Stories

Berger introduces the STEPPS framework (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories), which encapsulates the key principles that make ideas contagious. By applying this framework, marketers can systematically design messages and products that are more likely to be shared and discussed.

Take STEPPS

Products and messages should be designed with virality in mind from the outset. This means integrating elements that encourage sharing and discussion. Whether through remarkable features, exclusive information, or emotional hooks, building these aspects into the design can enhance their spread

Going Viral

Berger uses real-world examples and case studies to illustrate how the principles work in practice. From the success of Blendtec’s “Will It Blend?” campaign to the popularity of the $100 cheesesteak, these cases show how different tactics can be effectively applied across various industries.

Real Life Cases

The principles of contagiousness are not limited to commercial products but can be applied to social causes, public health campaigns, and personal branding. Understanding what drives people to share and discuss can help anyone looking to promote an idea or behavior, making the insights valuable across multiple domains.

Wide Spread Application

And lastly, one way of making your product successful is of course make people talk about it. Do this by using the STEPPS formula. People share liquid death because it nakes them look cool without consuming alcohol. People buy an iPhone because it gives them a certain status. People use Instagram because everybody pulls them into using it. Make sure to give your product a touch that resonates with your audience and help them achieve a certain level of satisfaction. Do that and see the word of mouth exploding for your product.

"Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age" by Jonah Berger explores why things catch on and how to make products, ideas, and behaviors more likely to spread. Here are ten key ideas from the book:

The New York Times bestseller that explains why certain products and ideas become popular. “Jonah Berger knows more about what makes information ‘go viral’ than anyone in the world.” —Daniel Gilbert, author of the bestseller Stumbling on Happiness What makes things popular? If you said advertising, think again. People don’t listen to advertisements, they listen to their peers. But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral? Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger has spent the last decade answering these questions. He’s studied why New York Times articles make the paper’s own Most E-mailed list, why products get word of mouth, and how social influence shapes everything from the cars we buy to the clothes we wear to the names we give our children. In Contagious, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumors and YouTube videos. Learn how a luxury steakhouse found popularity through the lowly cheesesteak, why anti-drug commercials might have actually increased drug use, and why more than 200 million consumers shared a video about one of the most boring products there is: a blender. Contagious provides specific, actionable techniques for helping information spread—for designing messages, advertisements, and content that people will share. Whether you’re a manager at a big company, a small business owner trying to boost awareness, a politician running for office, or a health official trying to get the word out, Contagious will show you how to make your product or idea catch on.

Jonah Berger

Contagious

Million Dollar Weekend” is the perfect book to turn you from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur in forty-eight hours

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Find a problem people are having that you can solve</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Craft an irresistible solution whose million-dollar-plus potential is backed by simple market research</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Spend NO MONEY to quickly validate whether your idea is the real deal (or not) by preselling it before you build it</li></ul>

Three steps of the Million Dollar Weekend Process

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Fear of starting</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Fear of asking</li></ul>

2 main fears that hold people back

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Ask someone you know for a dollar investment in you and your future business</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Ask one person you respect for a business idea</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Choose your freedom number, an attainable number (money) that you need to enjoy the freedom you want</li></ul>

Start it

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth … not going all the way, and not starting.

Customers want solutions, not ideas

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Who you are selling to?</li><li class="ql-align-justify">What problem you’re solving?</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Where they are?</li></ul>

Start with 3Ws

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Look for something working in one category and bring it to another</li><li class="ql-align-justify">When in doubts, solve your own problems. If you are willing to pay for a solution, it’s likely others are, too</li></ul>

Finding million-dollar ideas

Focus on Zero to $1, get that first dollar, that will create your momentum and build your belief in what you’re working on

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The best entrepreneurs are the most dissatisfied. They’re always thinking of how things can be better</li><li class="ql-align-justify">The crucial first step toward entrepreneurship is to study your own happiness and to think of solutions (aka business opportunities) for you to sell</li></ul>

Become a problem seeker

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Solve your own problems</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Thing about problems that you have</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Bestsellers are your best friends</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Think about some accessorising ideas for existing bestselling products</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Visit a marketplace</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Find ideas by studying marketplaces where people are trying to spend money. It can be Facebook marketplace, Etsy, or other local/ global marketplaces</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Look at search engines queries</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Find our things that other people also search for online</li></ul>

The idea generators

Step 1: Find $1 Million worth of customerStep 2: Is this a million-dollar opportunities?Step3: The one-minute business model

The one-minute business model

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Is the market growing or dying?</li><li class="ql-align-justify">How many potential customers are there?</li></ul>

Step 1: Find $1 Million worth of customer

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Find the size of market, cost of your product/ service, and total value</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Size of Market X Cost of Product/ Service = Market opportunity</li><li class="ql-align-justify">See if it’s a million-dollar idea or not</li></ul>

Step 2: Is this a million-dollar opportunities?

