Welcome! Is this your first time visiting The Freak Factor blog? If so, you might want to read a short intro on this welcome post, download the free eBook, listen to the podcast , and/or take a brief assessment. Thanks for visiting and good luck as you freak out and flaunt your weaknesses!
New eBook: The Freak Factory - Making Employees Better by Helping Them Get Worse
Excerpt from the new eBook . . .
If conventional approaches to employee motivation aren’t working, then what should we do?
Instead of attacking people’s weaknesses, we need to find the strength that is hidden inside their apparently negative characteristics. It is time to stop trying to create well-rounded and balanced employees.
We need employees that are unbalanced. We need employees that are freaks. It is time to build a freak factory.
If you want to learn how to create a freak factory at your organization, click here to download the free eBook from ChangeThis.com
Start with the smiles . . . not the frowns
Nick Morgan is the author of Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma. He also writes an excellent blog with tips for effective speaking. One of his recent posts was about dealing with a negative audience.
Our natural inclination might be to start with the dissenters in the audience and try to win them over but that is the opposite of what he suggests. His first suggestion is to "talk to the positive people in the room."
"This is counter-intuitive, but important, because if you can establish a positive relationship with a few people in the room, that positive feeling will ripple across the crowd. We have these things called mirror neurons in our brains that give us essentially the same experience as we see the people around us having. So if we see someone reacting positively, we will too."
This same advice also applies to our own lives. Too often we focus on the negative aspects of our life and/or work and try to tackle the problems and weaknesses first. Instead, we should focus first on the positive elements of our lives and then the success and confidence we gain in those areas will ripple across the other parts of our lives as well.
If you use this strategy, you'll be surprised to find that, after starting with the positives, the negatives seem to disappear or at least become less problematic by the time you eventually get to them.
What's wrong with you? Don't worry about it. It probably doesn't matter.
My wife and I recently watched The Soloist, which is based on the true story of LA Times reporter, Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless man and musical prodigy who studied music at the Julliard School.
The story is powerful and I strongly recommend it. You can also read Lopez's articles or the book that inspired the movie.
At one point, Lopez is talking with the director of a homeless shelter about how to help Ayers. Lopez suggests that Ayers should undergo a psychiatric evaluation to discover what is wrong with him.
Director: "I don't get too hung up on diagnosis."
Lopez: "But how do you help somebody if you don't know what they have?"
Director: "Look at these people. Every one of them's been diagnosed more times than you can imagine and, as far as I can tell, it hasn't done them any good."
I agree. I think we are too hung up on diagnosing our own problems and the problems of others. Diagnosis usually doesn't do much good and it actually causes harm by making people believe that they are inadequate, flawed or damaged.
Think about it. A century of traditional psychology hasn't done much to improve our mental health, happiness or fulfillment, but it has done a lot to brand people as broken and in need of repair. I think it is time for a new approach that focuses more on what is right with us and less on what is wrong with us.
Lopez comes to a similar realization at the end of the movie. At some point, he stops trying to fix Ayers and begins treating him like a friend. He stops trying to find what is wrong with him and begins to accept him as a fellow human being. I think this is a good model for the rest of us to follow with our spouses, kids, friends, co-workers and employees.
Unemployable Prisoners or Unstoppable Entrepreneurs?
My new project is The Freak Factory: Making Employees Better by Helping Them Get Worse. My goal is to apply freak factor principles to the work of managers and leaders.
It is very empowering for individuals to learn that their weaknesses are actually strengths but it can be very challenging for managers to come to a similar conclusion about their employees. That is why I love the story of Catherine Rohr, CEO of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP). The description from her website speaks for itself.
"Former Wall Street investor Catherine Rohr founded PEP in May of 2004 when she and her husband toured a prison and noticed that executives and inmates had more in common than most would think. They know how to manage others to get things done. Even the most unsophisticated drug dealers inherently understand business concepts such as competition, profitability, risk management and proprietary sales channels. For both executives and inmates, passion is instinctive.
Catherine wondered what would happen if inmates who were committed to their own transformation were equipped to start and run legitimate companies. followng an unusual calling, Cathern left behind her New York career and financial stability, moved to Texas with her husband and started a one-of-a-kind 'behind bars' business plan competition. Her efforts were geared toward channeling the entrepreneurial passions and influential personalities of the inmates -- intentionally recruiting former gang leaders, drug dealers and hustlers.
