Podcasts about still win big kind

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Best podcasts about still win big kind

Latest podcast episodes about still win big kind

Terrible Book Club
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams *Patron's Choice* - Episode 194

Terrible Book Club

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2024 94:02


Our patron Arrant has requested another non-fiction gem for their Patron's Choice episode this year. In How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life, Dilbert-creator Scott Adams weaves together the strands of memoir and self-help and fills any extra space in this book basket with glue made of lies (seriously, he opens the book by telling you not to trust him) and a stunning lack of self-awareness. As always, capitalism is the ever-present ghoul, Paris is pissed at Jesus (moreso than usual), and together we learn that the real way to fail at everything is, perhaps, by going on unabashed racist tirades and doubling down rather than engaging in any self-reflection. We hope you enjoy the episode, Arrant, and thank you for your longtime, faithful support of the show! Remember that if you, too, would like to have us read and review a book of your choice on the show, you can gain that power by joining our Patreon at the appropriate tier.

Little Big Voices Podcast
E4: Meet Don Strickland - My Road

Little Big Voices Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2023 34:56


My guest today is Don Strickland. He grew up in small towns and big cities in Texas, and spent the last 40 years in Austin raising a family and growing his career in computer technology for companies such as Schlumberger and Apple. A few years ago, Don made a decision on how to travel one of the hardest and most meaningful roads, a human faces. He invited all who braved it to travel and learn and grow with him. I invite you to lean in and enjoy this journey with Don at the wheel.Portrait by John LangfordVisit us at littlebigvoices.comMessage Mark at mark@littlebigvoices.comFollow Little Big Voices on Facebook and Instagram – thank you!Support the Little Big Voices Community!Don's Blog: My Road (2005 – 2020)Donisms: Favorite sayings of Don remembered by his friends and family.Don's Music References:About Walt WilkinsOn Spotify and Apple MusicThe album Plenty on Spotify and Apple MusicBetween Midnight and Day on Spotify and Apple MusicSongs About Texas Music Video and Tribute to Don by Walt Wilkins About Darden SmithOn Spotify and Apple MusicBlessings on Spotify and Apple Music, by Darden Smith Wonderful Tonight on Spotify and Apple Music by Eric Clapton Don Strickland Memorial Playlist on Spotify– these were Don's favorite musical artists with a few additions from friends and family.Don's Book References and Complete Show Notes: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott AdamsMen Explain Things to Me by Rebecca SolnitTalking to Strangers by Malcolm GladwellBooks by Yuval Noah HarariMortality by Christopher HitchensFoundation Series by Isaac AsimovThe Daily Stoic by Ryan HolidayStillness is the Key by Ryan HolidayThe BibleOrwell's Roses by Rebecca SolnitRecollections of my Non-Existence by Rebecca SolnitHope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca SolnitAnticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-SchreiberDon's Obituary by Jan ChapmanOur treasured Don Strickland – husband, father, brother, uncle, cousin, grandad, mentor, and friend – slipped out of a failing body and into the next adventure on Thursday, October 27, 2022. The love of his life, Jo Ann, was by his side, as she was for over 41 years. Don made a brilliant and inspiring 4-year effort to live life to the fullest while coping with the gradually disabling effects of glioblastoma.“Please don't let this event define your lives in negative ways,” Don wrote 3 years ago. Nothing would please him ...

Tactical Living
E587 Activities To Help You Dive Deeper Into Actually Getting What You Want

Tactical Living

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2023 9:41


Did you know that only 9% of people actually follow through on their New Year's resolutions?   I know…   You're not one of them and this year is going to be different.   In today's episode, Coach Ashlie Walton and Detective Walton break down the difference between wanting something and deciding to have something.   Through action-taking structure, it is possible to become that 9%...   And not just during New Year's resolutions.   Remember that you either want it or you don't.   Check out Scott Adams' book: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life.    ⩥ PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL ⩤ https://bi3xbvVont.ly/   CLICK HERE for our best-selling products: https://amzn.to/3xaG3xw and https://rdbl.co/3DIQVUC   CLICK HERE to join our free Police, Fire, Military and Families Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/38w2e7r   Check out our website and learn more about how you can work with LEO Warriors by going to: https://www.leowarriors.com/   Like what you hear? We are honored. Drop a review and subscribe to our show.    The Tactical Living Podcast is owned by LEO Warriors, LLC. None of the content presented may be copied, repurposed or used without the owner's prior consent.   For PR, speaking requests and other networking opportunities, contact LEO Warriors:   EMAIL: ashliewalton555@gmail.com.   ADDRESS: P.O. Box 400115 Hesperia, Ca. 92340   ASHLIE'S FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/police.fire.lawenforcement   ➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤ This episode is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something by clicking on one of our links, we'll receive a small commission.

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

There is an amusing irony to the idea that more mistakes can lead to a better life.  While the trip can be a challenge, the end is enjoyable.  We see this in many "overnight success" stories if we fail to look at the journey.  It is not the same as the end justifying the means.  However, learning from mistakes is a way to make the most of the price paid for them.  We cannot roll back time, but we can avoid repeating it. Better Developer And Better Life The stories shared in this season did not all focus on becoming a better developer.  Nevertheless, they point to a better life, which leads to that more specific goal.  We are not able to be our best in one area if we are not also examining all areas of our life.  It is like a race car with a top-notch engine but shoddy tires.  We are the combination of all of our attributes. The Lesson Learned Life is treacherous, and no one gets out alive.  However, we can spend time learning from our mistakes (and those of others) to make it more fun over time.  We can even see mild to wild success from those early errors.  Maybe the secret to a happy life is eliminating enough bad choices that only the best options are left. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Incremental Improvement and Progress - Do It Now

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2022 17:16


We often talk about momentum and incremental improvement as substantial steps towards progress.  However, we have to take action to benefit from those.  Thus, we have another facet of failing to take a step.  Not only do we not make any progress, but we also find ourselves in the same situation weeks, months, or years later.  On the other hand, a little activity can put us in a far better position for the future. Incremental Improvement Leads To Significant Progress There are many examples of little steps covering substantial ground.  Progress and incremental improvement add up to a much better situation over time.  For example, if you want to get better at situps, you can start with one a day.  Even if you add one to that each week, you should be easily capable of 50+ situps after a year.  That may be a long time, but it is better than still being stuck at zero pushups a year from now.  While that can be a noticeable physical difference, it holds for many other pursuits.  Anything that requires time or repetition can be addressed this way.  Even writing a book can be achieved one page at a time.  Most of our achievements are not done in one bug effort but are the culmination of many smaller steps. The Lesson Learned I have lived enough years to recognize numerous potential goals that were not achieved (yet) because I failed to get started.  If only I had started, I could play guitar, juggle, or have commercial software among my skills and achievements.  While those opportunities are in the past, that does not mean they are lost.  That makes our action similar to planting a tree.  The best time was years ago, but the second best time is to do it today. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Save Your Work - Avoid Simple Mistakes

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2022 17:35


Sometimes the obvious escapes us.  The suggestion to save your work often and habitually is one of those apparent recommendations.  It is a newer phenomenon as we have to worry about data loss through various means.  Likewise, we have a virtual workplace, and the idea of our work not being done until it is committed is new.  The latest generations may not see it that way, but "us old folks" do.  There was no need to "save your work" on a typewriter or a written journal.  When you performed an action, it was done.  The idea of saving or committing our work is a new challenge. Save Your Work - Avoid Loss First and foremost, we must consider saving our work before an application dies or power is interrupted.  While these occurrences are not necessarily typical, they are destructive when we fail to save early and often.  We also might run into a situation where we thought our work was done and saved, but it was not.  That can be frustrating when you send a partial document in an email or cause a loss of valuable time when debugging old source code.  When in doubt, just hit save again.  The time you save may be your own. The Lesson Learned I am not sure how many people are surprised that save your work rose to the top suggestion for debugging.  While this is often a technical and complex task, it also has simple facets.  That is a lesson in itself.  We can overthink problems and skip right past the simplest solution.  Often that simple step gets us to our solution quickly and easily.  However, we must accept that sometimes we make silly mistakes, or human error enters the equation.  Next time you are perplexed by a problem, step back to square one and ensure you save your work first. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
You Have To Risk To Succeed - The Shot Not Taken

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2022 16:14


There is a great truth among those that have been successful.  One must take a risk to succeed.  The safe road is too popular.  Thus, most people take it, and you will travel a path of high traffic.  The nature of success in a noticeable way is that you are among a minority of the population.  For example, we can all tie our shoes, and most take a common path.  That is why no one talks about their success in tying shoes.  I guess it is important to note I am talking about Success as a significant achievement, not simply completion or avoiding failure. We Must Accept Risk To Succeed There is an investment required for almost any success.  Likewise, we can lose what we invest, whether time, money, or relationships.  That equates to risk.  While we can mitigate risk, we can never eliminate it completely.  Unfortunately, it is hard to argue that we do not gain larger success without a corresponding risk.  Therefore, we have to risk to succeed in a meaningful way.  That gets us to the point of this story.  We have to try out an idea if we are ever going to take advantage of it. The Lesson Learned The road of life is littered with ideas, some brilliant, that never saw the light of day.  Some genius got so far as to think about how that idea could change the world and then let it die a horrible death.  No one will come to you,  pluck out your good ideas and implement them.  Thus, we have to take a step (or leap) of faith in ourselves and take a shot at making the idea a reality.  That can be risky.  However, you have to take a risk to succeed. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Multiple Contact Options - Make The Most Of Them

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2022 18:26


We often feel like we can not get away from work and those that want our time.  However, multiple contact options can easily be overlooked.  That can cause delays and information loss.  The ease of communication in the modern world should not convince us to overlook the need for contingencies and other channels.  Any time we rely on one path, it can be blocked and stop progress.  That goes for our available communication channels as well as any physical path. We All Have Multiple Contact Options To Share While we all have preferred ways to communicate, we also have other options.  None of us are so special that we can ignore multiple contact options for those that are most important to us.  Yes, that can even mean our customers and coworkers.  We can look at the negatives, such as getting a call at an inconvenient time.  However, we might also get a call that says we need to stay home from work today due to weather or some other emergency.  Not all "surprise" news is negative.  In any case, we are always better off when we can choose what to ignore rather than have the choice forced on us. The Lesson Learned There is value in having at least a couple of communication channels you are comfortable with. These can be a primary and emergency or a 1A and 1B option.  The essential point is to have more than one just in case the other goes down.  The message you do not miss could be the one that changes your life. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

We provide many ways to become a better developer.  One of the best ways to do hits over the long run is to stay healthy.  Big things like cancer and chronic disease can disrupt your career.  However, smaller things like the flu or seasonal cold can also knock you out for days or weeks.  That unplanned "time off" can cause a sizeable setback.  Likewise, it can derail time-critical plans and cause missed opportunities. Stay Healthy As A Good Investment There is a cost to doing healthy things.  It takes time to exercise and eat well.  Regular rest is often seen as directly opposed to the high octane lives of the driven.  While less sleep and focusing on your projects can be useful in the short term, that will catch up to you.  You effectively roll the dice when you skip over healthy habits to hit that deadline.  That can be an effective way to squeeze every minute out of your day.  On the other hand, it can lead to a "surprise" illness that takes out days or even years of your life.  A healthy body is much more likely to shrug aside illness of all sorts and avoid chronic issues. The Lesson Learned We have natural alerts to help us stay healthy.  Our bodies will slow, grow tired, or send pain signals when we fail to care for them.  Those signals are warning signs that often can help us change course long before things become unmanageable.  It makes no sense for us to spend so much time looking for signs that a project is going off track and ignore our lives doing the same.  If you need more motivation to stay healthy, then look at the articles that link it to wealth, such as this one. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Take The High Road - Avoid Shady Partners

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2022 21:01


In this episode, we share a story that shows us to take the high road.  It is a road less traveled but one worth the effort.  While shortcuts and quick fixes are often mistakes, shadowy paths can also be far more costly than expected.  There is far more at stake than a single goal.  Our reputation and its impact on our future must also be considered. Take The High Road - A Worthy Plan The error of this episode comes from a partner who (unwittingly) shifted his hard work to me.  While it is not a mistake I made, it is one that I witnessed and shows us consequences.  I gained a client for years that only came through his foolish approach to business and trust.  This story also points to how we approach the delivery of bad news.  Sometimes we over-think the situation, hedge our message, or try to hide it.  In the end, it is often much better to deliver the news directly and clearly.  When we water it down, we show a lack of trust in the recipient.  Thus, we start in a weak position for good communication. The Lesson Learned When we have two paths to take, take the high road.  Honesty and clarity will win out over deception and trickery.  The best client relationships are partners; we cannot have that without trust.  They trusted us enough to hire us in the first place. So why would they suddenly bail out on that trust over disappointing news?  Even if our mistake led to the bad news, it is better to lay things out clearly and avoid getting stuck in a web of deceit. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Project Completion - Cross The Finish Line

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2022 19:28


Project completion is the focus of this episode.  We discuss how to start and implement a solution but ignore finishing.  That changes in this story.  We look at how "moving the goal line" can be expensive and self-defeating.  On the contrary, we are often far better off declaring victory and putting a stake in the ground.  That gives us a solid foundation to build on.  When we do not, we often find ourselves on shifting sand.  That causes delays, overruns, and unneeded frustration. Project Completion - Declare Victory One of the essential facets of the Agile Manifesto is delivering working software.  That seems like something that should go unsaid.  However, we see that being an issue in far too many projects.  When there is a moving goalpost for a milestone or completion that vexes us.  Likewise, it causes delays, confusion and pummels morale.  However, those are just the highlights.  There is much to be gained by declaring something "done" and building on that.  The label and related processes help solidify what we have and stabilizes the solution.  When we delay completion for "small additions," we block our solution from getting to a static and stable state.  It is not different from teasing someone with a gift and constantly taking it away again. The Lesson Learned Stick to the plan.  We have requirements, design, and implementation plans to keep our focus.  That includes Agile projects where we have an undefined number of sprints to get to project completion.  Rather than "sneaking" in scope creep, we need to work towards completion first.  That allows us a better approach to project completion and then a focus on the next phase or version.  We can declare victory, take a deep breath, plan our next moves, and then progress with a fresh mental start.  Never underestimate the value of such milestones. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Timely Billing - Avoid Headaches and Loss

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2022 17:56


We dive into the exciting world of accounting in this episode.  Timely billing is the focus, and a worst-case scenario teaches the lesson.  While the mistake is not directly mine in this story, I was a first-hand witness and deeply involved.  That experience cemented my habit of providing regular status and gave me limits for billing flexibility.  These steps have helped me avoid much loss and frustration over the years. Timely Billing - And Payment Terms Billing is not the only thing we need to do.  There also needs to be follow-up and expectations set for when they should be paid.  When those limits are exceeded, then we must have a plan for proceeding in a risk-appropriate manner.  It is helpful to have in the back of our mind that someone might try to skip out on their bill entirely.  That can be devastating for large write-offs. Therefore, we must stay aware of what we have at risk as we move forward with a project or customer. The Lesson Learned Not all customers are equal, nor are they all ethical.  That can lead to situations where our time is wasted partially or entirely.  When money is paid out to resources, as in this story, we can be out cash and time.  That can devastate a business and even impact how much trust others have in us.  Therefore, we must be as mindful of the commitments others have made to us as we are those we make to others. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Status Reporting - The Simple Solution For Avoiding Big Problems

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2022 16:59


Few things cause excitement like the phrase, "status reporting."  Yes, I know you are already quivering from anticipation, but that is our topic.  This episode looks at how much confusion could have been avoided (and some loss) through better use of this communication form.  Accordingly, this is an excellent lesson to learn early in your career. Status Reporting - Staying on the Same Page The best reason for regular communication in a project is to ensure everyone stays on the same page.  A lack of cohesion in a team is a common reason for failures, over-runs, and low quality.  While status reporting may feel or seem like busy work, it is not.  There is a noticeable value in even the most basic update that provides high-level bullet points.  The typical approach of "What we did," "What we plan," and "Blockers and challenges" can be covered in minutes.  However, the information can save hours, days, or weeks.  The story in this episode is just one such example. The Lesson Learned Project status and plans are the primary measures of progress and milestones.  These combine to give a picture of how things are going and the focus during a given period.  While that may seem vague or unhelpful, it is not.  Status reporting provides a method for refining and clarifying project work before it is too late.  Thus, a failure to keep in touch through the tools is a recipe for disaster. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Smart Scheduling - Including Buffer So It Can Flex

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2022 21:11


Our approach to becoming a better developer requires planning.  Likewise, we need smart scheduling to hit our targets.  That is the focus of this episode.  I look back at a time when I overloaded my schedule and ended up stressing out.  That led to more harm than good in many ways.  Thus, we need to look at building in ways to allow our schedule to be flexible and adjust to life events. Smart Scheduling 101 - Add "Wiggle Room" A rigid structure is more likely to break when it is shown resistance.  Think of a dry spaghetti noodle.  Once you apply pressure, it is likely to break or crack.  However, there are similar things (like a wet noodle) that are flexible and more difficult to break.  Those are examples of how a rigid schedule is more likely to break while less rigidity makes it more likely to last.  While it is nice to be able to fill every block of our calendar, it is also not practical.  Reality forces us to accept that unforeseen events and circumstances arise that must be addressed.  Those either break our schedule or our schedule must allow for them.  Smart scheduling means including space to soak up those unplanned events. The Lesson Learned Missing a planned target can be minor or major.  However, adding stress to almost any activity makes it more draining.  Thus, we are less productive overall when we add stress to our schedule.  That leads to lower quality or other increased costs that are better to avoid. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life." Edited with BlogPad Pro

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

There are many mistakes we make related to pushing too far or not pushing enough.  The latter is where we make good the enemy of better.  More precisely, good enough becomes our goal instead of getting better.  That approach can be comfortable.  However, it can also limit our growth professionally and personally.  This episode shares a story where I limited myself regularly shooting for a goal that was good rather than better.  While we can take the "win" and move on, there are more times we should aim higher. Good The Enemy of Better - Limiting Growth The idea of perfect as the enemy of good and pushing too hard has been discussed in other episodes.  Those situations have us trying too much for perfection and missing out on the return on investment.  The effort is not always worth the cost and subsequent payoff.  For example, this situation is on one end of the spectrum.  We can aim too low and hit our target perfectly.  However, that has limited use.  At some point, we need to push to improve and grow.  Otherwise, we will start to stagnate and fade.  It is not just a cute saying that when we stop to grow, we begin to die. The example of this episode provides one of the most common ways I have seen this appear in careers.  We have a hard time arguing strong enough for our skills and worth and end up shooting too low.  A good book on negotiation tactics would be an excellent start in fixing this oversight.  The "Donald Trump" over-the-top approach may annoy people, but it is a valuable way to get the best deal.  When you start by positioning yourself as the best for a job, it makes sense to look for better compensation than average. The Lesson Learned In this situation, I learned that I need to be intentional about how I grow my worth and business.  We will not get more unless we ask for more.  That includes that we need to push ourselves and avoid settling for how things have been.  While this episode focuses on compensation, it also is vital for assignments, titles, and responsibilities.  These are all the ways we grow professionally.  Thus, we need to look for ways to ask for more and push ourselves to gain that desired objective. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life." Edited with BlogPad Pro