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Know your target profit (e.g. $1,000,000), profit per unit sold, and total sales needed</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Revenue - Cost = Profit</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Target Profit ÷ Profit per unit sold = Total sales needed</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Ask yourself, if this is going to be a one-off purchase, something customers buyu here and there when they want to consume it, or can you make it a monthly recurring sale?</li><li class="ql-align-justify">It’s always better to be in the reorder business</li></ul>

Step3: The one-minute business model

Average order value: Increase the amount someone purchaseFrequency: Increase how often someone will buy your servicePrice point: Increase or decrease your price point to affect total salesCustomer type: Approach a more Lucrative/ wealthier customer segmentProduct line: Add additional products to make the business more attractive to startAdd-on services: If you’re selling a product like cookies, can you offer a service like setting up birthday parties or cooking at the person’s home?

6 ways for you to reach the goal easier

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Pick one business idea</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Make sure it’s a million-dollar opportunity</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Confirm your business idea is profitable</li></ul>

The million-dollar opportunity challenge

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Ffind three customers in 48 hours who will give you money for your idea</li><li class="ql-align-justify">You’re allowed only 48 hours</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Collect money upfront</li></ul>

Validate your business idea by getting paid

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Direct preselling</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Use marketplaces</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Use landing pages</li></ul>

Three methods to validate any business idea

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Use social media to build an audience who will support you for life</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Pick a platform (e.g. Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc)</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Create content for your core circle</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Send emails with effective copywriting</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Get your first subscribers with a landing page</li></ul>

Make money while you sleep

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">A checklist that can be used to properly perform something</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Atemplate for determining something (e.g. a business’s profit margin)</li><li class="ql-align-justify">An advanced guide that gives further into the details of a subject</li><li class="ql-align-justify">x ideas to do something</li></ul>

Create and use a lead that magnet gives people an incentive to join your email list

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Set a single hyper-focused exact goal</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Create your marketing experiment list</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Double down on what works</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Make your first 100 customers happier</li></ul>

The growth machine

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The founder and CEO of AppSumo.com, Noah Kagan, knows how to launch a seven-figure business in a single weekend—and he’s done it seven times. Million Dollar Weekend will show you how. Now is the best time in history for entrepreneurship. More than ever, the world needs new businesses and it’s cheaper than ever to create them. And, let’s be frank: most day jobs suck. People spend too much time doing too much work for too little money—and they know it. They want out. But, if the barriers to starting a business are getting lower and lower, why is it SO HARD TO DO for SO MANY PEOPLE? Why are there so many wantrepreneurs playing at business on social media and so few entrepreneurs actually running them? Ask yourself: <ul><li>Do you want to work for yourself, or start a side-hustle, but it all feels too risky and unpredictable? </li><li>Have you spent time or money on things like websites and logos, but still have no customers? </li><li>Are you brainstorming endlessly and waiting for the perfect idea to strike? </li></ul> All those Frequent Excuses are solvable. The plan is simple—so simple it can be completed in a single weekend, but so powerful that Kagan has used it to build seven businesses now worth more than $1 million: <ul><li>Find your Creator’s Courage to overcome your fear and have fun! </li><li>Use the "Million Dollar Weekend" Process to get customers EXCITED to give you money. </li><li>Automate your business so it can grow while you sleep. </li></ul> By Monday, you’ll have a market-tested, scalable business idea and you’ll be a entrepreneur on the path to seven figures. Million Dollar Weekend is the path to creating your dream life and attaining financial freedom. LFG.

Discover the world of business and economics.

economics

Economics

Noah Kagan

Million Dollar Weekend

Search engines utilise web crawlers (also called spiders or bots) to crawl the web and fetch information about web pages. As they crawl each page, they index and store data such as page content, metadata, links and more. This indexed data is then processed by the search engine’s algorithm to determine the relevance and authority of each page for a given search query.Pages that contain keywords and content closely matching the user’s intent are ranked higher in results.Check the complete <a href="https://utds.al/seo-basics-beginners-guide-search-engine-optimization/">beginners guide to seo</a> here!

