Blog
Words. Wisdom. Winners.
Nothing great
Nothing great was achieved without getting into the details
Nothing great was achieved by playing safe
Nothing great was achieved by postponing decisions
Nothing great was achieved by saying no just because that’s how it’s done
Nothing great was achieved by not willing to have a conversation
Nothing great was achieved without the courage to apologize
Nothing great was achieved by looking into the past
Nothing great was achieved without an irrational urge to win
The above are not options.
They are “if and only if” statements towards success.
Should we do this?
This isn’t an exciting question when you are starting up.
Instead,
How can we do this along with what we are doing?
Why shouldn’t we do this?
When starting new, it’s foolish to assume that the path you are on is the path to success. The DNA should be to
pick up multiple paths,
measure performance,
eliminate (or select) and
improve.
Repeat and never stop
Analysis
People spend a fair amount of time analyzing before they start something. Because of two reasons
1. They are preparing themselves for the execution.
2. They are procrastinating the execution
It’s amazing how many times people think they are doing the first when they are actually doing the second.
It’s even more amazing how many times it happens consciously!
No – cant be done
No – the product can’t be launched now
No – the process doesnt allow it
No – you cannot get to do this
No – it cant be done
As you scale, you get to hear this a lot more – from within the company.
Whenever you make this statement, complete the following – “No, it cant be done, because the customer _________”
If you cant complete the statement, change your statement to a yes.
Even if it pains you and the company.
You have inspired me!
I am grateful to hear these words a lot of times.
But I think – what if I wasn’t there.
At that moment.
For that cause.
Would inspiration have missed the other person?
Or would he have sought it from someone or something else – nonetheless?
Meet new people
Attend talks
Watch TED
Read
Surround yourself with smart hardworking people
Build your mafia
Don’t leave inspiration to chance.
Silence is the best negotiation strategy
Months back I read a fascinating article on sales strategies. The most intriguing insight from the author, a seasoned sales guy and now a trainer, was
“Make your pitch and then remain silent. Do not speak. It’s a game – where the one who speaks first loses”
I have tried this in multiple interactions and it’s surprisingly works really well.
The urge to speak is almost always the urge to explain
And the urge to explain is almost always an excuse or justification.
Structure
Someone asked me last evening – is there a market for vertical classified websites.
There is a framework that can help, I answered.
A matrix of scale of industry versus frequency of need.
The deals industry has a framework too – merchant discount versus price customer has to pay to avail discount
As an ex-consultant, the operating word for us was structure. Whatever is it that you are trying to solve – put a structure on it. As simple as it may be.
Quadrants create that structure. Force you to visualize the problem into 4 distinct buckets – each with its own characteristic.
And that works because the world isn’t one size fits all anymore.
It never was!
Entrepreneurs are kids
I drop Vidur to school everyday.
The minute he enters and his bag is handed over to the teacher, I have to call his name out for him to respond
“Vidur, have a nice day”
Without looking back, he echoes the statement.
And goes in.
He meets the same people everyday
Goes to the same place everyday
Wears the same clothes everyday
Everyday is just like everyday
And yet
He enters with an enthusiasm that I can’t explain
He learns things he didn’t expect to
Or things he didn’t even know existed
He spends hours trying to make that house of books and goes at it again, goes at it again
And yet knows when he needs to move on
True entrepreneurs behave like kids
They are driven by a force most others can’t understand
And what’s seems a routine to others is actually not just everyday!
They say that I can move the mountains
And send them crashing into the sea
They say that I can walk on water
If I would follow and believe
with faith like a child
– Jars of Clay
Being unique
I am not blessed with super normal skills
No super high intelligence
No family wealth
I am average, at best
And I recognized this very early in life. And figured that the way to outperform others is to make myself unique
Not the best
Unique
Do several things at the same time
At a pace that others can’t match
Taking risks that others are scared to take
Reacting to failure as if it was always part of the plan
Not caring what the world thinks of me or my plans
If you are the best – someday someone else will be
If you are unique – you are the only one
I chose to be unique
As against being the best
I am the only Ankur Warikoo in the world
Sitting didn’t get us this far
Sitting
burns the least amount of calories
requires virtually no effort
is easy to do
everyone can do it
can happen anywhere anytime
is the most obvious response when you are tired
And yet – we have moved forward as a species because we chose not to just sit.
Don’t sit on your decisions.
The most dangerous people you will meet in your life are those who wish to sit and change nothing.
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