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Proving Your Worth - Understand Expectations

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2022 21:00


It is not at all uncommon to focus on proving your worth when you start a new job or enter a new environment.  However, we expect more than others.  We often make the mistake of thinking we are expected to know everything.  That is not the case.  In fact, we are rarely likely to know much in the early days of a new job.  That is why many companies have training and orientation programs for new hires.  While there is typically not the same formal process when we move to a new team, there are still the same needs.  It is a "rookie mistake" to think you are expected to hit the ground running at 100%.  Your best days are ahead of you, not those first days and weeks in a new position. Proving Your Worth - You Did It Already First and foremost, it is essential to note that you have already proved yourself on some level.  You landed that new position.  That means someone decided you are worthy of this opportunity.  While it is not uncommon to worry about being fired in the first week, that rarely happens.  As long as you did not lie heavily through the hiring process, you will still have a job at the end of the week. The Lesson Learned We see this mistake often with people new to a job.  However, it is rare to see someone tossed out due to a lack of skills or knowledge (at least not until a lot of time has passed).  Think about how you view someone new to a job.  You do not expect them to have supernatural knowledge of the team and insider discussions.  Thus, why would you worry that others would expect that of you?  Do not hesitate to ask questions sooner rather than later.  That is an excellent way of proving your worth through learning quickly rather than knowing things from the start.  Learning is a better skill than raw knowledge in almost every case. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Differences In Perception - A Stupid Bet

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2022 17:47


There are many fights and arguments that start from differences in perception.  Whether it is the line-of-sight, angle, or bias, we have differing views.  These can cause reasonable people to take starkly different positions on a subject.  While those are honest differences, they are also essential to note.  Sometimes an argument can be avoided by one of the parties looking at the issue from a different perspective.  We must realize these differences exist and work with them rather than digging in our heels. Differences in Perception and Perspectives Perspective has a more significant impact on our decisions and positions than most expect.  We think we see things how they are and can be adamant about it.  However, we all have obstructions and blind spots that can lead us astray.  We also have assumptions and biases that we do not always recognize.  Those can get us into foolish situations where we trust our perspective too much.  Those differing perspectives can lead to substantial differences in perception.  The wise approach is to assess other views and embrace our limits.  That approach allows us to see things more clearly. The Lesson Learned The story shared in this episode is a master class in how our perspective can color our response to a situation.  Vision and the physical world are just the tip of the iceberg for this lesson.  We can see all manner of situations, from brainwashing to assumptions to bigotry, that lead us in the wrong direction.  We sometimes even preach to others about their blind spots while overlooking ours.  Unfortunately, there is no 360-degree view available for a single person.   Therefore, we must rely on others to help craft a complete and realistic view of any situation. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Mistakes In The Cloud - Know Where Things Live

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2022 16:09


Modern technology is the focus of this episode as we look at mistakes in the cloud.  You can impact a lot of people with a simple error.  That is why you need to be aware of what these new tools do and how to use them properly.  For example, backups are great unless you manage to delete them all.  Likewise, file sharing is excellent.  However, it can lead to one person disrupting the work of your entire team.  These cloud-related tools take the reply-all option in emails from a minor nuisance to a potentially crippling obstacle. Mistakes In The Cloud Are Common First and foremost, know that the easy accessibility of these tools can be a problem.  They tend to work in the background and without many, if any, notifications.  Even worse, users often silence any notifications from these tools because they can be annoying.  There is training, and many tools have safeguards.  However, losses can be time-consuming and unwanted modifications can be hard to roll back.  We all have clicked "send" or some other action a second too soon and regretted it.  Cloud-based tools and services offer an opportunity for more of those families of mistakes. The Lesson Learned Avoid mass actions without first testing the action on a smaller scale.  It may cost more time to try the action first but avoiding a big mistake is worth the investment.  The time saved to roll back an error across many files or records can be substantial.  Start with one or two files the next time you plan on moving or deleting an entire folder.  Verify the results and then move on to that mass action.  It is the modern equivalent of measuring twice and cutting once. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
A Positive Attitude and Finding Hidden Gems

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2022 23:02


Sometimes a story is full of lessons without having a well-defined core.  There are many players, and the successful have a positive attitude.  This trend supersedes mistakes, errors, and even bad luck.  We look at one of those complex situations in this episode.  There are many mistakes made, and they all are overcome by being focused on success rather than listing ways we can fail. A Positive Attitude In The Face Of Adversity This story does not start with a situation and players that lead one to expect success.  On the contrary, this seems like a recipe for disaster.  Likewise, abject failure would not be a surprise and was likely expected by many.  The difference-maker in this story is that positive attitude.  A few people decided it was worth giving a full and honest effort to the cause.  Those decisions made the difference between success and failure. The Lesson Learned I have to admit that I did not have high hopes for this situation.  I was often considering ways to limit damage and craft contingency plans.  Nevertheless, I pushed aside those doubts and got the team to decide to give it a chance.  That was all it took.  We were pleasantly surprised at how our challenge turned into a shining success.  Likewise, we found a sort of gem in the rough that sparkled brightly once it was polished up.  Therefore, sometimes a challenging path is the key to glowing success.  Do not be afraid to step into such challenges with confidence and optimism. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Trust But Verify - Avoid Business Assumptions

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2022 20:51


There are multiple lessons to learn from this little debacle of a story. However, trust but verify seems to be the best summation. We have to assume a lot in business. There are levels of acceptance and expectance both from vendors and customers. While those base metrics can be helpful, they are not always guaranteed. Logically Skeptical - Trust But Verify The challenge with some of the rules mentioned above of thumb is that they can be used against us. The effect is not much different from other forms of "surprise" negotiation tactics. These are the attempts to get us on our heels just when we think we made it across the finish line. We have pointed to protective measures against such tactics by setting hard limits in your mind before you step into those situations. However, you can let down your guard once you think you have won or finished the negotiation. Just be sure you do not let your desire to be done override those limits you may have set earlier. The Lesson Learned This example was one where the mistake was almost more on their end than mine. I had a set limit and had come to an agreement. That made it easy for me to "stick to my guns" and not allow the numbers to change. However, it did end up being a situation where no one "won" because I had to go back to the start of finding a vendor I could use. I was fortunate that it worked out without any significant setbacks. If I had held a backup plan in my back pocket, it would have been safer. Fortunately, I did not suffer consequences from this particular oversight.  If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Know Who You Work For - Lines Are Not Always Clear

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2022 21:13


Clarity and communication are common themes in our improvement episodes. Those are most important when you need to know who you work for. Which master do you serve? The mistake highlighted this time is among many in a situation gone wrong. It also shows how some oversights or missteps can open the door to significant consequences. It does not hurt to be cautious in the modern business world. Things can change quickly. Important Clarification - Know Who You Work For There are competing goals and objectives even within companies. When you add on top of that all of the politics and maneuvering that exists in many environments, things can get complicated. Even more important, your boss is not always the one that signs your check. You may have customers or other influencers in the supply chain that you need to serve. You can not make everyone happy all the time. Therefore, make sure there is clarity about who you work for so you can keep them happy at least. The Lesson Learned The best professionals find ways to avoid conflicts as much as possible. They wait patiently and avoid stepping into minefields. Unfortunately, that is not always possible, nor are the minefields evident in all situations. This lesson is one like others we have seen. Make sure you understand where you stand and what your limits are. That includes how much you are allowed to impact a situation. Sometimes the best way to make progress is to accept a meandering path. Also, sometimes you must realize you are a follower, not a leader.   If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Admitting Defeat - Moving Forward And Accepting The Loss

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2022 15:13


In a season about growing from errors and mistakes, it seems that an episode about admitting defeat is required.  We cannot stay stationary and make progress.  This concept holds for individual situations and group decisions like the one we examine.  That is why some things in life clearly defined as a win or loss (a sports match, for example) are a blessing.  We have no real choice other than to move forward.  Yes, we can languish in the loss and try to reverse it.  However, it is an exercise in futility that forces us sooner or later to accept reality. Admitting Defeat Is Necessary One of the key ingredients to learning from a mistake is recognizing it as such.  That is something I have bumped into many times.  Someone "gets lucky," and a mistake still results in a successful result.  They then decide the error was a good thing, and they continue to make it.  Eventually, things add up, and now you might have a habit to reverse rather than a simple mistake.  When we have a clearly defined loss, we are forced to examine it and look for ways to win the next time.  For example, watch athletes and coaches that constantly blame the officials for their losses.  They never seem to improve.  They are effectively reinforcing bad habits. The Lesson Learned No one likes a sore loser.  Like it or not, that is how you will be viewed when you refuse to move forward from a loss.  All of the complaining and excuses and even finger-pointing end up looking like whining.  Own your mistakes and losses, and then look for ways to turn them around.  You gain more than the respect of those around you.  You take a step closer to victory the next time. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Clearly Defined Objectives - It Is A Mistake To Not Ask Questions

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2022 25:44


This episode of learning from mistakes focuses on clearly defined objectives.  The error highlights what can go wrong when we fail to have them.  We also see these same potential issues pop up when we have weakly defined requirements.  Finally, there is a need to communicate all of this as well.  When we don't know what we don't know, many things other than hilarity ensue. Clearly Defined Objectives Are Needed Through Our Daily Life There are many ways to fall for this lack of clarity.  One of the most common ones is to fall back on labels and similar mechanisms.  There are many opportunities in life to communicate an idea through a generalization and send the wrong message.  Some of the best examples point to grammar mistakes.  However, labels and painting with a broad brush achieve the same result.  Just think of a simple title like a manager.  It can be used in many situations but is vastly different in reality.  For example, do you think a manager at a fast-food restaurant is professionally anywhere near in skillset a manager for a professional sports team?  Is an office manager the same as a people manager?  They are not.  However, we can use that simple word in all of the above situations.   The Lesson Learned The situation described in this issue was a big loss in a way.  The initial decision was swept away because of the way it was executed.  However, it did work out once the approach was switched to one that was clear and direct.  While the mistake was not erased, a path forward was created that allowed everyone to put it behind them.  Keep that in mind when you are struggling with clearly defined objectives.  The solution can be a clarification away.  If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Testing Your Backups - Disaster Recovery Requires Verification

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2022 21:56


There are a few times I have been taught the value of testing your backups.  That is why even disaster recovery needs to be validated.  The first story I share is probably a worst-case scenario.  However, it can happen, so we need to be aware of failure points.  We must validate our backups regularly to ensure the process we are counting on is there when we need it. Testing Your Backups Before They Are Needed There are many ways to test backups and our disaster recovery plan.  We can do the extreme version, cut power to the required systems, and attempt to replace them via the procedure.  However, that may not be needed.  We may be able to do partial testing and ensure we can restore or copy the required files.  Even simple things like an automated update process can cause issues with our plan.  Therefore, we need to test regularly and ensure we keep the component parts updated and ready for use. Outliers and False Comfort It is easy to fall into a false sense of comfort about your strategy.  That is where the second story comes in.  Do not assume that your process working last month means it is still working this month.  Likewise, ensure outliers such as systems, applications, or files that are rarely (if ever) used are included in the backups.  I know of several situations where all was well until it was determined that some long-ago created file was lost or corrupted.  Then they found out that the file or system was not covered in the DR plan.  Even a simple act of rebooting a system has caused loss, and when that system was not backed up properly, it was a painful loss. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Sweeping Consequences - Avoid All In Until You Are Sure

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2022 17:38


There is an old joke about sweeping consequences in IT related to wildcard commands like "rm -rf *."  However, there are ways to avoid getting bit by them. For example, we can do test runs and subset queries before doing the real thing.  While it is undoubtedly faster to rip off one of those commands, it is also dangerous.  This episode looks into some tricks of the trade I learned after countless times of being tripped up by this concept. Sometimes Easy Creates Sweeping Consequences A database is the best tool for examples of doing something quick and dirty that ends up costly.  We can see this even with resource usage before more significant effects like data loss or corruption.  The old SQL command of "SELECT * FROM ..." is one of the first many people learn and the biggest culprit.  We do not see any problem with a table with a few rows.  However, once we move to millions of rows, we can quickly turn this quick call into a time-consuming one that ties up a lot of resources.  Even worse, we can add a join or two without constraints and bring a system to its knees.  It is easier to grab all the columns for a quick browse, but that can also drain more resources than desired. Check Your Expectations The database example is nice and clean because we can always add limiting constraints or do counts of result size.  These tools allow us to validate our query meets our expectations without fully running the query.  For example, we can do a select before a delete is run and ensure that the records we will delete are the ones we desire to remove.  Likewise, we can select before we update.  We can also do smaller selects to determine the result set size before joining those queries.  These are just a few examples; we can apply this to our other coding efforts and most life situations. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
A Car Sale - Acceptable Loss And Walking Away

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2022 20:02


We continue the series about errors and recovering with an excellent example of acceptable loss and when to walk away.  We see these appear in negotiations regularly.  They are shown in movies, television shows, and in real life.  We walk away regularly without even realizing it. So yes, when you decide not to purchase an item or enter a store because of products or pricing, you are walking away from the negotiation. Determine Acceptable Loss Up Front The key to being able to walk away from any negotiation is to determine your breaking point beforehand.  This preparation allows us to detach emotion from the negotiation and have a way to hold ourselves accountable.  It can prompt the internal conversation of "I thought we would not accept that..."  That one can be a lifeline when emotions start to kick in.  Likewise, we can create a list of wants/needs to help us avoid giving in to speed up the process or prevent conflict.  Those are all "tricks" used by good negotiators. Good After Bad We all have a built-in desire to avoid loss.  That is why the idea of having invested too much to stop investing in a person or project is a common pitfall.  We have this false equivalence of thinking we can invest more in a loss and turn it into a win.  Likewise, we often make the mistake of thinking we have spent so much we have to continue.  Our point of no return needs to be set before starting a project.  That is why this story works so well.  I could have quickly decided that my time was worth X dollars.  THen, when faced with a change in value, I would have had a hard line to measure against.  These bad habits involve emotion and can be avoided if we think them through beforehand. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Key Performance Indicators - Measure Your Spending

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2022 18:32


This episode looks at a marketing campaign and my lack of paying based on key performance indicators or KPIs.  This was a slightly costly mistake and, thus, one that sticks in my memory.  The mistakes that cause us some level of pain are also the easiest to remember. However, that is not the only lesson to learn from this past mistake. KPI - Key Performance Indicators Any form of sales or marketing campaign can be a black box when we do not set KPI values.  There must be a way to measure success (or failure), and our metrics are the key performance indicators.  For example, most advertising campaigns focus on clicks or leads for a measure of potential additional sales.  Likewise, there is a KPI referred to as impressions that is to measure how many people see the ad. Pay On Delivery The most significant challenge in any transaction is matching delivery and payment.  You can see this on e-bay and Etsy sales, among other similar sites.  We want to ensure that we get what we pay for or are paid for our product/service.  However, we can take a "trust them" stance and pay upfront or provide a service before payment.  Those options allow us to get burned, and I was in this case.  Trust is something to be earned.  Therefore, we should avoid cash upfront situations unless we have reason to trust the other party. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Ask Questions To Show Knowledge - A Bad Interview

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2022 22:51


In this episode, our trip down memory lane stops at my first professional interview and when I learned to ask questions.  It is thought by many that those that know never ask.  However, that is far from the truth.  There are always details to be learned.  Likewise, good questions can impress others in an interview or other assessment situation.  Smart people still ask questions; they ask insightful ones. You Provide Insight When You Ask Questions This story is about an interview, and that is the number one situation in our lives where we want to provide a lot of information in a short period.  A good interview goes deep quickly and gives the audience a chance to understand us to some degree, not simply meet us.  Therefore,  everything we say or do not say will be used to evaluate some facet of our personality, skills, and drive.  While that can be stressful, it should also help us realize that we need to be focused and intentional.  Research is helpful before we go into an interview and can alleviate some of our worries.  On the other hand, we cannot use what we learn to short circuit the interview process.  Instead, we need to use that to go deeper. Learn What To Ask All of this may seem confusing and even counterintuitive.  Thus, it helps to simplify the recommendation.  The goal of an interview is to get both parties to understand each other better in a short time.  Research about the others and related organizations can help you get past surface "get to know you" items.  Do not use that to shorten the interview.  Instead, use that time to ask more probing or leading questions.  A simple example is if you know the interviewer will be your manager, you can skip talking about that arrangement and instead ask about their management style.  What you know can save time on introductions.  Then you get to talk about meatier topics and discussions that will help both sides of the table. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Acceptable Risk - A Bike Trick Gone Bad

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2022 19:32


We look at another childhood error and its somewhat humorous result as an example of how to plan for acceptable risk.  We often think of that as something where you are willing to pay the price.  However, we also need to examine mitigating the consequences to where they are acceptable.  It is sort of like placing a monetary bet.  There is a limit we can lose, but maybe a side bet will help reduce the overall loss.  Precautions And Acceptable Risk Preventive action is an excellent way to adjust acceptable risk.  We see examples of this in beta testing and limited releases in the business world.  Yes, the product may fail. But, on the other hand, we have less invested and less potential for negative backlash.  That allows us to push out a new product and consider it an acceptable risk rather than delay release or continue to redesign or refine it.  Testing Theories and Risks Momentum is so often an underlying item of concern in our discussions.  This story is no different.  Sometimes the best way to approach a novel idea is incremental.  That allows us to verify our assumptions without building as much momentum and even limiting potential loss or harm.  However, sometimes we have to reach certain minimums of progress or speed to provide a proper test of our idea.  We can't attempt to jump over a portion of a gap.  Likewise, testing the result of an impact is useless if the impact is so slow as to be unnoticeable. Nevertheless, we can take incremental steps towards our solution.  They need to be adequately sized to be effective. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
A Painful Step - Situational Awareness