How Search Engines Work

<a href="https://utds.al/how-to-do-keyword-research/">Keyword Research</a> -Use tools to find low-competition, high-value keywords. Organize them into primary and secondary focus areas.<a href="https://utds.al/power-of-on-page-seo-in-2024/">On Page SEO Optimisation</a> - Optimize website copy, titles, meta descriptions, content, image alt text, URLs, and site architecture. Improve site speed and user experience.Link Building - Build high-quality backlinks through guest posting, outreach, and digital PR. Engage in online communities and social media.<a href="https://utds.al/what-is-technical-seo/">Technical SEO</a> - Implement structured data, mobile responsiveness, XML sitemaps, and page speed improvements. Fix site errors promptly.

How to Implement SEO

Create useful guides, tools, and ebooks. Share them on social media, emails, and with online friends. Update your content often to keep it fresh. Ask popular people and websites to share your content. Write guest posts for blogs and join online groups. Make things like quizzes and calculators that people want to link to. Talk to other businesses for help. This strategy will make your SEO much better! Check our <a href="https://utds.al/seo-basics-beginners-guide-search-engine-optimization/">SEO Basics</a> to know more..

How To Scale SEO

Check the Search Engine Optimisation guide to rank #1 on Google. Tips to boost site traffic, dominate search, and drive more customers today!

strategy

Strategy

SEO For Beginners

Toyota's success is rooted in its unique management philosophy, which combines a focus on long-term goals, continuous improvement (Kaizen), respect for people, and an unwavering commitment to quality.

The Secret of Toyota's Success:

Toyota strikes a balance between short-term and long-term goals, efficiency and flexibility, and automation and human labor. This balance ensures sustained growth and adaptability to changing market conditions.

Striking a Balance:

People are at the heart of Toyota's operations. The company invests heavily in employee training, development, and empowerment. By fostering a culture of respect and teamwork, Toyota harnesses the full potential of its workforce.

Keep People Management in Focus:

Strategic decisions at Toyota are guided by long-term thinking. The company prioritizes long-term sustainability over short-term gains, ensuring decisions align with enduring principles and objectives.

Base Important Decisions on Long-Term Policies:

Toyota adopts technology thoughtfully, ensuring it enhances processes without undermining human skills and judgment. Technology is seen as a tool to support and augment human capabilities, not replace them.

Be Mindful When Adopting Technology:

Known as "Genchi Genbutsu" (go and see), Toyota encourages managers and employees to observe processes firsthand to gain a deep understanding of the situation. This hands-on approach leads to more informed and effective problem-solving.

Always Observe a Situation Yourself:

Transparency and open communication are critical at Toyota. Sharing information openly fosters trust, facilitates problem-solving, and ensures everyone is aligned with the company's goals and values.

Transparency is a Key to Success:

(Nemawashi): Toyota makes decisions through a consensus-building process that involves extensive discussion and consideration of all options. This approach ensures that decisions are well-thought-out and supported by the entire organization.

Make Decisions Slowly by Consensus

Toyota fosters a culture of learning and adaptability. The company encourages experimentation, learning from mistakes, and adapting to changes in the environment. This flexibility allows Toyota to stay competitive and innovative.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation:

The principles of The Toyota Way create a robust framework for building a sustainable, efficient, and people-focused organization. By adhering to these principles, companies can achieve lasting success, continuous improvement, and a resilient organizational culture.

Conclusion

Curious what catapulted Toyota to global leadership? With core principles that drive unparalleled success, discover the secrets behind the company's dominance in the automotive industry!