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2022 16:47


A lack of situational awareness is just one of many youthful mistakes we make.  Yet, it is the root of tons of lessons.  We see it as children shining they are immortal in some way.  However, sometimes there is just a misunderstanding of risks involved in actions or environments.  Some of these same mistakes can hit us much later in life and come from incorrect assumptions. Situational Awareness Cures Many Ills Sun Tzu points out in "The Art of War" that the best way to win a battle is to avoid it.  Life is full of similar situations.  We are often faced with a challenge that is best avoided.  That is why we spend so much time and money on preventative medicine and other precautions.  Why deal with consequences when you can avoid the source event or action instead? Take A Breath And Pause A scene that often occurs in action movies is a sort of calm before the storm.  The hero or heroes are overlooking the enemy territory or compound.  Then we have some sort of planning scene or montage.  A great example of this is the 80's TV show the "A-Team" where there was always a pre-battle planning frenzy.  We need to do something like this on a regular basis in our lives.  When we take a few moments to gather ourselves we avoid rookie mistakes."  This process may include running through a checklist or simply surveying the path(s) ahead.  In any case, those moments taken to pause and plan can often be a highly valuable investment. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
When I Died - Rushing In And Lack Of Caution

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2022 20:37


This episode covers one of the more dramatic points of my youth where a lack of caution lead to me being declared dead.  However, the declaration was hardly from a medical professional.  Nevertheless, the impact to others was a lesson in itself to consider the source for any messages.  I digress, this focus is on the initial mistake and rushing forward without proper analysis. Lack Of Caution Can Lead You Over A Cliff We often talk about momentum and how that can work in our favor.  However, it can also work against us.  Boxers and similar fighters will tell you how you must maintain balance and not over extend.  History is also full of examples of momentum gone too far.  The day I got stuck and fell out of a tree is a nice and concise example of realizing too late that you crossed a line you did not want to.  There are countless areas in life where this applies. Proper Level Of Analysis There is another side to this where we spend too much time analyzing and then we lose windows of opportunity.  Thus, we have to find that "happy medium" where we are able to see far enough ahead to avoid potholes.  There is also a level of risk we need to be aware of.  We will have times of clear sailing that allow us to run ahead at full steam.  Likewise, there are dark and cloudy times where we need to slow down and proceed with caution.  A lack of caution in those latter situations can cause needless pain and suffering.  The trick is to be aware of your environment and whether it is safe or requires caution. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

We explore another auto-related mistake in my past in this episode to spend time discussing a need to highlight features.  In fact, an argument can be made that unknown features are not features at all.  For example, I can give you ten dollars, but if I do so by hiding where it cannot be found that is not helpful.  Am I even giving you anything in that case? Highlight Features, Users Want To Know The feature in our story of a handicapped parking space is one we expect all parking lots to have.  However, it is only useful when people know where those spots are.  While the story has a special situation that hides the feature, I have seen plenty of similar situations where these spots are poorly marked at best.  Thus, it becomes too easy for that feature to be lost to those that can use it.  This same situation occurs at times with VIP or other parking spots/areas that are not marked well.  People that might want or need to use the feature miss out because they do not know how to access it.  When we create a feature for our customers, we need to make sure they are notified of its existence. Make The Work Matter Every feature big and small requires effort.  There is planning, design, implementation, and testing that goes into every feature.  It makes no sense to use those resources on a feature only to see it never get used.  We need to consider communication through navigation, notifications, and other methods.  Thus, our users can easily determine where and how to use the features we provide.  When we fail to highlight features we might as well have never created them. If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
A Stolen Car : Playing The Odds And Question Everything

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2022 19:26


This episode is a tale that shows us that we should question everything.  Yes, even our assumptions.  Actually, our assumptions first.  We have so many sources of information available and yet we still tend to rely on only a few.  Whether that is our point-of-view or intelligence gained from "reliable sources", we give them too much credit.  Everyone makes mistakes and resting too much on an error can be a recipe for disaster. Question Everything - Even Your Givens When we talked about anti-patterns, we saw that a lack of facts could lead us down the wrong path.  This situation often came from a lack of reliable communication.  We could also see it when the requirements were not properly or fully defined.  This obstacle does not stick to software design.  It can appear in nearly every decision and problem-solving situation.  That is at the core of the idea of the fog of war and how it impacts decisions.  We have that "fog" throughout our lives and often do not realize it. New Paths And Avoid Embarrassment When we put aside assumptions we open up new paths for a solution.  The story I share is a good example of assumptions blocking us from a good solution.  When we shut our options down, we may end up forcing a complicated or wrong solution.  Instead, we need to know when we are ready to question everything and find alternate paths to our destination.   If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
A Mistake In Choosing A Major - Prepare For Meetings

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2022 21:03


The first mistake I want to share in this season is when I chose a major in college. While I was young and naive, it still is a teachable moment to prepare for meetings. This incident was not my last mistake around meetings. However, it is a good launching point for those further discussions. The error covered here is also one that may set the stage for later mistakes.  We will discuss those as the season progresses. Prepare For Meetings Large and Small No meeting is too small. That mantra can help you avoid all sorts of mistakes in life. I have found that we often discount a meeting or discussion, fail to prepare, and then wish we could get a do-over. This situation is not just one that occurs in business. How often has your personal life included a flippant or off-the-cuff remark that set the wrong tone? When we over-prepare, we will not regret it as much as when we under prepare. But, of course, that also means we should be confident enough to cancel or reschedule when we realize we are not adequately prepared. Decisions Matter While we focus on our need to prepare for meetings, there is also the idea of decisions making a difference. We may be asked our opinion or select a path without realizing it. Maybe this episode will help keep us all more alert as to when we are being asked to make a choice. The roads we do not travel are almost as important as the ones that we do.   If you like this season, you will probably like Scott Adams' book, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life."

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
Using Failures To Gain Success - The Season 17 Overview

Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2022 15:52


We start season 17 with an overview of what to expect. This season will focus on using failures to gain success. Too much is made of the road to success without pointing out the learning that got someone there. The stories of this season will hopefully provide more examples of how a failure or mistake was just part of the journey to success. The Source Of Using Failures To Gain Success Scott Adams wrote a book called "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life" that narrates us through many missteps on his way to success. There is a chapter where he lists a lot of mistakes and some of substantial size. That is where I saw the topics for this season start to line up. So many situations could have been seen as only a setback instead of a stepping stone for later success. I think a positive attitude towards our challenges is in itself the key to success. Learn From Our Mistakes  It is common to hear about how we should learn from our mistakes. However, there are not enough specific examples in self-help books or other guides to success. While each of us has our strengths and weaknesses, there are many lessons learned that we can share. The goal for these episodes is to point out such situations and a "moral to the story" for each. These are not to the level of "Aesop's Fables" but are also more modern and specific in nature.

YAP - Young and Profiting
#YAPClassic: The Art of Persuasion with Scott Adams

YAP - Young and Profiting

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2022 47:55


Persuasion is arguably the most important skill you can have. It plays a role in everything we do from negotiations and conversations to our understanding of the world through news and media.   If you know how to be persuasive you can grow your business, get what you want, and even avoid being persuaded yourself.   Scott Adams, most well known as the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, is a master persuader. He has spent years studying persuasion and is the author of the New York Times Best-Seller, Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter. Scott's ideas about influence and the techniques he shares will help you achieve success in all aspects of your life.   In this episode, Hala and Scott talk about persuasion tools that work in any setting, why talent stacking is crucial to success, persuasion in politics, the power of fear, why visuals influence better than concepts, utilizing hyperbole, and ​​how we can dodge persuasion and become independent thinkers.  Topics Include: - Luck's role in success - Talent stacking  - Scott's transition from cartoonist to master persuader  - Advice for people trying to “figure it out” - Human beings as fundamentally irrational  - Persuasion in politics  - Types of biases - The dangers of the “Team Filter” - People as “pattern recognition machines” - Confirmation bias - Mass delusions: why they occur and examples  - The role of fear in persuasion  - Examples of fear in the 2016 election  - The power of visuals - Examples of Trump's visual campaign - Oral persuasion strategies - Trump's use of hyperbole - Branding and the “Linguistic Kill Shot” - Using fear and hyperbole in the workplace - “Thinking past the sale” - “Contrast” definition and examples - Why talent stacking is crucial to success  - How to protect ourselves from being persuaded - And other topics…  Scott Adams is an author and cartoonist. He is most widely known as the creator of the Dilbert comic strip. Scott is also the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business including the books Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter, Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America, and How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life.  He is the host of the podcast Real Coffee with Scott Adams. Sponsored By: Jordan Harbinger - Check out jordanharbinger.com/start for some episode recommendations Grin.co - Find out how GRIN can help you grow your brand. Watch the demo at GRIN.co 99 Designs - Head to 99designs.com/YAP to learn more and get $30 off your first design contest! Peloton - Visit onepeloton.com to learn more. Athletic Greens - Visit athleticgreens.com/YAP and get FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Resources Mentioned:  YAP Episode #38 - The Persuasion Playbook with Scott Adams: https://www.youngandprofiting.com/38-the-persuasion-playbook-with-scott-adams/  Scott's Websites: https://www.scottadamssays.com/, https://dilbert.com/  Win Bigly by Scott Adams: https://www.amazon.com/Win-Bigly-Persuasion-World-Matter/dp/0735219710  Loser Think by Scott Adams: https://www.amazon.com/Loserthink-Untrained-Brains-Ruining-America/dp/0593083520  How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams: https://www.amazon.com/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still/dp/1591847745/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottAdamsSays  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScottAdamsOfficial  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottadams925/ Real Coffee with Scott Adams Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/realcoffeewithscottadams  Connect with Young and Profiting: YAP's Instagram: www.instagram.com/youngandprofiting   Hala's Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/htaha/   Hala's Instagram: www.instagram.com/yapwithhala   Website: www.youngandprofiting.com

Smarter Every Season
38: Chatting Culture with Justin Kauffman

Smarter Every Season

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2022 70:34


It is a full house in this episode when General Manager Justin Kauffman stops by to talk with the Smarter Every Season crew. The bulk of the conversation focuses on culture and, more specifically, answers questions like: Why is culture so important? How do you establish a culture? What is the role of a leader in fostering culture and making sure it is healthy? What does Justin feel has worked well for Precision Planting when defining and implementing a culture? Later in the conversation, Justin gives his book recommendations, the SES crew checks in on his home life, and Justin touches on what's next for his career. A list of book recommendations discussed in this episode: The Culture Blueprint: A Guide to Building the High-Performance Workplace by Robert Richman The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M. R. Covey No Rules Rules:  NETFLIX AND THE CULTURE OF REINVENTION by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams Multiple book recommendations included by Chip and Dan Heath

Status Post Adulting

Check out our sponsor, the jewelry company Ana Luisa! Use promo code: STATUSPOSTADULTING for 10% off their beautiful pieces. Link: https://shop.analuisa.com/statuspostadultingSammie and Michelle take a deep dive into the difference between systems and goals. They talk about why it's important to know what distinguishes the two and how to optimize your systems to better reach your goals.  Show Notes:Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott AdamsZebra Cakes Partner: Ana Luisa Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth Status Post Adulting Old Episodes Mentioned:#45: Calculating Your Savings Rate #46: Habit StackingCheck out our sponsor Ana Luisa! Use promo code: STATUSPOSTADULTING for 10% offhttps://shop.analuisa.com/statuspostadultingStatus Post Adulting Instagram: @statuspostadultingStatus Post Adulting Email: statuspostadulting@gmail.comFind all show notes at statuspostadulting.com

Bookey App 30 mins Book Summaries Knowledge Notes and More
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams

Bookey App 30 mins Book Summaries Knowledge Notes and More

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2021 11:34


Today we will unlock the book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. This book gives a complete set of methods for ordinary people to turn the tables successfully. Its core philosophy is: successful people do not hope to succeed; they decide to pursue success, and in order to truly succeed, they need a system. This book provides a new set of secrets to become successful.

Fain & Simplu Podcast
CE FACEM CU ROMÂNIA? FLORIN CÎȚU. PRIMUL PODCAST CU PREMIERUL | Fain & Simplu cu Mihai Morar 021

Fain & Simplu Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2021 107:20


Acesta este primul Podcast cu Premierul României, Florin Cîțu. Mihai Morar crede că vremurile complicate au nevoie de conersații faine și simple. Și cum cafeaua este cea mai scurtă cale între doi oameni, iar primul ministru are o pasiune pentru cafeaua de specialitate, conversația a început relaxat, la un slow coffee. Florin Cîțu a vorbit cu calm atât despre povestea personală, despre determinarea și motivația care duc la o continuă evoluție, dar și despre valorile în care crede: libertate, încredere, relaxare. Pentru a pătrunde în lumea omului de finanțe care își dorește să fie judecat după ceea ce face, nu după ceea ce spune, iată cărțile recomandate de Florin Cîțu:Startegy – Lawrence FreedmanEscaping Paternalism: Rationality, Behavioral Economics, and Public Policy - Glen Whitman și Mario RizzoThe Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense - Gad SaadThe Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge - Matt RidleyAntifragile – Nassim Nicholas TalebSkin in The Game - Nassim Nicholas TalebHow to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life – Scott Adams

ChooseFI
299 | What's Stopping You from Reaching FI?

ChooseFI

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2021 76:10


It's ChooseFI's first live radio show! Recorded live on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm Eastern using an app called Stereo, the live shows will be replayed for the Friday Roundup episode. The topic of this interactive live show is: “What is stopping you from reaching financial independence?”. Lorraine has a question about allocation and investing in one of Vanguard’s funds like VTI or VTSAX but the answer is situation-dependent. It’s important o know the investing timeline Lorraine is looking at, but hopefully, it’s investing for the long-term. Investing for the long-term provides for the highest likelihood of success. However, it’s money needed for something critical like an emergency fund, maybe consider keeping what you need in a savings account and investing the rest. Other factors to consider are risk tolerance, net worth, job security, and whether you have an emergency fund. How sacred you were in March is a good indicator of your risk tolerance. The right allocation will allow you to sleep at night, be confident in your plan, and stay the course. The best thing to do is take action and get invested without getting hung up on the details. Keeping your expenses low with low-cost broad-based index funds, like total stock market or S&P 500 index funds, make a significant difference over your investing lifetime. Getting to the point where you can make work optional can often seem like luck. However, the FI community believes we have the power to impact change in our lives and in our communities. Taking small actions to optimize and seeing that you can still live a life without a feeling of deprivation becomes a motivating positive feedback loop. No matter how much you earn, the message of FI can be valuable. If you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, it doesn’t matter how much you earn. You need some amount of gap between what you earn and what you spend. Growing the gap by cutting expenses is usually the most effective place to start, but you can widen the gap by earning more as well. It doesn’t mean going back to school or taking on a second job delivering pizzas. One way to increase your income is by negotiating your salary. If you research the highest paying professions, the search leads to a list of six-figure careers, however, the return on investment in these career paths is not what it seems. They may require a significant number of years in school and the student loan debt that goes along with it. Today it’s possible to skip a degree program in favor of a certificate program and land a high-paying job in less time and at less expense. Matthew has been listening to the show for about six months. One question he’s had is how people are retiring early when you cannot withdraw from retirement accounts without a penalty until you reach the age of 59.5. There are strategies for investing in retirement accounts where it goes in tax-free, grows tax-free, and is withdrawn tax-free ahead of the traditional retirement age. Investing in something like a traditional 401K account lowers your taxable income and gives you a current tax deduction. Once you reach FI and decide to not work anymore and are living off savings, you are earning $0. You can at that time pull take money from your 401k and convert it into a Roth IRA, an after-tax account, in a process known as a Roth IRA Conversion Ladder. The conversion is a taxable event, however, your earned income is $0 so the only amount subject to tax is what you convert. Even then, the total amount won’t be taxed. You can still take the standard deduction and only be taxed on the remainder at the lowest possible marginal tax rate. The account will then grow tax-free. Another method to access 401K retirement funds a few years earlier is with Rule of 55. One listener wants to know what other podcasters or influencers Brad and Jonathan follow. Brad’s long-time favorite is The Tim Ferris Show, Dr. Peter Attia’s The Drive, and Naval. Jonathan’s podcast listening tends to be focused on what will help build his talent stack. On YouTube, he likes Real Coffee with Scott Adams. The book by Scott Adams, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, had helped Jonathan change his mindset. He went from fearing failure, to understanding there is a process and failure is completely fine. Brad thinks the best podcast that exists is Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. Listener Josh left a voicemail saying the episode featuring the Millionaire Educator and the mentality of keeping money on your side of the ledger was one of the most impactful shows for him. The Millionaire Educator learned the rules and used them to his advantage to reduce his tax rate to zero. When the question of dream podcast guests came up, Jonathan says he’s going to reach out to Scott Adams, while Brad’s dream guest would be Mark Cuban for his open-minded and entrepreneurial spirit. Send in your ideas for who you’d like to hear on the show. The next voicemail asked when is the best to move from 100% equities to bonds if you are about halfway to FI. Jonathan projects he’ll be at FI within 10 years and currently doesn’t have anything in bonds. He thinks he would make the move to become more conservative once he has a clear exit date in mind, such as within five years. The conventional split is 60% stocks and 40% bonds, but it should match your risk tolerance. Brad mentioned that Big Ern discussed how paying off your mortgage is an alternative to holding bonds in your portfolio. Although Brad has reached FI, he doesn’t have any bonds either. He thinks a young adult with a long time horizon, equities have the highest likelihood for maximizing net worth. If you can reduce your structural expenses at the point of retirement, it could act as a substitute for having bonds. Passive income is another alternative. Jonathan is currently allowing his equities to continue to grow, but before he retires, he will pay off his mortgage and get rid of that structural expense. Resources Mentioned In Today’s Conversation Join the live show at ChooseFI.com/live. ChooseFI Episode 147 Negotiate Your Salary with Tori Dunlap ChooseFI Episode 211 How to Negotiate Your Salary Without Burning Bridges with Financial Mechanic Learn more about the Roth IRA Conversion Ladder. ChooseFI Episode 297 From Pandemic Layoff to 100K+ | A Salesforce Success Story Find out more about the Salesforce 5-Day Challenge. The Tim Ferris Show The Drive Nav.al Real Coffee with Scott Adams How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams Armchair Expert The Prof G Show ChooseFI Episode 013 The Unfair (FI) Advantage of Teachers | 457(b) ChooseFI Episode 019 The Stock Series Part 1 JL Collins ChooseFI Episode 066 The Emergency Fund…Is it a Bad Idea? | Big Ern ChooseFI Episode 035 Sequence of Return Risk | Big Ern Early Retirement Now: Why We Will Not Have a Mortgage in Early Retirement If You Want To Support ChooseFI: Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI’s 3-card credit card strategy.  Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.      

ChooseFI
265 | Talent Stacker

ChooseFI

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2020 51:21


What's in your talent stack? Inspired by content discovered over the last four years while producing ChooseFI, Jonathan has spent the last couple of months hard at work on the side on a new passion project. As said many times here on the show, financial independence isn't about doing less, like sitting on a beach sipping cocktails. It's about aligning your what you value with your life and having the freedom to pursue what you are passionate about. ChooseFI has given Jonathan the opportunity to look at and do better with his personal finances, but it's also helped him realize that he loves to work hard, but not necessarily for a paycheck. He'll work twice as hard when it aligns with his interests, passions, autonomy, mastery, and purpose. While Jonathan has not reached FI, he does have all the benefits of it. FI is not binary because the benefits of FI start accruing from Day one. Time is your precious non-retable resource. You can stick your head in the sand and gut things out until reaching FI, or look around and see what other options we can create for ourselves that bring more joy, autonomy, mastery, and purpose. When you find that your ladder is leaning up against the wrong wall, you don't need to stick it to that commitment and grind it out for another 20 years. You don't need to wait for anyone to give you permission. You can pivot. One of the better messages to come out of the FI movement is that no matter what has happened, huge student loans, disastrous real estate deals drug addiction, or divorce, you can always move forward and make your life better. A life optimization strategy begins with financial security and gives you space for mastery and exploring new things. You don't need to be in the top 1% of anything. Just being better than average at a bunch of different things will open up opportunities. What does a high value, high return on investment, talent stack look like? Students coming out of college are ill-prepared for the way the world really works. The world wants to know what have you done and what can you do for it. What if you were to focus on the skills the world wants and is willing to pay a high salary for? And then very economically earn certificates stating that you can do this work? You can retain and earn these skills in a year or less. There are very few jobs that actually require a college degree. Through certificate programs, you can get jobs earning between $60,000 and $160,000 a year. Jonathan says if he were starting over, knowing what he knows now, this is what he would do. Jonathan has started another podcast, the Talent Stacker podcast. It's not for those set on going to college. It's for people looking to see what other choices are out there or who are unhappy with the choices they previously made and are looking for something different and don't have another four years to earn a degree. The Talent Stacker podcast does not just regurgitate information learned on previous ChooseFI podcast episodes. It helps you recreate what these other people have done step-by-step. The framework of the Talent Stacker podcast is based on a handful of different categories. The first is a time for money or a service role where you trade an hour of work doing something for a set hourly rate. The second category is sales, where you help make it easier for a current audience or customer base to make a purchase. Category three is marketing or expanding the current customer base. The fourth category is team development or leadership or bringing a team together to focus on target goals. The fifth category is systems, process, and workflow, helping teams to work more efficiently. In reality, many of these categories have overlap. If you can do a little bit of several of these, you can become what is called a Rainmaker. Jonathan recognizes how each of these skills has been used and added to his talent stack through the ChooseFI podcast. Building a talent stack is not just limited to business owners. It's a mindset about learning new things and how they can help make you a better person. Brad used his skills as a travel rewards enthusiast, along with his business-building skills and CPA degree to build a travel rewards coaching service. MK found success in her corporate career through choices like learning basic HTML to build her talent stack, which helped her to climb the ranks, and then eventually launch her own business. Her pregnancy has caused her to look at streamlining things and becoming more efficient to keep her passive income stream growing. Your real education doesn't start until you get the job. College merely proves to an employer that you know how to learn. Jonathan worked with Bradley Rice from Episode 117 to create an actual career development program in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that you can replicate in six months and make $60,000-80,000 a year, with a path to making $200,000 in 3-5 years. With four years of starting ChooseFI, Jonathan has become one of the top independent podcasters and now he teaches podcasting to others. With ChooseFI, the goal is to compel you to take action toward reaching financial independence. with Talent Stacker, Jonathan wants to see you develop skills and maybe earn more. This week's FI Wins of the Week include Karen. She and her husband decided to invest in camping gear and enjoy camping in Florida before they reach FI and can move to Washington State. The second winner is Emma who is 20 and just fully funder her Roth IRA for 2020 and is ready to fully fund 2021 in January. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Learn about all the benefits of the Chase Freedom Flex credit card Open a high-yield savings account with CIT Bank How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Lifeby Scott Adams ChooseFI Episode 117 Making the Case for Part Time With Bradley Rice To get your copy of the FI Weekly every Tuesday, sign up at ChooseFI.com/start IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI's 3-card credit card strategy.  Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

The Career Author Podcast
Authors Services as a Revenue Stream

The Career Author Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2020 50:28


Authors Services as a Revenue StreamSelling only fiction is tough. In fact, only a small percentage of authors (both traditional and indie) make a full-time living solely from fiction. Therefore, you need to think more like a business person if you want to be happily self-employed. In response to a listener question, J. and Zach break down the different ways you can create author services that can function as additional revenue streams and keep you happily self-employed.The Career Author Podcast is a podcast where co-authors J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon share their struggles and successes as full-time authors, advice for improving your writing craft, and honest discussions of what it takes to build a successful career as an author.In this episode, you'll discover:The need for your “special sauce” and why niching down is criticalTypes of services you can offer that serve the writing and publishing communityThe channels you can use to build a client baseHow to balance your time between writing and working on your businessAlso, J. explains why Kindle Highlights can change the way you research and learn.Send us your ways and hacks - https://thecareerauthor.com/waysandhacks/ Leave us a comment: Do you have author services as a revenue stream? If so, how is it working for you? If you don't yet, what will be your secret sauce?Thanks to our Patrons.Podcast sponsored by Kobo Writing Life - https://writinglife.kobobooks.com Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/thecareerauthorWant to work with us? Get the details at https://thecareerauthor.com/services/Links:Beyond the Galaxy - https://books2read.com/beyondthegalaxy Beyond the Galaxy book trailer by Chris Yee - https://youtu.be/9ZkrQ6LpvAw Your Kindle Notes - https://read.amazon.com/notebook 48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal - https://amzn.to/2BtS1I4 How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life - https://amzn.to/2YqBCx8 J.'s monthly mastermind membership - https://theauthorsuccessmastermind.com/join/The Career Author YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/thecareerauthorThree Story Method - https://books2read.com/threestorymethod Three Story Method Workbook - https://amzn.to/37SAR1a Molten Universe Media - http://www.moltenuniversemedia.comEvents -

The Jason & Scot Show - E-Commerce And Retail News
EP215 - What to read during a pandemic