The Toyota Way Fieldbook is a companion to the international bestseller The Toyota Way. The Toyota Way Fieldbook builds on the philosophical aspects of Toyota's operating systems by detailing the concepts and providing practical examples for application that leaders need to bring Toyota's success-proven practices to life in any organization. The Toyota Way Fieldbook will help other companies learn from Toyota and develop systems that fit their unique cultures. The book begins with a review of the principles of the Toyota Way through the 4Ps model-Philosophy, Processes, People and Partners, and Problem Solving. Readers looking to learn from Toyota's lean systems will be provided with the inside knowledge they need to <ul><li>Define the companies purpose and develop a long-term philosophy</li> <li>Create value streams with connected flow, standardized work, and level production</li> <li>Build a culture to stop and fix problems</li> <li>Develop leaders who promote and support the system</li> <li>Find and develop exceptional people and partners</li> <li>Learn the meaning of true root cause problem solving</li> <li>Lead the change process and transform the total enterprise</li> </ul> The depth of detail provided draws on the authors combined experience of coaching and supporting companies in lean transformation. Toyota experts at the Georgetown, Kentucky plant, formally trained David Meier in TPS. Combined with Jeff Liker's extensive study of Toyota and his insightful knowledge the authors have developed unique models and ideas to explain the true philosophies and principles of the Toyota Production System.

corporateculture

Corporate Culture

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

humanresources

Human Resources

Jeffrey K. Liker

David Meier

The Toyota Way Fieldbook

Third, discover where your intellectual arrogance is causing disabling ignorance and overcome it. Far too many people—especially people with great expertise in one area—are contemptuous of knowledge in other areas or believe that being bright is a substitute for knowledge. First-rate engineers, for instance, tend to take pride in not knowing anything about people. Human beings, they believe, are much too disorderly for the good engineering mind.

Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong. More often, people know what they are not good at—and even then more people are wrong than right. And yet, a person can perform only from strength. One cannot build performance on weaknesses, let alone on something one cannot do at all.

The only way to discover your strengths is through feedback analysis. Whenever you make a key decision or take a key action, write down what you expect will happen. Nine or 12 months later, compare the actual results with your expectations. I have been practicing this method for 15 to 20 years now, and every time I do it, I am surprised. The feedback analysis showed me, for instance—and to my great surprise—that I have an intuitive understanding of technical people, whether they are engineers or accountants or market researchers.

Practiced consistently, this simple method will show you within a fairly short period of time, maybe two or three years, where your strengths lie—and this is the most important thing to know. The method will show you what you are doing or failing to do that deprives you of the full benefits of your strengths. It will show you where you are not particularly competent. And finally, it will show you where you have no strengths and cannot perform.

Second, work on improving your strengths. Analysis will rapidly show where you need to improve skills or acquire new ones. It will also show the gaps in your knowledge—and those can usually be filled. Mathematicians are born, but everyone can learn trigonometry.

Amazingly few people know how they get things done. Indeed, most of us do not even know that different people work and perform differently. Too many people work in ways that are not their ways, and that almost guarantees nonperformance. For knowledge workers, How do I perform? may be an even more important question than What are my strengths?

The second thing to know about how one performs is to know how one learns. Many first-class writers—Winston Churchill is but one example—do poorly in school. They tend to remember their schooling as pure torture. Yet few of their classmates remember it the same way. They may not have enjoyed the school very much, but the worst they suffered was boredom. The explanation is that writers do not, as a rule, learn by listening and reading. They learn by writing.

This article challenges readers to take responsibility for managing their futures, both in and out of the office.

Throughout history, people had little need to manage their careers—they were born into their stations in life or, in the recent past, they relied on their companies to chart their career paths. But times have drastically changed. Today we must all learn to manage ourselves. What does that mean? As Peter Drucker tells us in this seminal article first published in 1999, it means we have to learn to develop ourselves. We have to place ourselves where we can make the greatest contribution to our organizations and communities. And we have to stay mentally alert and engaged during a 50-year working life, which means knowing how and when to change the work we do. It may seem obvious that people achieve results by doing what they are good at and by working in ways that fit their abilities. But, Drucker says, very few people actually know—let alone take advantage of—their fundamental strengths. He challenges each of us to ask ourselves: What are my strengths? How do I perform? What are my values? Where do I belong? What should my contribution be? Don’t try to change yourself, Drucker cautions. Instead, concentrate on improving the skills you have and accepting assignments that are tailored to your individual way of working. If you do that, you can transform yourself from an ordinary worker into an outstanding performer. Today’s successful careers are not planned out in advance. They develop when people are prepared for opportunities because they have asked themselves those questions and have rigorously assessed their unique characteristics. This article challenges readers to take responsibility for managing their futures, both in and out of the office.

career

Career

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

Managing Oneself

Success doesn’t come from feeling good. Feeling good leads to success.

habits

Habits

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

Little Secret to Success 

Now we have reached the stage where figuring out what to focus on becomes a real possibility.You have experimented with enough ideas to discover one or two options that seem to provide better than average results for you. You’ve overcome the hurdle of wanting more information and the fear of committing to something and now you’ve made a choice. You took the job. You started the business. You signed up for the class. You’re ready.Welcome to the grind. It’s time to put in a volume of work. Not just once or twice. Not just when it’s easy. But a consistent, repeated volume of work.