The Jason & Scot Show - E-Commerce And Retail News

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2020 73:03


EP215 - What to read during a pandemic This episode is a list of suggested resources to read for those looking to do some professional development in the commerce space.  (all book links are amazon affiliate links) The episode also features an interview with Rishad Tobaccowala (@Rishad) Rishad’s is the author of “Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data” published by Harper Collins. Additional writings can be found on the Re-Inventing blog. The interview starts at 15:50 of the podcast. Rishad also has an amazing photography feed on Instagram @RishadT. Another book mentioned on this list is Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Digital Disruption – Stephen Dennis. Stephen is hosting a virtual book launch party (including @retailgeek and some e-commerce celebrities) on Tues April 14 at 4:15pm ET, that will include myself and some commerce guest stars. Pre-register here. Here are some always updated resources: A complete list of recommended books for commerce Pros (including a superset of the list provided here, is always available here: Recommended Books. A list of 250 commerce influencers to follow on twitter. That list includes 50 commerce journalists. A list of recommended commerce podcasts. A list of recommended commerce websites and newsletters. Finally, when the pandemic is over, here is a list of commerce events. Here are all the specific resources mentioned on todays show: Personal Development How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life – Scott Adams Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don’t Matter – Scott Adams Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America – Scott Adams The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind – Jonah Berger  Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data, Rishad Tobaccowala  Startup / Entrepreneurship Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t – Jim Collins Turning the Flywheel: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great – Jim Collins The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail – Jim Collins Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers – Geoffrey A. Moore Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future – Peter Thiel Hard Thing About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture – Ben Horowitz The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses – Eric Ries The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right – Atul Gawande Think Like Amazon: 50 1/2 Ideas to Become a Digital Leader – John Rossman (John was a guest on Episode 181) Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win – Jocko Willink Future Is Faster Than You Think – Peter Diamandis E-Commerce / Retail / Case Studies Sam Walton: Made in America: My Story – Sam Walton I Love Capitalism!: An American Story – Ken Langone The Perfect Store: Inside eBay – Adam Cohen In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives – Steven Levy The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World – David Kirkpatrick The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon – Brad Stone Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling in a Post-Digital World – Doug Stephens Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Digital Disruption – Stephen Dennis Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy – Lawrence Ingrassia (Larry was on Episode 207) Movies Glengarry Glenross Boiler Room The social network Girlboss –  Based on Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso’s autobiography #Girlboss Office Space Startup.com TV shows Undercover Boss Shark Tank The Profit SiliconValley Halt & Catch Fire Mr Selfridge Succession Mr Robot Black Mirror Non Conventional S1s – Casper, Chewy  (Retail Roadshow) Shareholder Letters (Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway) Company conference calls – (Amazon/eBay/Shopify/Etsy/Alibaba) Investor Relations Don’t forget to like our facebook page, and if you enjoyed this episode please write us a review on itunes. Episode 215 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded live on Wednesday, April 8th, 2020. http://jasonandscot.com Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis, and Scot Wingo, CEO of GetSpiffy and Co-Founder of ChannelAdvisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing. Transcript Jason: [0:24] Welcome to the Jason and Scott show this is episode 215 being recorded on Wednesday April 8th 2020 I’m your host Jason retailgeek Goldberg and as usual I’m here with your co-host Scot Wingo. Scot: [0:39] A Jason and welcome back Jason and Scot show listeners first of all we hope everyone is saying safe and enjoying some time with your family as we all go through this battle with the the Coronavirus one of the unexpected trends that we’ve noticed about this fun pandemic self quarantining time is that folks are trying to carve out a little bit of time for professional development. So we thought you know let’s do a show where we talk about some of our favorite books for kind of listeners and starting with kind of the. You know the colonel of e-commerce and Retail where we spent a lot of our time but then also expand out a little bit and talk about more professional development type titles. Sound good to you Jason. Jason: [1:23] Yeah that’s awesome but before we jump into the actual books I just want to get a couple things on record like I’m trying to ascertain how Millennial you are Scott are you a paper book guy or are you ebook / Kendall guy. Scot: [1:37] I am strange I guess so I like to read fiction before I go to sleep because if I read like one of these books were going to recommend before I go to sleep I won’t go to sleep I get so fired up I know that’s probably strange but that’s how my brain works so then so I use Kindle for my fiction reading in the evenings and then most of my nonfiction before working from home full-time I commuted to an office and this is back in those days if you remember so I have about a good hour in the car maybe a little bit longer and I would audible the nonfiction stuff out for some reason, you know that that combination of being on a commute and having it being read really lands well for me and makes a little more engaging. Jason: [2:30] Yeah interesting so your moat so you’re very little Papyrus and your Kindle / audiobooks. Scot: [2:37] Correct yeah are the reason is I’m I read a lot and I don’t know I’ve never been to your house but she came to my house I have like literally 20 but cases full book so there’s a practicality of you know my wife and I are both Avid readers and essentially every square inch where we can put books as full so we had to switch to digital. Jason: [2:56] Yeah no I went through a similar Journey I’m in a condo and I imagine we have less storage space than you I say imagine but I know for a fact we have less storage space than you and. Wait it just like I beloved I loved owning these books and I felt good about owning them but like. [3:18] I just didn’t have the space and then when I travel all the time it’s actually annoying to carry books because if you’re going to finish one that means you have to bring to physical books with you and swept them around. On this on the trip so I kind of have pivoted to only owning books digitally and I’ve actually started this. Economically unhelpful habit what I like to do now is I buy the Kindle version and I buy the audible and for most of the books most of the business books that they have this great whisper SYNC feature where you can. Toggle back and forth between the audio book and the Kindle version and it it keeps you synchronized to the place and, what I’ve found that useful for is if it’s a book on listening to and there’s some super important Point that’s made in the in the audio version, I like to stop the audio version crack open my iPad go to the Kindle and it’s already right what I just listened to and I can highlight that, and then you know Kendall has this great feature where Aggregates all your highlights and notes so so it’s almost like I can do I can highlight text in the audio version of the book which is. Kind of cool in handy. Scot: [4:33] Be cool if you had dyslexia do this where you could say have it read it and then pause it and have a highlight like an audio could you do a voice on voice highlight. Jason: [4:43] Not to my knowledge that would be a cool feature Alexa has good features for listening to audible books but I haven’t if there’s a marker highlight thing I have not experienced it yet. Scot: [4:55] Jeff if you’re listening please take that as a feature request thank you. Jason: [5:00] If he’s listening you know he’s listening so then. Scot: [5:01] Yeah I didn’t want to brag but. Jason: [5:04] Yeah I do I also want to address the elephant in the room before we get into the book list of books we were having this conversation offline a little bit. Are books even relevant anymore like is it the like I feel like for a lot of my career books were super important and it was like you know their books that were. Like really influenced how I did my job and things I learned and we’re super valuable. Today like it doesn’t seem like the best source for for timely relevant information. Scot: [5:37] Yeah yeah into that and then you know attention spans I definitely feel it personally and I see it in my kids the social media has given us kind of these this snack size kind of appetite for content right and it’s increasingly hard to just sit down and open up a three or four hundred page book especially like a business book and then you know things are changing so fast. It is hard to find those books they really stand the test of time so so yeah I agree and then you know so because of that we’ve actually thrown in a couple more you know we probably call this a media show not just books because we have a couple kind of streaming TV shows and movies that maybe kind of were interesting to certain folks that don’t want to sit down with a book be it audio or or paper or ebook. Jason: [6:28] Yeah and that is funny because I am. You know I was thinking about the books I wanted to talk about in the show and we’re going to we’re going to go through a bunch of books I actually built a web page with a wider list of book recommendations and so I was like oh this will be my comprehensive list of all the books I’d recommend someone read. And there are a bunch of books that are some of my all-time favorite books that I actually couldn’t bring myself to put on the list because while they were super important when they were written in 1990 or 2,000 or 2010. You know I don’t think they did stand the test of time and so it was interesting to me like a lot of the books that were quote-unquote about retail I feel like retail has changed so much. Heck retails changed so much from three months ago that I didn’t find that those books held up really well but there were a lot of my hall of fame books about like. Customer psychology and those sorts of things which are Super relevant even though they might be 20 or 30 years old so it’s kind of interesting. Scot: [7:30] Yeah absolutely let’s jump into it. Jason: [7:33] Yeah let’s let’s do it so side note if anyone’s listening in the show on exercise equipment we will put a complete list of all the books in the show notes and I’ll put a link to the website I reference so no need to try to take notes during the podcast and with that out of the way let’s jump in what are you reading right now. Scot: [7:53] Yeah I thought we’d kind of cut them into categories and and since we are talking about you know personal development thought we’d start with that category book I read a couple years ago and I just kind of stumbled on this because I started following his daily Paris group periscopes he does a daily kind of a coffee kind of periscope it’s got out Adams the author of Dilbert. So he’s a cartoonist you may think what does this guy have to do with anything well he’s probably the most, educated cartoonist well I don’t know if cartoonist are educated but he has an MBA he’s an economist he’s got you know a lot of different things there he’s a trained hypnotist oddly enough so he wrote a book called. How to fail at almost everything and still win big I wanted to start with that one because it has two big ideas that I found really interesting. So these things you kind of already natural naturally do maybe but it was cool the way he framed him and talked about him so the two big ideas from that book are this concept of using systems versus goals. [9:01] And and this is super helpful because you know he uses a kind of weight loss example where it’s easy to set you know it’s very easy to say hey I want to lose X pounds and then you fall off that pretty quickly because it go like that is increasingly hard to get to if you get off track it’s easy to throw away that goal an example of a system would be you know I’m going to measure my calories every day and make sure I come out Nets X calories and exercise to get there that’s going to be my daily system and if you can kind of commit to a system it’s a lot easier because you can build it into a day it’s easier to track, and then sure enough you look up and boom you’ve achieved your goal be it weight loss or whatnot this one’s really important because. You know I talk a lot to Young Folks at software companies and things and the question I get is like how do I organize my day and that’s kind of part of the system to is making sure that your so let’s say you’re just starting out in a sales career or something, spend time prospecting spend time managing your pipe and build a system and then improve that system over time and before long, got this really great system for managing your life so that’s a really good one Hill goes into a lot more details, the second framework I really like in that book is this idea of continuing to your life to build your skill stack. [10:21] I have a computer software background and knew nothing about Finance marketing I’ve never taken a, ticket some econ classes but I’ve never taken like the classes you would take for a business degree or an MBA so but I’ve learned all that over the years and you know it’s part of my skill stack now so that it’s this really interesting idea of thinking and visualizing right you want to improve your life and your career. What can you add to your skills fact that you don’t have. The third point in that book that’s really interesting is he talks about one of the biggest skills that you can add to that skill stack as persuasion. [11:00] So Persuasions pretty important so you know I’m an entrepreneur so on any given day I’m having to convince you know an investor to invest in my company an existing investor to invest more customer to do something an employee to do something recruiting an employee every pretty much all my day is persuasion convincing this random guy to do a podcast with me those are just examples of you know things that we’ve that use persuasion for so you know as an entrepreneur I use it all the time but even if I know a lot of our listeners you know maybe you’re working in a larger company as kind of a what I would call an intrapreneur you’re kind of on the digital side of a large company well you actually have a bigger persuasion mountain to climb than I do right because a lot of times you got to convince some dude in a store to give you credit for a sale or fill in a word or whatever it is so so I wanted to also fold in here that Scott Adams has two books on persuasion once called win big lie others called Loser think that’s more recent just came out this year. And then so I strongly recommend does to and then he actually I like his approach this a little bit better than some other folks because it’s very practical and he gives you kind of you know, tips that you can actually start to apply like how to pay somebody in these kinds of things but then once you’ve read that then I’m more technical approach is by this guy that’s considered the Godfather persuasion Robert child Nene. [12:26] His two books are influence the psychology of persuasion and then he has a newer book called pre suasion a revolutionary way to influence and persuade. What’s kind of mind-blowing about, this is what you get your head around persuasion pre suasion is you can actually Prime people to be persuaded faster and easier so that’s kind of interesting there’s actually a step before where you can actually. You get pretty good at persuading people you can get better at doing it quickly by using pre suasion, so those are two that’s kind of a whole class there in that genre of persuasion and the Scott Adams is a really good introduction into this if people haven’t really read on it. Read about it before. Jason: [13:10] Nice I love all of those and it’s funny persuasion I talked about a lot in presentations. And there’s a funny backstory to to the book he was like he was a candidate for his cognitive psychology PhD when he wrote the book and he basically, in his Studies have discovered that we are all hardwired with these cognitive biases. And it dawned on him that evil marketers could use those cognitive biases against consumers and sort of persuade them to, take actions and buy things that weren’t necessarily in their best interest so. Supposedly he wrote the original influence thinking that like you know what have you made consumers aware of these cognitive biases they’d be less likely to be affected by them and so he had this altruistic goal of like informing people so they wouldn’t be, manipulated and the book became a global international bestseller because every marketer in the world. But the book has a manual to use to trick consumers into buying things. [14:17] So I just love that story I’m a big fan of that category 2 and I actually am reading a new book that just came out last month that’s in the sort of. Cognitive psychology space it’s called The Catalyst how to change anyone’s mind and it’s by an author I like Jonah Berger Joan has a professor at Ward and I think and, he wrote a previous book called contagious and contagious was all about like what are the attributes that causes something to go viral and it became kind of a, Bible in the social media space and so this new book, is about how to actually convince someone to change their mind and like early in the book he makes the point that like you know most people’s inclination is to, argue with people or debate with people which is an entirely unsuccessful way of getting someone to change their mind and so he. He works across all these different Industries and he finds case studies with like. [15:19] The FBI’s best hostage negotiator right and he makes the point that hey you think about this hostage negotiator and he’s got to convince. Someone to do something that they absolutely don’t want to do that’s going to have a horrible outcome for them right so give yourself up, and go to prison and so he talks about like the tactics that that negotiator uses and the approach they take, the try to successfully you know have these like super high stress situations come to us more safe, conclusion by getting the the criminal to change their mind and so it’s fascinating and there’s a bunch of sort of practical advice if you really want to change someone’s mind versus just, feel good about arguing with someone it’s super helpful book so I think it’s a good tool to put in the marketing Arsenal. My other recommendation in this category is a new book that just came out this year called restoring the soul of business staying human in the age of data and that’s written by Richard tabaka Walla and I think it was released this January. Scot: [16:29] Hey Jason you know Richard Wright. Jason: [16:31] As a matter of fact I do he’s a longtime former coworker of mine and I actually invited him on the show, so without further ado, please welcome to the show the former Chief growth officer publicists gentleman who was named by Time Magazine as one of the top five marketing innovators in the world and a guy who could get me fired with a single phone call, Rishad tobacco Wawa. Rishad: [16:57] Thank you very much and I’m glad to be here. Jason: [16:59] We are thrilled to have you Rashad you know we did overlap at publicist and a fun fact I don’t know you had a much longer and more storied career their than I have had but I have an annual review every year and I always sit down with my boss, and he asks what my career aspirations are and I say well my ultimate goal is to be Rishad. Rishad: [17:19] Well who are you are you have you lack imagination. Jason: [17:23] Yes I could see how that would be your perspective but my boss is perspective is that I should set more realistic goals. Rishad: [17:29] That’s great. Jason: [17:31] But all joking aside you you’re someone that has done almost every role in boob assist your, super beloved and as you are stepping down from a full-time role at poobah says you’ve had this like I want to call it like a year-long victory tour where I feel like you visited every office and all your old friends and you just have this. Never ending stream of Twitter photos of you with. 10 20 30 year friends that you you worked with that are now all the luminaries and leaders of our industry and it’s like I think it speaks really well to you this enormous network of people you. You’ve cultivated that all these act in public like they love you. Rishad: [18:16] Yes it’s either that or I have to like two pictures over the years one of the two. Jason: [18:20] Exactly well I’ll let our listeners be the judge but I do want to get your book and talk about that but a tradition we have on the show is before we get into that we like to get a kind of brief. Um synopsis of your career and how how you sort of develop the point of view that you shared in the book so can you share with our listeners your background. Rishad: [18:43] Sure absolutely so I grew up in India came to the United States after getting a degree in advanced mathematics to get an MBA at the University of Chicago. And I started my career with a company called Leo Burnett which is that advertising agency. And I thought I’d stay there for two to three years and 37 years later I was still there. The last time my business card said Leo Burnett was sometime in 1994 which is about 25 years ago. I worked in account service on big class like PNG. And then moved into our direct marketing department and saw something called digital in 1994-1995 launch one of our first digital agencies. Then helped launch Stockholm which is what about media companies. And then we merge with another company eventually we got bought by publicist in 2002 which is about 18 years ago. And over the years at Goldman says I helped build the case for some of our digital companies that we bought each digit SI cherries a fish and for the last five six years, I served what was the direct wobblers sort of the board as both the chief strategist and the chief growth officer. [20:03] At about two and a half years ago as Maurice Levy step down and he was the CEO. And I’d work with more recent another gentleman coach actors who are 25 years. I sort of said at some stage I need to do something different and once they were convinced that what I wanted to do was be a writer and speaker. And I could still be related with the company we began a transition which is sort of that to are you talked about. And I am still senior advisor to the group I still have an office my key card still works but I no longer am a full-time employee which means I have no clients to look after. No boss and nobody working for me otherwise still connected in some way to the company and my focus really is writing this book which I began about three four years ago with Concept and thinking about it. And the basic Trend was I was getting a little bit worried. [21:02] That as the world was becoming more data-driven more digital more math driven. That companies were making mistakes of becoming too left brain. And I call that the spreadsheet will be coming spreadsheet driven companies and I believe that successful companies need to combine the spreadsheet which is obviously very important that the data. But combine also that with the story which is the people that culture. The values and and thinking about it over 3/4 years I began to realize that companies that combine the two, what companies that actually did well and companies that tilted either two words the spreadsheet too much like let’s say a Wells Fargo you began to open Fake accounts or like Boeing ship the plane which wasn’t ready. On the other hand if you watch was too much to the right you end up ended up with a company like we work which is all story but total bullshit at least from an economic perspective. Jason: [22:03] It’s a story just not a true story. Rishad: [22:05] It’s not a true story exactly so the whole idea is if it’s all story without a spreadsheet you have we work it’s lots of spreadsheet without a story you’ve got to Wells Fargo. But you combine the two industry after industry companies that combine the two. Not only are more successful in the near-term but their stock price does well and in every sort of stuff and it says compared your Southwest United Airlines or, you know Pixar / Disney to a lot of other companies or Costco to the old Walmart and you began to see that. This this basic belief that was all about that data and math was actually very short-sighted. And in fact heard companies more than help companies and given that I was a digital Pioneer have an advanced degree in mathematics and people think I know the stuff I’m not anti math anti data anti digital anti anything. And so that’s how I read what I wrote for book and surprisingly it appears that I wrote the book for a post covid-19 world so people said you know this was going to happen and I said no. The book is as in fact it resonates even more today than it did two months ago. Jason: [23:21] That is awesome and it’s great that it’s even more topical I still have to imagine from your Publishers perspective it’s not optimal the launch a book when you like can’t fully go on a book tour right. Rishad: [23:33] Yeah well I was somewhat fortunate in the fact that because the book came out on January 28th in the United States and Feb 20th outside the United States and I had started sort of promoting the book. Immediately unlike January 1 as soon as the holidays were over so I got to be on the road actually from Jan 1 to approximately March 7. So I was had good eight nine ten weeks of doing so now we’ve somewhat slowed down but I have one particular advantage. To really one is as you know Jason. When I speak I speak without notes or slides or multimedia which basically makes me a very zoomable Sky possible. [24:25] Speaker and so I’m still speaking which helps on the book tour without actually physically going anywhere. But the second thing that helped you know to a great extent was the fact that my book actually. Resonates with the times that six of the twelve chapters seems to have been written specifically for today’s world like I have a chapter on how you manage workforces. When they’re not all together in one place have a chapter on how you lead when you’ve got tough times and so those two things which is my ability to basically speak without notes and the fact that people are very hungry, in this including our chapter on when you’ve got time how to use it. And also how to upgrade your mental operating system all of which what people are doing so it turned out to be. I wish we weren’t in these circumstances but it’s turned out to be all right but I’m looking forward to going back into the work you know the world out there, and and because I was writing about humans and not about an event in time the book doesn’t age so the fact that there’s a pause in the book tour doesn’t hurt because when it starts it won’t be. Problematic. Jason: [25:42] Be dated at all when you. Rishad: [25:43] It won’t be dated at all if I could be more relevant on the other hand. You know it’s not pleasant to see what we as a society are going through some writing a lot these days and I’m trying to think of the positive side of the troubles we are in. And so the framing some stuff from my book I call this era which I think is so not the Great Recession that we occurred in 2008 2009 but I called this era that we’re about to enter the Great reinvention. Because I truly believe that people are going to come out of this different than when they went in one because. Nothing like this has happened before in my 40 years if I could most people’s lives and which is everybody in the world is affected all at the same time. Which is rare the second is we all are effective for 60 to 90 days, and habits change in 60 days so either you start or stop doing things in 60 days then when you restarted it’s very different and very you know unusual. And so I do believe coming out of this people are going to be looking for safety they going to be looking for society they going to be looking for security it’s going to be a different world and so I’m thinking a lot about that these days. Jason: [27:01] Yeah I feel like another thing I saw you talk about when you were talking, sort of coming in the book on social media that really resonated with me is hey everyone saying we’re working from home we aren’t really this is not work from home this is work under duress. Rishad: [27:18] Yes so the key is this is completely work under duress because you know we have three big challenges and that is everybody who’s listening to this so the first. As long as you’re a human being I think you have these three challenges but it’s sort of differentiates a little bit on you know what your state in life is ETC. The first one basically is we are extremely anxious about own health, help us people our parents our kids our team members so you know you normally don’t work from home with this anxiety that people are dying in the thousands and you could, get that if you go to the grocery store so that’s number one, the second is you basically have this particular area of fear and the biggest fear that we have R2 and most of them are around economic, which is will my job still exists because every day you see companies layoffs, between 10 to 50 percent of furlough between 10 and 50 percent of the employees, so that’s the second one in the third is uncertainty which is when will this end how will this end and nobody works from home under those circumstances where you basically have kids sitting in the house with you. We shouldn’t be there worried about your health what about going to the grocery store water that your job will disappear. Right there is not under any circumstances working from home is basically working under duress. Jason: [28:47] Yeah no I totally resonated it is funny like I like you travel a lot and so when I’m home I often do work out of my home office and free pandemic. I would be super concerned about my family interrupting a work conference or something like that and I if it ever happened I’d be really embarrassed and one of the things that’s been kind of funny about our present circumstances is I have kind of a cute I won’t tell him this but but acute four and a half year old son and now I almost create an opportunity for him to come in and interrupt every meeting because it’s almost expected and appreciated and. Makes me feel it helps me like form a more personal bond with the people I’m interacting with. Rishad: [29:32] So I actually posted something that was it’s a real story and it happens to be the CEO of one of our very large clients. His mate his name is Laxmi under a salon and he’s the CEO of record been Seeker or now known as RB. Which happens to make products like Lysol. His products actually are doing very well there Lysol and they’re like Trojans and apparently you know condom sales are going up in Lysol sales are going up. And he basically there’s an interview with HIPAA The Wall Street Journal and literally the way it ends is his mother he’s living in London with his 79 year old mother, and his mother comes in and says you have not taken the garbage so he stops his board meeting and takes the garbage out. Jason: [30:19] Yeah I love that the. I did want to pick one bone I do have a small bone to pick with you though you you referenced earlier than no slides thing. [30:31] And this is funny one of the reasons that I think of you frequently in my career is because but you do do a ton of, client and public presentations in your you know very in demand public speaker and as you noted. You never use slides I’ve watched you from the the wings a lot and it seems like, you’ve jotted down you know the key bullet points that you want to discuss on a napkin or something and and you walk up there and had this really engaging conversation with the audience and it feels like. There’s there’s less Detroit as between you and your audience and I feel like it really facilitates you, um sort of having a bond with them and it feels more interactive and authentic which is all great, I also do a lot of public speaking and I use a ridiculous amount of slide so a it always makes me feel bad about myself because I feel like. I’m using a prop that you don’t need but but even worse than that, I’m usually doing those slides at like 3 a.m. the night before the presentation and I’m thinking to myself you know Richard went and had a nice dinner had a cocktail use the cocktail napkin to jot down his notes for the presentation tomorrow and got a good night’s sleep and I’m sitting here at 3 a.m. You know trying to find the right image to put into a stupid PowerPoint deck so I. Rishad: [31:58] Difference the big difference is when I see your presentations I enjoy that and I say thank God I don’t have to do such amazing presentation. Because the big difference is while you do have amazing slides you you use them as a backdrop but you speak without you know reading numbers from them or reading words from them, you basically use them as sort of a prop but not as some kind of crutch so a lot of people use things as a crutch you don’t use it as a crutch use as a prop but the two reasons of the two or three reasons that I don’t do the slides one is because it requires work. Oh I just you know I’m down lazy but as importantly when you do slide somebody then says they want to see them and that requires like having a meeting to prepare the meeting which is a bit difficult. But the most important reason and this you can’t do obviously because you share a lot of very valuable information which requires you to have those slides because when I look at your slides this isn’t just like a using slides because you, using them because they actually add to the show but one of the reasons why I don’t use slides and why you actually don’t use them as much as you think you do. [33:09] When you don’t use slides people play the slides in their head so when I’m speaking. Actually there is a slideshow going on it’s sort of like a form of radio it’s like the theater of the imagination and what I began to realize is people think I’m speaking to all of them because they’re visualizing. Their own slide where and that became what I found is very powerful which is not only if it was just that I’m going to save time and be lazy that doesn’t make a good presentation I’d get fired for doing that, it’s because actually if you think hard enough about the audience and you customize it which is what I do. People in the audience that actually played in their own minds I think you wrote everything just for them. Jason: [33:57] Yeah that’s awesome. Scot: [34:00] Jason speaks people close their eyes and envision the slides and sometimes they make kind of light snoring noises. Rishad: [34:08] Yeah but you know what happens is he has so many slides you gotta Clyde’s are so strange, got to have a look at that because you’re seeing this big car wreck train wreck happening and you’re trying to figure out like how is this going to play out that’s what you’re going because you should see a slides they’re almost like. It’s this almost like Van Gogh on drugs. Scot: [34:29] This is fun we get to team up on give Jason her time I like this. Jason: [34:34] In my defense and I feel like you gave me a nice compliment their Rishad which I really appreciate but the in my defense it is true like my sides tend to images that support whatever story or point I’m trying to make as opposed to, actually having the information on the slide and so the one thing I do dread is for your point like when a client or show organizers like hey can you send me your slides in advance or can you do and I’m like, well I can but they would make no sense because they’re not the content like they’re not the story, you know it’s like it’s kind of like asking to see the illustrations from a book without saying the words. Rishad: [35:14] Exactly exactly at that so that that’s out of the way it is and so what are the the you know the fun ways I try to sort of also redo. Just like I thought of rethinking the presentation. You should as you’ve read my book what’s unusual is I read mented the book without people without changing the format of the book so the, it’s obviously available as a book at an audible at a Kindle and everything else but, I sort of thought about that most nonfiction business books tend to only have one good chapter and then somebody just repeats and repeats and repeats, and so I decided to write 12 different books instead of it being a book of essays is actually a theme and the theme is the story of the spreadsheet. That’s I basically said I’ve written the first Spotify playlist of a book where you can basically read every chapter in any order. And as a result people that Amazon are now asking the question how come they don’t have a shuffle mode on Kindle. Scot: [36:14] The other question you kind of outlined companies that are to Excel and opposite in the Spectrum do you have a case study of a company that kind of does a good blend between the two. Rishad: [36:29] Yeah so I would basically say that in every category I select having in almost every category I could name like one particular leader. So in in the world. So the film for me the leader always was Pixar because Pixar basically told amazing emotional stories using state-of-the-art technology. I basically think about it pizza delivery it’s Domino’s, right the improves their Pizza they basically read the very thought of themselves as a Distribution Company or logistics company that delivers pizza. But they really want to own the entire category of pizza so they’re willing to give you a coupon for Domino’s anytime you buy any pizza so now if you go to a grocery store and you buy a pizza you have think about dominoes, which is absolutely brilliant in Airlines at Southwest compare Southwest to United and I believe that the most. For many years it was one of the most underrated technology companies don’t of course that was not underrated was Adobe so if you look at the decisions that adobe made in Adobe right now is the second most valuable Enterprise technology company after Microsoft. [37:40] And so categoria and many see these leaders and I know some of these folks who lead these companies they have these amazing people who combine the spreadsheet on the story and they and and and and often it is leadership that makes the difference if you think about Microsoft. For 10 years its stock price went nowhere and Steve Ballmer yelled and screamed Windows Windows Windows. Write it it stack ranking math machines and everything. In such an ideologue basically came on he gave everybody the spoke growth mindset he talked about basically a becoming a learning organization versus a know-it-all organization, you focus basically on business primarily, right and productivity he got out of a lot of the consumer business with the exception of Xbox and and in effect, and he got rid of the windows Division and the stock price went up fourfold in 3 or 4 years. And he’s a much more Humane boss with a company that is much more people oriented. But on the other hand it’s results are better than anybody’s. And so you know whenever anybody tells me they make decisions with numbers I tell them two things one is you are not human being because humans select with their hearts they use numbers to justify what they just did, and if you work in marketing and tell me you make all the decisions with numbers are in the wrong World on the other hand if you do make all your decisions with numbers and let’s see working in the world of. [39:10] Finans sooner or later you’re not going to have a job because AI does a much better job with numbers and computers do a much better job with numbers than human beings so anytime you make it you saying it’s all about data or All About Numbers my stuff is don’t be silly and for most companies do with the exception of a few like an Amazon a Google or Facebook and a few others. Data is very important but I sort of defined data is electricity. Which is it’s so important that you can’t work in the future without electricity but on the same hand almost no company differentiates Itself by through its use of electricity I don’t see a company saying I use electricity better because I’m better. Different better and so there’s this confusion and that was one of the reasons I wrote this book but it’s it’s kind of remarkable because it’s you know I found that. [40:00] Because the focus is it still help people think see and feel differently about how to grow themselves their teams and their company, that it is resonating with all kinds of people CEO CFO CMOS young people because part of it is it’s training on how to think, and we have forgotten how to do that so big part of this book really is a, you have amazing potential and I call everybody a leader but here are some things that people may have never taught you and you may want to think about and that’s probably why I think people should read the book, which is it will make you more productive as a CFO of a company just bought 300 copies for every employee in his company and I said you’re a CFO what you buying this book called the purpose of business and all of that, he said when I read it and two of The Twelve chapters maybe five percent more productive I decided therefore, that each of my employees will become 10 thousand dollars more productive so what the hell your book will be cause 20 bucks by. Jason: [40:58] Yeah and that absolutely is one of the things I love about the book as I feel like in my day-to-day life, my colleagues and my clients get like really focused on The Shining baubles right like everything’s about the new marketing tactic or the new ad unit or the new e-commerce platform or whatever the widget is and it. In the long run it feels like all of those things. Are only 10% of the business problem and the other ninety percent of the business problem is the people behind those tools and how they work together and how they collaborate and. Um and I feel like your book is a lot of super practical advice about improving the 90%. Rishad: [41:40] Yes and explains what and how to frame the 10% and because I know that 10% so well I can talk about framing that 10% and then focusing on the 90 because I truly believe there are only two ways to change a company. And that is to basically either change the people or upgrade the people mind sense right everything else is a press release. And we don’t play enough attention to that so this basically says a year so you pay attention which is if you get upgrade the ninety percent of the people, how they work the talent the skill sets the company will do better it’s not different than you know world class sports teams usually world class sports teams have a disproportionate share of talent, and then they have a coach that make sure that they work together and not at counter purposes and they win. Jason: [42:29] Yeah the that is terrific on the flip side though I feel like one of the challenges with your book is because it has these twelve chapters and there, they’re sort of very varied in topic it’s your book is really annoying to summarize. Rishad: [42:45] Yes that and that’s part of the the two parts of the book that is sort of annoying which is what it’s as hard to summarize the way I’ve basically summarized it is it help you think see and feel differently about it to grow yourself your company and your team which is number one, and number two I would basically say is it basically says that for to succeed you have to come by. Everything you know about the left brain part of you which is the spreadsheet out of you and combine it with the story part, add depending on the situation that combination can be 75 30 25 or 25 75 or 50/50 it’s never hundred zero. Jason: [43:26] Yeah. So Rishad apologize we are coming up on time but I do want to let our audience know about one other important Rishad fact. And that is that, in addition to being a great business leader and now author you are very accomplished photographer and it seems like you you use your opportunity to travel all over the world to capture these, amazing landscape and Architectural photography wherever you go. Rishad: [44:01] Yes it’s one of the key things which is you know in fact I mention it there’s a chapter in my book on how to use Stein. And you know one of the key things is I look at photography as a way to see the world differently but also to remember that it’s passing Us by. Which is one of the reasons the opening line of my book is time is the only thing we have, and these days we now truly recognize that time is the only thing we have whether we have too much of it or we are worried that we will die and have too little of it. Jason: [44:33] Yeah I feel like in a pandemic there’s two kinds of people there’s working parents that have none of it and then there’s there’s empty-nesters are people without children that like suddenly have discovered some more of it. Rishad: [44:45] Absolutely absurd. Jason: [44:47] Rishad speaking of time we have sort of ran out of it but I’m thrilled you are able to drive by and I can’t wait for this pandemic to be over so you can get back on the road and you can update your Instagram feed. Rishad: [45:00] Absolutely but thank you again thank you for your audience and thanks to both of you all bye. Scot: [45:04] Thanks for Sean unfortunately I have not read your book but it is on my list and coming soon. So the next category that I wanted to jump into is what I would call start-up entrepreneurial books and again you know this is for my entrepreneur buddies out there most impressive read them but if your intro preneur I think there’s a lot you can pick up from these so I want to start with some of the classics so one of my favorites and I go back to this one probably once every two years just to kind of. Remind myself of some of the concepts is good to Great by Jim Collins, he’s kind of a recluse and he was just recently did a little PR tour so there’s some podcast he did one with see you do it with Tim Ferriss and they do Joe Rogan no I don’t think he did but he did a couple podcast that were were just outstanding he has a little addendum to the book called turning the flywheel where he talks about evidently apparently, he helped to Amazon deliver develop the flywheel that we all talked about all the time and he has a lot of really other interesting examples of flywheels in that little short book. [46:14] This one actually spoke in the same conference with him recently and unfortunately he has passed away in the last year and this is the innovators dilemma by Clay Christensen this one for the longest time I couldn’t understand the early days of e-commerce why big companies were acting the way they were like it was so clear to me that this was going to be the thing and they’re like yeah we’re just going to Outsource this whole thing and it’s going to be a small part of our business and I’m just like. [46:38] Wanting to shake them and say my God can’t you see this is going to be the future and I didn’t understand of have a way to put that into you know understanding why these big companies were so hard to move and then the innovators dilemma came out and I was like this guy totally nailed it he totally just makes a lot of sense now to me another classic one and again for for someone like me that starts these new products and has to figure out all right why isn’t this getting the adoption I want it to how do I how do I. [47:07] Get up that curve is called crossing the chasm and that’s a really good one for any any kind of a start-up any new product that you have out there it’s got a lot of kind of great ideas for every every adoption curve has this dip in it how do you get across that tip that’s the chasm. [47:25] I think that’s Jeffrey Morris all right yep and then so those are kind of what are called Old chestnuts so totally stand the test of time you can pick them up today and they’re so extremely relevant some of the more modern ones there’s one called 0 to 1 by Peter teal this was interesting because people have a kind of a binary reaction to it I just got a funny it says it’s called zero to one you know most startup people don’t like it but then I found a lot of kind of more General business people love it so that’s interesting I’d be interested to hear how readers react to it what am I one of my challenges has been there’s not a lot of books for startups when you get past like a hundred people there’s tons of books for how do you find product Market fit and like the early days of the startup but there’s you’re having historically been a lot of what do you do when you get to kind of like 10 million and a hundred people how do you get 200 million or a billion and this is where probably my most, my most favorite modern book by Ben Horowitz is called the hard thing about hard things and it’s with the first books I found we’re actually kind of explains all the stuff of how you’re going to feel problems are going to hit when you get to like them employee number 200 and all the things you need to do to push through that so that’s one of my favorites. [48:43] Speaking of that earlier stage you know I think I’ve practiced that this, got put into writing as Lean Startup so how do you how do you get something out and get feedback faster that’s pretty much a staple because agile software development is worked its way into all aspects of companies now but at the time it was kind of a weird thing to Think Through. Um it spiffy we have to implement a lot of processes and procedures more so than I’ve ever had to do in any other company so there’s a book They’re called the checklist Manifesto that I found absolutely helpful and then Ben Horowitz just recently came out with a new book that’s kind of moron company culture which is really good what you do is who you are and then one of the last ones in actually want to add another one. [49:29] Is Think Like Amazon we had John Rossman actually on the podcast and I go back to that, there’s a lot of cool Amazon isms in there that I’m using on a daily basis like this concept of a two-way door of if we make a decision let’s be able to get out of it, and I found that a really useful framework there’s like 10 or 20 of these in that book for me that are really helpful to help explain to someone why we’re doing what we’re doing and why would you why would you try this if we just have a plan for I’m doing it well here’s why we don’t want to get stuck on the wrong side of that door for example the other one is Extreme ownership I’m doing this from memory and this is by Jocko will will Nick ex-navy seal my partner is 50 is an army guy and you know when I first read this at kind of it’s all about you know being a Navy SEAL and going out and killing people your kind of like well what’s that have to do with business, and but you know increasingly especially in these times when it does feel like we’re under Fire, I found that a lot of the concepts and that one are really really good and he has a great podcast to Listen to If you want to get super fired up and like where if you’re having a down day and you want to watch some of his YouTube stuff that’s really really good content to kind of get you out of a little bit of a funk or depression. How about you Jason. Jason: [50:56] I think he’s got some Jocko has a couple extremely highly regarded appearances on the Tim Ferriss podcast as well. Scot: [51:05] Yeah yeah absolutely and he’s on Joe Rogan all the time as well. Jason: [51:09] And then for listeners that are following the John Rossman was on episode 181 talking about things like Amazon. Yeah so that’s an awesome list I am reading another book that I would kind of put in this category. The came out this January called future is faster than you think and it’s by this guy don’t. Knew nothing about Peter diamandis and I don’t know if I’m pronouncing his name properly but this is a topic that you and I talked about a lot it’s this this concept of exponential growth. And how everything particularly in technology is getting adopted at a much faster rate than ever before and so it’s kind of. A framework for thinking about how. How to operate in a world in which the future is coming at you faster than ever before and so you know it’s like as we’re doing this podcast Disney plus just got its 50 millionth subscriber right and. Five years ago it took Netflix much longer to get 50 million subscribers and you know way before that it took HBO much longer to get 50 million subscribers so, just kind of a interesting helpful book to sort of help you think about running a business in a in an accelerated world that’s growing at an exponential rate. Scot: [52:37] He said one of the founders of Singularity University with Ray Kurzweil they’re biffle’s. Jason: [52:43] Yeah hence the his hands his love of exponential growth. Scot: [52:47] Yes absolutely it’s kind of interesting because I you’ve seen me talk about this tonight I lead with that example A lot of times of exponential growth and how we’re not used to it it’s really interesting in this world of viral contagions that there is a bunch of people that just can’t get their head around exponential growth. They’re like you know well .01% what does it matter you’re like well you know if you keep moving the decimal every other day that’s a pretty quickly. Jason: [53:16] Yeah I think unfortunately a lot of people are learning about exponential growth in the context of the pandemic right now. Scot: [53:22] Yes yeah the the hard way cool anything else on the general books Journal business set. Jason: [53:30] No I have a longer list again I’ll put on the on the web page but that you know that I think that’s a great great list for now. Scot: [53:39] Cool so then the third category we wanted to talk about is what I would call kind of e-commerce retail digital retail payments and that kind of thing this category I found the ones that hold the better test of time for me and our little more engaging or when I would call business biographies so one of my favorite in the world of retail is Sam Walton made in America this one’s hard to find because it’s out of print so you have to buy it kind of used but it’s really good it’s got a lot of great stories about how CM would just fire around America and you know be over some City and be like we’re going to put the Walmart there anyways in this little. [54:19] Kind of I don’t know what kind of plane it was but and then you know sure enough they would build a Walmart there so that’s a really good one talks about you know the whole concept of Walmart and how I scaled it up that’s pretty amazing in that same genre Ken langone who started one of the founders of Home Depot he has a book called I love capitalism that’s kind of his life story and it talks about. How you used to work for a hardware store and there could be a better way and did the big box thing and it’s really really a good history of retail and you know, just like Sam he’s had a very rich kind of post Home Depot business life also and then as we get into the world of e-commerce the perfect store which is, about eBay from Adam Cohen that was a bit old but still holds up pretty good I think the eBay story is really interesting from a Marketplace perspective the good Google case studies called in the Plex the Facebook one that I recommend is called the Facebook effect, it’s not a salacious as a lot of the other Facebook ones it really talks more about you know the iterative way they built Facebook. [55:27] The best kind of the go to Amazon book is called the everything store, my good friend Brad Stone you can actually find my name in that book if you want to go little spelunking there, and then a bird to little bird told me Brad’s working on maybe either updates that book or a new book so I’ll be kind of watching for that so much happens with Amazon your, but of course regular listeners know we spend half our time talking about all the new stuff coming on Amazon that it’s hard for him to keep that up and then Doug Stevens who is speaks it a lot of the events we go to has a really good book in the world called in the world of retail called re-engineering retail that, I think is interesting and kind of talks more about experiential kind of retail and a lot of the topics you talk about Jason. Jason: [56:16] Yeah yeah for sure all good ones the it’s funny I read a ton of business biographies, and I love reading them I do feel like some of them have these like. Pearls that are Evergreen and some of them are like super interesting at the time but I’m not quite sure have as much legs. [56:40] So you know it is a little interesting but you know other business biographies that I’ve read recently you know not too long ago we had weary and Gracia on from the billion-dollar brand Club, um which is cool because it’s talking about a lot of direct-to-consumer biographies many of those stories are not completely done yet so it feels like, work in progress, um another book that sort of loosely a business biography also on Amazon is Amazon for CMOS which is by Kiri Masters, I’m sorry like that but the book I’m reading right now in this category of. [57:23] Kind of like specific retail advice is called remarkable retail how to win and keep customers in the age of digital disruption, and that’s by another guy in our sort of speaker and social media ecosystem Steve Dennis and he’s a longtime executive JCPenney and then later Neiman Marcus, and so I’ve read the book but it actually doesn’t launch until next week so it’s why it’s releasing on April 14th, and because the pandemic he can’t go on a book tour so he’s having a virtual book launch, on on April 14th at like 4:15 in the evening so if you happen to be listening in this episode before Tuesday I’ll put a link in the show if you want to join the virtual book launch, and I will be participating and having a conversation and there’s going to be several other, surprised e-commerce guest stars so it might be a fun way to hang out on Tuesday afternoon if you’re available. Scot: [58:27] Very cool I’ve never seen the virtual book launch so it’s going to be exciting to see how that goes down I’m look forward to seeing how he signs books across Zoom. Jason: [58:35] Exactly. Scot: [58:37] It’s going to be some way. Jason: [58:39] Yeah I’m leaving that testy. Scot: [58:43] And then for those folks that do not want or need if you’ve read all these books already or you’re not into books that’s not your thing this category is kind of multimedia so shows movies streaming anything in that kind of category one of my kind of all time classic business movies is Glengarry Glen Ross you can’t work with a sales team unless you’ve watched this in this is where all these kind of chestnuts of ABC always be closing coffee sir closer closers there’s a lot of kind of sales people language that comes out of this movie and it really kind of. Catcher some does a good job of you know articulating to people that aren’t in sales what it’s the pressure of being a salesperson can feel like and of course it’s Amplified like like nothing else in the stakes are much higher than in reality but it’s pretty interesting how they do that another fun one is Boiler Room same kind of a thing Wall Street you got to put that in there, classic Michael Douglas Wall Street The Social Network. That’s a really good one to kind of see a dramatization of how Facebook was created at the music and that is exceptional this is one that I find a lot of people haven’t seen it’s called girl boss and it’s on Netflix it’s a Netflix original. It tells the story of how a retailer Jason you got to help me out with her name Sophia Amorosa Zurich. Jason: [1:00:07] That sounds right to me yes. Scot: [1:00:08] Yeah okay so she started this this apparel e-commerce site called Nasty Gal and fun fact it actually started out as an eBay so she started as an eBay seller this is really cool because it kind of shows this and I’m really super familiar with this life cycle because, it might company started a channel advisor we have like thousands of customers like this where you know it started out as she she wanted to make money to go buy something so she started collecting vintage stuff finding it and selling it and then suddenly you know you look up and your apartments full of boxes in your you got a seven-figure eBay business and then she kind of graduated out of that into a retail facility and so that did a really good job kind of showing that lifecycle that that’s really common for a lot of how a lot of e-commerce businesses are born you have to watch office space that’s kind of a classic comedy around kind of what life in the office is like Jason is a consultant I feel like you. You live that every day effectively and then another good one is start up.com. [1:01:15] This is kind of a documentary about these guys that started a company and its classic because a lot of times you see this sad situation where these these Founders will get together they’ve never really met each other and then they spend like the next two years just excruciating Lee arguing with each other and ending up with zero so so this this one kind of covers a situation like that and it’s a good warning of if you’re going to start a company pick your Founders a little bit carefully and then make sure you have those tough decisions early versus at the very tail end of the whole thing. On TV shows I really enjoy Undercover Boss that’s kind of a cool way to see it’s so it’s a little staged and. [1:01:58] More than three or four of them kind of get old but you know if there’s a certain business you want to kind of learn more about it’s a good way to do that shark tank is a lot of fun to watch with the family and kind of guests you know it’s a fun thing to see you know hey would you invest in that company and what do you think their evaluation should be um another really good one is the profit this is on CNBC and this guy you know I was going to name wrongly. Jason: [1:02:20] Marcus Lemonis. Scot: [1:02:22] Leah notice he owns Kemper world you probably got better idea. And all pretty much most the Sporting Goods things except for Dick’s right. Jason: [1:02:34] He’s acquired a number of them recently in bankruptcies so again. Scot: [1:02:39] Martin’s Gander Mountain yep. Jason: [1:02:43] There may be more available in the near future. Scot: [1:02:44] Yeah so a lot of his a lot on the profit you know there’s a good diversity of companies he goes in and turns around but there is a fair amount of retail there they’re not big box they’re usually kind of local retailers, how about you Jason and he anything in the multimedia category. Jason: [1:03:02] Yeah so you know. I like to watch a binge watch shows while I worked out and we’ve all had a little more time to exercise lately so I’ve caught up on a bunch of stuff that was in my backlog, um so I just recently finished the last season of Si

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Risky Conversations
Ep.205 Cartoon Strips, sexy finance, and the best tip to live the happiest life with Stefan Gasic

Risky Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2020 115:11


Humor is the kernel expression of truth. This week on #RiskyConversations we are joined by Stefan Gasic the one and only hilarious Creator of Earth’s only financial(ish) cartoon strip! Co-Host :: Ahsan Deliri twitter: https://twitter.com/AhsanDeliri Co-Host :: Ember Sadat twitter: https://twitter.com/ember_sadat Special Guests:: Stefan Gasic twitter: https://twitter.com/NonMeek Edited :: Ember Sadat twitter: https://twitter.com/ember_sadat Track :: War Music by: https://www.instagram.com/grinzbeats/ Check Out Stefans amazing art at https://gumroad.com/offshorecomic Books Mentioned: Dynamic Figure Drawing: A New Approach to Drawing the Moving Figure in Deep Space and Foreshortening Paperback – Aug 1 1996 by Burne Hogarth https://www.amazon.ca/Dynamic-Figure-Drawing-Approach-Foreshortening/dp/0823015777/ref=sr_1_3?qid=1582998982&refinements=p_27%3ABurne+Hogarth&s=books&sr=1-3 How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life Hardcover – Oct 22 2013 by Scott Adams https://www.amazon.ca/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still/dp/1591846919/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=scott+adams&qid=1582999221&s=books&sr=1-2 https://books.apple.com/ca/book/how-to-fail-at-almost-everything-and-still-win-big/id645980630 Incerto (Deluxe Edition): Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, The Bed of Procrustes, Antifragile, Skin in the Game Hardcover – Jul 30 2019 by Nassim Nicholas Taleb https://www.amazon.ca/Incerto-Deluxe-Randomness-Procrustes-Antifragile/dp/198481981X/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=taleb&qid=1583000301&s=books&sr=1-7 https://books.apple.com/ca/book/incerto-4-book-bundle/id1067627442

Mindset Horizon
#30 Stop Flushing Your Marketing Budget into Your Website and Build a System That Grows Your Business with Steve Brown