You’re going to have to try on a lot of clothes before you can simplify down to the essentials. You’ll probably have to buy a lot of clothes before you can really get a feel for what your day-in, day-out style is. I’m not a fan of promoting rampant consumerism, but if that’s the skill set you want to develop then it’s likely going to take some experimentation and effort.

Want to dress well and develop killer style?

How many bad meals do you think you need to make before you can whip up a “simple, but tasty dinner” whenever you feel like it? I’d say hundreds at least. I don’t know many people who are amazing cooks after making their tenth meal ever. Developing a deep understanding of the fundamentals of cooking takes a while.

Want to become a great cook?

The more I study successful people from all walks of life—artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, scientists—the more I believe focus is a core factor of success.But there is a problem with this advice too.Of the many options in front of you, how do you know what to focus on? How do you know where to direct your energy and attention? How do you determine the one thing that you should commit to doing?

The best answer I can give is to pay attention. Usually, this means <a href="https://jamesclear.com/measuring">measuring something </a>. <ul><li>If you’re an entrepreneur, track your marketing and promotion efforts. </li><li>If you’re trying to gain muscle, <a href="https://jamesclear.com/workout-journal">track your workouts </a>. </li><li>If you’re learning an instrument, <a href="https://jamesclear.com/stop-procrastinating-seinfeld-strategy">track your practice sessions </a>. </li> </ul>Even when you do measure things, however, there comes a point where you have to make a call and decide what to focus on.

It is through this sheer number of repetitions that you’ll come to understand the fundamentals of your task. You might know what greatness looks like before this point, but you won’t understand how to achieve greatness until you’ve put the work in yourself. In the <a href="https://jamesclear.com/ira-glass-failure">words of Ira Glass </a>, “your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you.” You’ll bridge that gap between what you know is good and what you can produce yourself by <a href="https://jamesclear.com/repetitions">putting in the reps </a>. This applies to so many areas of life.

Now, finally, after trying many things and figuring out what to focus on and putting in enough reps, you can begin to simplify. You can trim away the fat because you know what is essential and what is unnecessary. As the Frenchman Blaise Pascal famously wrote in his Provincial Letters, “If I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter.” Mastering the fundamentals is often the hardest and longest journey of all.

The more I study successful people from all walks of life, the more I believe focus is a core factor of success. But how do you know what to focus on?

writing

Reading & Writing

education

Learning & Education

creativity

Creativity

How Experts Figure What to Focus On

“Imagination and emotion are the only two blessings human beings have, which the education system is killing from day one.

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">There are 3 types of learners- Auditory, Visual & Kinaesthetic. But every child is taught with a single method by schools.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">We're taught 'What To Learn/Memorize', but not 'How & Where To Apply'.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">The system wants the same output as input without any processing by the child (They have made us Printers, not even intelligent ones).</li><li class="ql-align-justify">We're not taught to imagine, be curious, ask questions.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">We are there just to memorize past events, not to plan the future.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">There should be immersive learning experiences less in the classroom, and more in the outside practical world.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Digital knowledge is most necessary today.</li></ul>

How Education System Sucks

This piece of work is the journey of the author himself, telling and guiding the readers while sharing his own experiences. He describes selling, negotiating, generating ideas, public speaking and personal branding while stating that how our education system is not taking care of the important things.

School taught us specific subjects, like maths and history. But we weren't taught: How to sell Or how to build relationships Or how to negotiate Or how to take care of our mental health Or how to network Or how to deal with personal finance These most important situations we face as adults were never discussed with us when we were students. We weren't taught these skills in school, and this makes all the success stories we hear about seem out of reach; it makes us feel dumb. We aren't dumb, we just don't know how to work the system. Your school taught you how to run in the race; it didn't teach you how to win. And that's what this book is for. To help you win the race. Packed with useful advice gleaned from his own journey as an entrepreneur and content creator, this book by Raj Shamani is a must-read.

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