Mindset Horizon

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2020 51:03


SUBSCRIBE Apple: https://apple.co/34765QU Stitcher: http://bit.ly/2kgRfFV Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2mhKcgZ TuneIn: http://bit.ly/2lRzbTh iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2AJI3OV YouTube: http://bit.ly/2mgfCnV TODAY´S EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PODCASTERS´ PARADISE Are you ready to start your own podcast and share your message with the world but don´t know where to start? Podcasters´ Paradise got you covered! Go to http://bit.ly/2TccMNB and join the #1 Online Community for Podcasters today! BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE 1 – Why today´s marketing is anti-human and how to stop designing for robots and start designing for humans. 2 – Learn the rules and the power of story and messaging to communicate clearly with today's technology. 3 – How our world changed but our brain remains the same and how Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey can help you understand your customers better. BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE! The Golden Toilet – Stop Flushing Your Marketing Budget into Your Website and Build a System That Grows Your Business by Steve Brown: https://amzn.to/39YCY4U The War of Art – Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield: https://amzn.to/38XjoGc Building a Story Brand – Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller: https://amzn.to/2umwjlV The Tipping Point – How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell: https://amzn.to/2T8qaSH How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big - Kind of The Story of My Life by Scott Adams: https://amzn.to/2T7QrAP The Obstacle is the Way – The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage by Ryan Holiday: https://amzn.to/2v9CZnY TODAY´S GUEST My guest today is Steve Brown, the founder of ROI online – an online marketing agency. In today´s episode, besides Steve´s entrepreneurial journey, we talk about the biggest challenges that entrepreneurs face today when it comes to modern marketing and what to do about it. We tap into topics such as stop seeing a website and start seeing a business process, why today´s marketing is anti-human so stop designing for robots and start designing for humans, learn the rules and the power of story and messaging to communicate clearly with today's technology, how our world changed but our brain remains the same and how Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey can help you understand your customers better. Steve Brown has a passion for inspiring and empowering the entrepreneurs who power the American economy. He is the founder of ROI Online, a HubSpot platinum agency partner and the first StoryBrand certified agency. Steve and his team at ROI Online have worked with hundreds of clients, from solo entrepreneurs to Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies, to grow their business by implementing a holistic business growth system. Steve truly believes entrepreneurs and business leaders are the invisible heroes of our day. They not only risk everything in the hope to build a successful business, they also provide jobs to many people who want to better their lives too. But our heroes face incredible challenges especially when considering how to approach modern marketing. His book - The Golden Toilet: Stop Flushing Your Marketing Budget into Your Website and Build a System that Grows Your Business - helps them reframe their mindset and gives them a framework to approach this common challenge with confidence. As an entrepreneur himself, Steve knows what business leaders face today as they fight to grow their businesses, and now, he wants to share what he's learned to help these hard-working heroes conquer the struggles that are holding them back. CONNECT WITH STEVE Website: http://roionline.com/ Check out Steve´s Book – The Golden Toilet: https://thegoldentoilet.com/ The Golden Toilet FREE Resources: http://bit.ly/2VhpbT8 Download the ROI QuickStart Guide for FREE: http://bit.ly/2SSSiKX Connect with Steve on LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/3bXFaM5 SHOW NOTES

Develop Your Life
04 // The pressures of "being consistent" and how ignoring it might be better for you

Develop Your Life

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2020 13:30


Hello, Everyone. Welcome to my Podcast. As always, I'm your host Destiny and this episode is all about the pressures of consistency and how ignoring it might be better for you. I emphasize the importance of giving yourself a break on always being consistent and stress that developing consistency is part of the journey to reaching your goal or creating a new habit. Thank you for listening and please take a look below for more information. New Episodes post every Monday morning! Take a look: + Rowena Tsai's Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaYF1G_L5J7sqJzEeBVUDzw + Rowena's Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK-sZjuXA6A + Scott Adams' Book - How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life Where to find me: + Check out my Anchor page at https://anchor.fm/destinymarie + Instagram: its_destinymarie --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/destinymarie/support

Knowledge Without College
KWC #050 Scott Adams

Knowledge Without College

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2019 45:40


Scott Adams is probably best known for creating "Dilbert", an awesome series of cartoon strips. He has an amazing, extremely informative, self-titled periscope, where he operates as our fellow colleague and podcast host sometimes even twice a day. Here you can hear and feel his vast experience regarding hypnosis and persuasion, as well as have a nice cup of coffee! His books are probably the "crown jewels" of his work, with all of them being part of my all time favorite books, including "Win Bigly", and "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life", as well as his newest book which we talk about in detail during this Episode, called "Loserthink". Thank you to Scott, it's been a pleasure to have him and to promote ALL of his work. Enjoy!

Zolo Show
#3 Чадвар

Zolo Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2019 34:36


Сайн байцгаана уу? Zolo Show #3 хүргэхэд таатай байна. Энэ дугаарт Золоо чадварын тухай ярьж байна. Коммент хэсэгт Золоогийн монгол хэлний алдааг засаад бичвэл UB Comedy Club дээр шоу үзэх 2 хүний урилга хожих боломжтой WIN-WIN. Подкастын сэдвийг "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life" номон дээр тулгуурлан бэлтгэв. Золоог @ZoloComedian гээд Инстаграм дээр дагаарай https://www.facebook.com/ZoloShowMGL/ Page дээр Like дараарай

The Happy Entrepreneur
I finally managed to record a podcast about procrastination with Mike Coulter

The Happy Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2019 33:11


A big challenge of turning your passion into profits is taking that first step. Procrastination can kill your idea quicker than any customer feedback. Where does procrastination come from and how do we overcome it? In this episode I talk to community member and Tiny Habits coach Mike Coulter about how creating Tiny Habits can get from dreaming to doing. He has a little pop at Simon Sinek and share why he thinks that sometimes starting with why can stop you from starting. Listen to find out more... If anybody wants to get started with Tiny Habits you can read about the free 5 day email based version https://www.tinyhabits.com/program (here). Also, during this episode Mike mentions the book by Scott Adams called How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life, which you can check out https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still-ebook/dp/B00FHI0XK2/ (here).

Navigate the Chaos: Strategies for Personal Growth and Professional Development
10 January: How often do you focus on the process?

Navigate the Chaos: Strategies for Personal Growth and Professional Development

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2019 4:16


Today is January 10 and the Navigate the Chaos question to consider is: "How often do you focus on the process?" Those who navigate the chaos like cartoonist Scot Adams understand the value of focusing on the process. In his 2013 book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life, Adams highlights two important aspects of his success: “Good ideas have no value because the world already has too many of them. The market rewards execution, not ideas;” and “Goals are for losers. Focus on the process.” As Thomas Edison observed "The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn't like to do."

zetatesters
ZT 120 ¿Somos tan fáciles de manipular? y «Un pequeño paso puede cambiar tu vida» de Robert Maurer

zetatesters

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2018


A raíz de un documental de Netflix debatimos sobre cómo nos sugestionan, influyen o manipulan con diferentes medios. En Delicatessen, Carles nos habla de un pequeño gran libro: Un pequeño paso puede cambiar tu vida. El método Kaizen de Robert Maurer. Libro que nos recomendó Rick Téllez. Fe de erratas y ratones: Durante un buen rato decimos el nombre del mago de forma incorrecta. No se llama Derren Rowse, su nombre es Derren Brown 😅. YouTube: He-Man and Skeletor Dancing | Money Supermarket Commercial https://youtu.be/-PgTjhx1VLw Podcast: Mossegalapoma - Podcast de ciencia y tecnología (en catalán) Episodio: #143 - The Keys To The Mind. A Conversation with Derren Brown - Waking Up Podcast. Netflix: Derren Brown: Sacrifice Libro: Analítica del aprendizaje: 30 experiencias con datos en el aula de Daniel Amo Filvà. Libro: Sapiens. De animales a dioses: Una breve historia de la humanidad de Yuval Noah Harari. Episodio: ZT 50 Síndrome del impostor y “Abundancia” de Peter H. Diamandis y Steven Kotler YouTube: American History X - Tráiler español https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi7bhRmJzec Delicatessen: "Un pequeño paso puede cambiar tu vida" de Robert Maurer Libro Delicatessen: Un pequeño paso puede cambiar tu vida. El método Kaizen de Robert Maurer. Episodio: ZT 104 Practicando Deep Work con meditación, lectura rápida y mejora contínua con Rick Téllez + “Extreme Ownership” de Jocko Willink Libro: Cambia el chip: Cómo afrontar cambios que parecen imposibles de Chip Heath y Dan Heath, traducción de Ana García Bertrán . Episodio: ZT 03: Small wins y “El poder de los hábitos” de Charles Duhigg Episodio: EB 47: deconstrucción de la PNL con Carlos Sogorb (extra ball) Libro: Cómo Fracasar En Casi Todo Y Aun Así Triunfar. Algo así como la historia de mi vida de Scott Adams (versión original: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life)

Masters in Business
Scott Adams Discusses Syndication and the Media (Podcast)

Masters in Business

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2018 78:35


Bloomberg Opinion columnist Barry Ritholtz interviews American cartoonist Scott Adams, who captured the dysfunction of the modern workplace in his long-running comic strip "Dilbert." Adams has also written several works of satire, commentary and business analysis, including "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life" and "Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter." 

zetatesters
ZT 117 «Cómo fracasar en casi todo y aun así triunfar» de Scott Adams

zetatesters

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2018


Libro Delicatessen: Cómo Fracasar En Casi Todo Y Aun Así Triunfar. Algo así como la historia de mi vida de Scott Adams (versión original: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life) Episodio: EB 36 “Depredador contra la escritura” con Jackberry Libro: Armas de titanes: Los secretos, trucos y costumbres de aquellos que han alcanzado el éxito de Tim Ferriss (versión original: Tools of Titans). Comprad libros que nos encantan en zetatesters.com/recomendamos (con enlaces de afiliados). Libro: Padre Rico, padre Pobre: Qué les enseñan los ricos a sus hijos acerca del dinero, ¡que los pobres y la clase media no! de Robert Kiyosaki (versión original: Rich Dad Poor Dad) YouTube: Robert Kiyosaki El Cuadrante del Flujo del Dinero - Doblado al Español https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3IgcsQeRDk Episodio: ZT 116 ¿Se nos va de las manos el flipadismo del desarrollo personal? Episodio: EB 21 Los sandwiches dan seguridad, Ludo en In The Mood(le) Valencia 2017 Episodio: ZT 28 Errores de lógica (IV) y “Roba como un artista” de Austin Kleon (donde hablamos de la tendencia incentivo-superrespuesta entre otros errores de lógica). Artículo: ¿Qué son los objetivos SMART? ¿Cómo redactar un objetivo SMART? Libro: Pan Sin Gluten: Principios, técnicas y trucos para hacer pan, pizza, bizcochos, cupcakes y otras recetas sin gluten de M. J. Casañ y Marc Alier. Podcast: Exponential Wisdom - Peter Diamandis & Dan Sullivan. Abundance 360 by Peter Diamandis Podcast: Crea podcast Libro: Descafeínate: mejora la productividad sin cafeína de Daniel Amo. Libro: ¿Cuándo?: La ciencia de encontrar el momento preciso de Daniel H. Pink (versión original: When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing) Episodio: ZT 111 Autodisciplina y “Discipline equals freedom” de Jocko WillinkLibro: Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual de Jocko Willink.Episodio: EB 47: Deconstrucción de la PNL con Carlos Sogorb (extra ball) Grupo “Somos zetatesters”: zetatesters.com/somos

Sidepreneur | Nebenberufliche Unternehmer & Selbständige
011 #FragSidepreneur: Welche Bücher empfehlt ihr Unternehmern & Gründern

Sidepreneur | Nebenberufliche Unternehmer & Selbständige

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2018 10:17


In dieser Reihe im Sidepreneur Podcast beantworten Felix Plötz und Peter Lutsch, deine Fragen zum Thema nebenberufliches Gründen und Unternehmertum. In dieser Folge wurde uns die Frage gestellt, welche Bücher wir Unternehmern und Gründern empfehlen würden. Die Buchempfehlungen: -Die 4 Stunden Woche: Mehr Zeit, mehr Geld, mehr Leben -Rich dad poor dad: Was die Reichen ihren Kindern über Geld beibringen -How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life -Palmen in Castrop-Rauxel: Mach dein Leben außergewöhnlich! -Das 4 Stunden Startup Weitere Links : Zur Sidepreneur Facebook Community gehr es HIER LANG Webseite von Felix Plötz: https://www.felixploetz.com Webseite von Peter Lutsch: http://peterlutsch.de Du hast auch eine Frage? Dann schick sie uns einfach an info@sidepreneur.de

Sidepreneur | Nebenberufliche Unternehmer & Selbständige
011 #FragSidepreneur: Welche Bücher empfehlt ihr Unternehmern & Gründern

Sidepreneur | Nebenberufliche Unternehmer & Selbständige

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2018 10:17


In dieser Reihe im Sidepreneur Podcast beantworten Felix Plötz und Peter Lutsch, deine Fragen zum Thema nebenberufliches Gründen und Unternehmertum. In dieser Folge wurde uns die Frage gestellt, welche Bücher wir Unternehmern und Gründern empfehlen würden. Die Buchempfehlungen: -Die 4 Stunden Woche: Mehr Zeit, mehr Geld, mehr Leben -Rich dad poor dad: Was die Reichen ihren Kindern über Geld beibringen -How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life -Palmen in Castrop-Rauxel: Mach dein Leben außergewöhnlich! -Das 4 Stunden Startup Weitere Links : Zur Sidepreneur Facebook Community gehr es HIER LANG Webseite von Felix Plötz: https://www.felixploetz.com Webseite von Peter Lutsch: http://peterlutsch.de Du hast auch eine Frage? Dann schick sie uns einfach an info@sidepreneur.de

ChooseFI
074 | Ryan Carson | Learn to Code | Treehouse

ChooseFI

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2018 56:34


074 | Ryan Carson’s tech-education company, Treehouse, teaches computer coding as a trade skill, giving students an opportunity to enter the work force, or change careers in nine months, at a fraction of the cost of a four-year degree.   Ryan considers coding a trade skill, rather than profession that requires a four-year degree. Ryan founded Treehouse to help people avoid student debt, get a job sooner and start saving for their 401k sooner. There will be 1.4 million new jobs in tech, and only 400,000 will be filled by college graduates. A trade job is composed of acquired skills, or “stackable skills”, like a mechanic or electrician. Will the future be primarily trade jobs? How is Treehouse different from other coding schools? How does apprenticeship work in the tech industry? What is TalentPath, and how does it help develop young coders? For a skilled job, such as coding, landing a job is more dependent on a portfolio than a degree. How does apprenticeship impact a person’s retirement savings, compared to earning a college degree? Are there any degrees that are more valuable to a new professional than a year of on-the-job experience? An apprentice has four more years of experience than a college graduate. How can companies create talent, rather than hire talent, in order to compete with big tech companies like Apple, Facebook, Google, etc.? How do employers measure a coder’s skill? What development language is most in demand? Trying out a school – traditional four-year university, or trade school, or treehouse – is important. How does TreeHouse allow students to do that? Ryan started a company that facilitated large-file sending, but ultimately decided to pursue business that he felt contributed more on a human level. TreeHouse originated from a desire to make coding education available and financially accessible to more people. Students can trial for free. Basic treehouse course is $25 a month. Full coding school is $200 a month. Success in life is mostly related to the ability to keep going when something is hard. Most people are going to quit something because their internal “why” isn’t strong enough. Coding is hard; it’s like going to the gym. Pursuing coding will require a certain amount of grit – but once you find your “why”, the grit comes. Links to resources:   Treehouse TalentPath How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life Basecamp Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance How to Win Friends and Influence People Wait But Why SpaceX’s Big Freaking Rocket – The Full Story Large Rubber Duck   ——————-   Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 

The Unimaginary Friendcast
Fail Your Way to Success!!!

The Unimaginary Friendcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2017 69:43


This week's podcast? Lessons from the creator of comic 'Dilbert!' Nathan gets his book reporting on after reading 'How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life' by Scott Adams. Topics Include: - Why Goals and Passion Suck and Systems and Affirmations are Great! - The Benefits of Embracing Failure! - The Three Types of People in the World! Which one are you?!?! - Erin's Trip to Shangri-La!?! - David Miscavige and the E-A-G-L-E-S!!! - David Monster's BDAY!!!!!!!!!!! - ...moist robots....???? And so Much More! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the most downloaded podcast in the world! The Unimaginary Friendcast! The Unimaginary Friendcast is hosted by David Monster, Erin Marie Bette Davis Jr. and Nathan Edmondson. www.unimaginaryfriend.com/friendcast And find us on Facebook!

The Art Of Programming
Выпуск №143 — The Art Of Programming [ Tool ] Таски и Проекты

The Art Of Programming

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2017 68:19


Яндекс.Такси и Uber http://bit.ly/TAOP143yu  «Jobs To Be Done Новый подход к работе с аудиторией продукта» http://bit.ly/TOAP143j1  Что такое концепция jobs-to-be-done и как она помогает улучшать продукты // http://bit.ly/TAOP143j2  Job Stories для проектирования интерфейсов http://bit.ly/TAOP143j3  Charles Duhigg — The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business // http://amzn.to/2vrNUrH  Новые Things 3 и работа с проектами YouTrack наше всё Reflecting on performance testing // http://bit.ly/TAOP143jb  Cal Newport — Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World // http://amzn.to/2vrOZ2S  Robert T. Kiyosaki — 8 Lessons in Military Leadership for Entrepreneurs // http://amzn.to/2vs5gV9  Scott Adams — How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life // http://amzn.to/2vrNkKx  Благодарности патронам: Sergey Kiselev, Sergey Petrov, Sergey Vinyarsky, Bogdan Storozhuk, Aleksandr Kiriushin, Sergii Zhuk, Pavel Sitnikov, Pavel Drobushevich, Yakov Krainov, Lagunovsky Ivan, Konstantin Kovrizhnykh, Евгений Власов, Vasiliy Galkin, Grigori Pivovar, Nikolay Ushmodin, B7W, Фёдор Русак, Oleksii Nesterenko, Leo Kapanen, Dmitry Dolzhenko, Nikaburu Поддержи подкаст http://bit.ly/TAOPpatron  Подпишись в iTunes http://bit.ly/TAOPiTunes  Подпишись без iTunes http://bit.ly/TAOPrss  Скачай подкаст http://bit.ly/TAOP143mp3  Старые выпуски http://bit.ly/oldtaop 

The James Altucher Show
Ep. 200 - Scott Adams: Subtly Hypnotizing Yourself And Everyone You Meet

The James Altucher Show

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2016 66:38


How can you use mass hypnosis to control 60,000,000 people so they vote for you to become the leader of the world? Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, knows the answer and has known it for years. So I called him and asked. I needed to know. He told me how Trump won. And he told me how anyone can use these persuasion techniques to improve their lives. What if you can get people to do whatever you want just by using the right words and subtly hypnotizing everyone you meet? It sounds like a science fiction novel. But it's true. It's what happened, and it happens every day. Who are the victims? You're the victim. Scott Adams predicted in September 2015(!) that Donald Trump would become President because, "he is the best master persuader I have ever seen." Scott Adams trained as a hypnotist and master persuader for years. "Once you realize that everyone is completely irrational," Scott Adams told me, "your life gets a lot easier. "You can start to use the principles behind this to see why people really do things, as opposed to using rational facts, and then use that to your advantage. "Understanding that people are irrational has made my life a lot better." But how did he predict a year and a half ago that Trump would win? I needed to know how. And how I could do it. Trump was the unlikely choice to be President. Just like Scott was the unlikely choice to be one of the world's most popular cartoonists with Dilbert. But we can all learn the skills that Scott learned. Scott heard a story that made him want to change his life in his 20s. His mother had delivered birth to his sister without the use of anesthetics. She was hypnotized. "She felt no pain," Scott said. So Scott, in his 20s, learned all the techniques of hypnosis. "You mean," I said, "You can take a gold watch and swing it in front of their eyes and make them do what you want?" "That has never happened," Scott said, "Except in movies. "What you learn is that basically everything people do is completely irrational. And then they rationalize it later. "Like, they might say they voted for Trump because of his policies but this is just a rationalization. Everyone is irrational and everyone is subject to persuasion." Everything seemed against Trump. But somehow he beat 16 candidates in the primaries and one big candidate in the election. And, Scott says, all the theories as to why he won have been wrong. So I called him up and asked him what happened. And he told me: ----------------- - THE LINGUISTIC KILL SHOT "Trump described everyone using two techniques: - words that had never been used in politics before - words that were visual. So every time you looked at the candidate being described you would look for confirmation bias." Example: Jeb Bush he described as "low energy". "Low energy" had never been used to describe a candidate before so they stood out. And whenever you looked Jeb, unless he was jumping around, you would automatically look for clues that showed he was low energy. Trump systematically did this with everyone who was frontrunner against him, including "Crooked Hillary" which referred both to her legal troubles and the persistent rumors that she was sick. ------------------ - CHARISMA = POWER + EMPATHY Scott said, "Trump clearly had the Power part down. But he was low on Empathy. "So he used polling to figure out what the critical issue was for the most amount of people and came up with Immigration. By going with this issue he proved he had empathy with his base. "Expect him as President to try to show empathy to a much larger group of people." ------------------ - OVERSELLING THE STORY "Trump consistently oversold his point. For instance, 'Build a Wall'." He used hyperbole because it's the direction that counts. "It didn't matter that the facts didn't support him. His base was listening to the direction while all the media was getting bogged down in the weeds. "And in many cases, he would back down. He would recognize if he oversold too much and back down on it. "But again, the media would show his views for free because he was so outlandish and his supporters would note the direction, not the facts." I asked Scott: What would happen to Trump if a "Rick Perry" situation occurred like in 2012, where Perry couldn't name the 3 cabinet departments he wanted to eliminate and that destroyed his campaign? Scott said, "If Trump was stumbling to name the three he would just say, 'You know what? There are 10 cabinet positions I'd eliminate! You probably can guess the ones I'm talking about." "And then while everyone would be scratching their heads trying to figure out if there are even ten cabinet departments, his supporters would be just note the direction." -------------------- - AUDACITY Early on he would say things that were so audacious nobody could believe a Presidential candidate would be saying these things. But people got used to it. It got him free media coverage which allowed him to spend less than half of what Hillary spent. It allowed him to consistently say audacious and outlandish things throughout the campaign without upsetting his base. ----------------- - EMBRACE THE ARGUMENT If you just outright reject someone, they won't even pay attention to what you say. But with everyone he spoke with, he would start off agreeing with them and then start to turn people towards supporting his ideas. Even with Hillary, he would say: "She has great experience" before following it up with, "but after 30 years, what has changed?" --------------------- - TALENT STACK Scott said, "I'm not the funniest guy in the room. And I'm not the best at drawing. But I'm pretty good at both and that's where Dilbert comes from. "It's really hard to be the best in the world at one thing," Scott told me, "But if you are 'pretty good' at a bunch of things and use them together, you can succeed. "Trump has one of the best talent stacks I've ever seen. He's not the smartest guy in the room, but he's pretty good at public speaking, business smarts, humor, hiring and firing, politics, etc." Again, he didn't know as much as the other candidates about every political issue. "Expect him to get to know the facts that are important once he is President. But he was pretty good at knowing what was going on and combined that with the other "pretty good" things in his talent stack." ------------------- - BLAME OTHERS FOR PEOPLE'S SUFFERING "While Hillary was focusing on 'I'm With Her' and 'Let's make history with the first woman President', Trump was focusing on 'Draining the Swamp' and 'Let's Make America Great Again'. These were much more powerful persuasion messages." --------------- DID HILLARY HAVE A CHANCE? How could Hillary have fought better using her own persuasion techniques? "Hillary was running a strong persuasion game in the summer," Scott told me. "She might even have won if she stuck with it." " 'Dangerous Donald' was scary for people. But then her campaign leaked the Billy Bush video and even though it caused Trump to dip in the polls, it wasn't as bad as portraying him as a madman at the nuclear controls. Ironically, that bad news actually helped Trump." ---- My podcast with Scott comes out later today. I wanted to learn other things from him. Like how can I, or anyone, learn these persuasion techniques. What are the easiest techniques to learn? He told me on the podcast. Plus he was very honest and told me a trick he uses with the women he dates. ---- Does any of this mean Trump is going to be good or bad? This article isn't about that. It's just about what Trump, and all political candidates, do to win elections. Trump, according to Scott, was just particularly good at it. "The best I've ever seen". ---- Is it bad that people are irrational? That facts don't matter? Yes. But it's the reality. Our brains were built to hunt for food in scary and uncertain situations. In our more complex society, we still respond to primitive emotions even if they are now irrational. Do I want to be better at persuading so my life is better? Of course. The reality is: I'm easily influenced and have to constantly remind myself everyone has an agenda all the time. I don't think it matters who is President. There are too many forces at work to check and balance everything. But it does matter how I react, how I build my life day by day. It's my choice (I hope) whether or not I have a good impact on others. Or not. Maybe Scott hypnotized me into writing this. In which case, he did an excellent job. ------- Scott Adams Persuasion Books List: (this is from his blog) Chapter 1 - Things You Can Stop Believing The first chapter is designed to make you skeptical about your ability to comprehend reality. If you are already a hardcore skeptic, you can skip this chapter. - An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural - by James Randi - They Got It Wrong: History: All the Facts that Turned Out to be Myths Hardcover - by Emma Marriott [I have not read this book but anything in the genre of “wrong history” will work.] Chapter 2 - Stretching your Imagination These books are selected to open your mind for what follows. If you have experience with LSD or mushrooms, you might not need this chapter. (Yes, I am serious.) -Jonathan Livingston Seagull - by Richard Bach -God’s Debris: A Thought Experiment - by Scott Adams -Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah - by Richard Bach Chapter 3 - The Moist Robot Hypothesis The Moist Robot Hypothesis first appears in my book that is listed below. The idea is that humans are biological machines, subject to cause and effect. According to this view, free will is an illusion and humans can be programmed once you understand our user interface. With this chapter I ease you into the notion that humans are mindless robots by showing you how we are influenced by design, habit, emotion, food, and words. Until you accept the Moist Robot view of the world it will be hard to use your tools of persuasion effectively because you will doubt your own effectiveness and people will detect your doubt. Confidence is an important part of the process of influence. -The Design of Everyday Things - by Don Norma -What Every BODY is Saying - by Joe Navarro -The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business - by Charles Duhigg -Influence - by Robert B. Cialdini PhD -Thinking, Fast and Slow - by Daniel Kahneman -Salt Sugar Fat - by Michael Moss -Steve Jobs - by Walter Isaacson [The whole book is good, but look for the part where I appear on Jobs’ radar screen. That’s the part where you understand that hypnotists can identify each other by their tells.] -How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life- by Scott Adams -Free Will - by Sam Harris Chapter 4 - Active Persuasion This chapter gets into the details of how to influence people. My opinion is that you will be less effective with these tools if you do not have a full understanding of our moist robot nature introduced above. -Impossible to Ignore - Dr. Carmen Simon (NEW) -Trump: The Art of the Deal - Donald J. Trump -Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail–Every Place, Every Time - by Gerry Spence -Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your ---Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial - by Tony Robbins -How to Win Friends & Influence People - by Dale Carnegie (Better yet, take a Dale Carnegie class near you. It will change your life. Trust me.) -How to Write a Good Advertisement - by Victor O. Schwab -The Secret to Selling Anything - by Harry Browne -The One Sentence Persuasion Course - 27 Words to Make the World Do Your Bidding - by Blair Warren -Reframing: Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the Transformation of -Meaning- by Richard Bandler , John Grinder (This is included for completeness. Much of the NLP field has exaggerated claims, but there is some strong reality at the base of it.) -How to Hypnotise Anyone - Confessions of a Rogue Hypnotist - by ---The Rogue Hypnotist -Hypnosis and Accelerated Learning - by Pierre Clement (This is the school of hypnosis I learned in hypnosis class. It comes from Ericksonian hypnosis. See next book on list.) -Speak Ericksonian: Mastering the Hypnotic Methods of Milton Erickson - by Richard Nongard, James Hazlerig (Erickson was the father of modern hypnosis. Any book about his methods would be interesting.) ----- How good is Scott at predicting things? The attached Dilbert cartoon he drew 26 years ago. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Self-Employed Life
227: Scott Adams - How to Fail and Still Win Big

The Self-Employed Life

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2016 47:16


Our guest today says “never take advice from a cartoonist.” So today we're going to take advice from a cartoonist. But, in all fairness, our guest is no ordinary cartoonist, he's the creator of Dilbert, Scott Adams. We're chatting a bit about Dilbert and diving into Scott's latest book, How To Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. I guarantee you'll gain a different perspective about failure and learn a bit about happiness as well! Scott Adams is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip that is published daily in more than two-thousand newspapers worldwide, as well as on Dilbert.com, and all over the Internet. Dilbert launched in 1989 and spawned hundreds of licensed products and an animated television show. Over 20 million Dilbert books and calendars have sold worldwide. Scott has been a banker, software developer, technologist, hypnotist, CEO of Scott Adams Foods, owner of two restaurants, inventor,  investor, TV executive producer, author, cartoonist, speaker, and serial entrepreneur. He is one of the most highly-sought speakers in America and has written nine books, including the number one best-seller The Dilbert Principle. He also writes the active and influential Scott Adams Blog and is also co-founder of WhenHub.com and the WhenHub app.   Highlights - Why choosing energizing projects matter Stripping out the noise to get to the core Letting go can increase creativity The power of affirmations Happiness formula   Resources BlueHost Warrior's if you need secure, hassle-free web hosting for your website or blog BlueHost is our pick. They are easy-to-use, affordable and reliable. No technical experience needed to get up & running or to transfer your current service. BlueHost saved us tons of money and has the best service. Visit creativewarriorsunite.com/bluehost for our offer or get the link in our show notes.  Acuity Scheduling If you want more of your most valuable resource back, automate your calendar with our top pick, Acuity. No more back and fourth, no-shows or multiple calendars to manage. All appointments, reminders, cancellations, even payments happen with 1-click. Acuity helps you gain time! Visit creativewarriorsunite.com/acuity for our offer or click the link in the show notes.  Grammarly In our fast pace world, we still need to clearly and confidently communicate what we want to say. Grammarly is our private editor 24/7 checking our spelling and grammar whenever we write something online to help avoid embarrassing mistakes in comments, tweets, and status updates! Grammarly is a Better Way To Write. Visit creativewarriorsunite.com/grammarly for our offer or click on the link in the show notes. Audible Books The easiest way I know to get inspired when reading is not an option is with AudibleBooks. You can regain time and transform your commute, workout or chores into fun, productive ME TIME! Audible books are offering a free audio book, try it, like it and stay or cancel and keep your free Audible book. Visit creativewarriorsunite.com/audible for our offer or click on the link in the show notes.  New Free MasterClass:Warriors, if 80% of your income comes from 20% of your clients, 80% of your clients are the wrong clients! Imagine what it would be like to have almost 100% of your income come from all your clients because you're working with the right clients. Learn how knowing their secret language will attract your right clients— people who value what you do and are eager to pay you what you're worth. To register for this new masterclass, go to YourRightClients.com, and I'll see you in the masterclass!  Guest Contact - Website , Twitter  Books How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life  Gift: Propel your business forward and register for Week of The Warrior for free. A 7-day mini-course to learn how to leverage your creative powers. 

Small Scale Life
Healthy Lifestyle Podcast: Introduction - HELP 1

Small Scale Life

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2016 37:05


Healthy Lifestyle Podcast: Introduction - HELP 1 This is Episode 1 of our new weekly Healthy Lifestyle Podcast.  Drew Sample from the Sample Hour Podcast and I are both a weight loss journey and want to live healthier lifestyles.  We decided that doing a weekly accountability podcast together will be fun and keep us on track with our goals. In this podcast, we discuss the following topics: Kicking off the Podcast Baseline Information: How did we get here? Our Goals and Drew's Weight Loss Challenge at Work Plan for the Week Mid-Week Motivation The Mid-Week Motivation is: [tweetthis]It is said that weight loss starts in the kitchen. Garbage in = garbage out.[/tweetthis] Links Drew and I talked about the following links during this podcast: Drew Sample from The Sample Hour Workout and Diet Plan for the Week of 8/21/16 - Tom's Workout and Diet Program How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams The Whole 30 Program - Drew's Program for Changing his Relationship with Food DDP Yoga - Drew's Fitness Program Here is a DDP Yoga Beginners Workout on Diamond Dallas Page's YouTube Channel. Check it out! https://youtu.be/shPjl0R5kHo?list=PLuCbs2zxfj7pvtNMu2qB2Roaw-NBkLeeU   Friends of Healthy Lifestyle Podcast I am always happy to show some of my friends some love.  This week's friends of the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast: Condo to Compound Blog – Jay Dolan’s journey from an urban/suburban life to a rural life. Failing Forward Profitable Urban Farming – Drew Sample and Scott Hebert’s weekly podcast about success, failures and life as an urban farmer. Rate on iTunes Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews. You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars. Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

The Sample Hour
Failing Forward: PUFAP - 14 - Scott Hebert, Drew Sample

The Sample Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2016


On this episode of Failing Forward, Scott and I discuss everything we got done. I talk about how I am feeling overwhelmed and Scott discusses how he feels good because he has executed the plans he made before the season started. Both of us feel good about where we are and know that we can both improve. Then we talk about Scott Adams' book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life and why we changed the name of the podcast. Save $100 off the Profitable Urban Farming Course by clicking Download.

The Productivityist Podcast
Good to Greatist with Derek Flanzraich

The Productivityist Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2016 42:31


In this episode, Mike speaks with Derek Flanzraich, the founder/CEO of Greatist. They talk about the idea of planning, time chunking, and many other things that allow them to push our intentions forward (and allow Derek to embody the term "greatist"). This is definitely more of a conversation than an interview, as Derek and Mike exchange ideas and thoughts on making choices, being productive, and how they make sure they allocate attention to push their intentions forward. So if you're looking for a straight-up interview, you won't find it here. Relevant Links http://greatist.com/ (Greatist) http://greatist.com/fitness/six-pack-abs-six-weeks-one-year-later (I Got Six-Pack Abs in Six Weeks. Here's How I Feel One Year Later | Greatist) http://www.inc.com/kelly-hoey/more-than-marketing-millennials-are-the-economic-future.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+home%2Fupdates+%28Inc.com%29 (More Than Marketing, Millennials Are the Economic Future | Inc.com) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591847745/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1591847745&linkCode=as2&tag=vardyme-20&linkId=U5M27AEDROKKZS3K (How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams | Amazon) https://productivityist.com/podcast-joshua-becker/ (The More of Less with Joshua Becker | The Productivityist Podcast) http://greatist.com/about (What is Greatist?) https://productivityist.com/time-chunking/ (Time Chunking | Productivityist) http://projectrockofficial.com/ (The Rock Clock | Project Rock) https://productivityist.com/three-words-2016/ (My Three Words for 2016 | Productivityist) https://www.pottermore.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/pensieve (What is a Pensieve? | Pottermore) http://lifehacker.com/5968301/the-hacked-together-productivity-tool-i-cant-live-without-my-master-planner (The Hacked-Together Productivity Tool I Can't Live Without: My Master Planner) http://www.workshifting.com/2014/08/themed-schedule-can-help-stay-task.html (How a Themed Schedule Can Help You Stay on Task | Workshifting) https://productivityist.com/podcast-79-graham-allcott/ (Think Productive with Graham Allcott | The Productivityist Podcast) https://productivityist.simplecast.fm/31 (Body Talk with James Hamblin | The Productivityist Podcast) https://twitter.com/thederek?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor (Derek Flanzraich (@thederek) | Twitter) I'm looking forward to having Derek back on again in the not-too-distant future as we have a lot more to talk about! Thanks for listening!

Evidencia Creativa
3. El diseño en la creación de innovación y productos con Luis Florez

Evidencia Creativa

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2016 34:01


Conversamos en esta ocasión con Luis Florez, sobre lo que implica el diseño a la hora de innovar.Algunas de las conclusiones a las que llegamos:- Diseñar implica resolver problemas funcionales- Diseñar es mezclar lo estético y lo practico mientras resuelve problemas de fondo- No es solo encontrar el problema, es resolverlo de la forma correcta a los ojos del consumidor- Tratar de resolver muchos "Jobs" es el primer error que se puede cometer- No hay que tener miedo de tener un producto malo al inicio, es más importante acortar el ciclo de retroalimentación a tener el producto perfecto.Libro recomendado: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life de Scott Adams (http://amzn.to/1Nmy3yD)

Nebenberuf Startup
Folge 53: Rückblick auf 2015 und unsere Ziele für 2016

Nebenberuf Startup

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2016 56:01


Zum Jahresbeginn blicken wir zurück auf 2015 und diskutieren unsere Ziele für 2016.  Show Notes Christophs Jahresrückblick Benedikts Jahresrückblick MegaMaker Challenge Stuff How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life Nothing to Hide The post Folge 53: Rückblick auf 2015 und unsere Ziele für 2016 appeared first on Nebenberuf Startup.

Take Back the Day

Sam and Simon materialise in closely proximate time and space for an actual, real person discussion about goals and systems, democracy in the workplace, memory devices and other curious things. It's all happening. Stuff mentioned in this episode: Brain Pickings. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams. As We May Think by Vannevar Bush. The Blood episode of Radiolab. 23andMe. Sex, Death and The Meaning of Life by Richard Dawkins. Google and Calico.