The overwhelming response of 55 inmates and 15 world-class executives to judge the business plans and presentations was the catalyst to launch the Prison Entrepreneurship Program."
In a live interview with Catherine at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta she described the inmates this way. "These men are already proven entrepreneurs." She then explained that many of the PEP graduates go on to earn legitimate six-figure incomes. This drew a collective jealous groan from many of the poorly compensated ministry leaders and nonprofit managers in the audience.
Catherine's program is a phenomenal example of the power of finding strength inside apparent weakness and framing seeemingly negative characteristics in a positive way. If Rohr can do this with convicted felons, what could we accomplish with our less challenging employees?
Dave likes to talk . . . do you like to listen?
I'm terrible at being quiet and listening. That is why I was so pleased when Jeff Brainard, from Catch Your Limit Consulting, asked if I'd be willing to do a Freak Factor CODcast interview.
Catch Your Limit is a great example of how the freak factor can be applied to organizations. They are the world's only consulting firm that specializes in "management, marketing and fish cleaning services" and their CODcast, not podcast, stands for Creativity on Demand. I'm hoping to share Jeff's story with you all soon.
We talked for about an hour and discussed a little bit of everything, including: scissors, baseball, marriage, Hardees Thickburgers, parenting, Lance Armstrong, school, careers, outsourcing, interviews, management and the outrageous rewards for being the best.
Below are some specific questions the interview might help to answer.
- How can fixing your weaknesses actually damage your strengths?
- Why should you go farther in the direction that people tell you not to go in?
- What do the people that like you the best, like the least about you?
- How can you get a head start on success?
- Why is Shaquille O'Neal so bad at free throws and why doesn't it matter?
- Why was Michael Jordan bad at baseball?
- Why won't Lance Armstrong ever win a marathon?
- Why do you have to be willing to be the worst in order to be the best?
- What can Hardees Thickburgers teach us about our career?
- Why should you let your kids do poorly in school?
- How can the Freak Factor improve your marriage?
- How should you respond to the interview question about your biggest weakness?
- Why should you outsource tasks that you don't like to do?
- Why bother trying to be the best?
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Did you notice the new tabs at the top of the blog?
I've added links to my Facebook page, Linked-In profile and these Free Resources:
- podcast
- eBook
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Let your employees drive
Daniel Pink is one of my favorite authors. His new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, will be out in December.
However, if you don't want to wait, you can watch him present an overview at the TED Conference.
What is so "surprising" about what motivates us? Pink's main point is that incentives or extrinsic rewards are ineffective. In fact, he cites research that shows how incentives can actually reduce performance. Specifically, as work gets more complicated, incentives become less helpful and actually become harmful.
Pink is concerned about the mismatch between what social scientists have discovered and the way that managers attempt to influence behavior. "There's a mismatch between what science knows and what businesses do." He argues that organizational "decisions about talent and people are based on assumptions that are outdated, unexamined and rooted more in folklore than science."
For example, research shows that "intrinsic motivation beats extrinsic motivation every time." But how can managers use that knowledge to get the job done? How can they align their motivational strategies with scientific principles? Pink has three suggestions:
- Autonomy - "If you want engagement, self-direction works better."
- Mastery - People's skills, interests and talents have to match the work.
- Purpose - The work has to be meaningful.
He cites examples, like Google, that allow their employees to use up to 20% of their time to work on projects of their own choosing. Not surprisingly, when given this freedom, employees naturally choose tasks that are meaningful and that fit their personal style and strengths.
He also praises Best Buy for pioneering the Results Only Work Environment (ROWE), which encourages employees to work when, how and where they want to as long as they achieve the necessary results.
Pink's presentation fits nicely with The Freak Factor. As our daily work becomes more and more complex, organizations can't simply employ external rewards and punishments to force employees to do work that doesn't match their strengths and weaknesses. Instead, companies need to adapt the work environment to match the natural motivations of employees and look for the intersection of the company's goals and their employees' talents.
"The solution is not to do more of what we've already done. We need a new approach." That new approach starts with an understanding of our employees' unique needs and motivations, not with efforts to make everyone the same.
Are you ready to try this new approach? Are you ready to move over and let your employees drive?
What seems bad is good: The freak factor economy
The Freak Factor is based on the belief that your biggest weaknesses are also your biggest strengths. In other words, what seems to be bad is actually good.
Jonathan Fields, author of Career Renegade, applies this same principle to the recent economic meltdown in The Fire Fly Manifesto.
"What's going on in the world and the economy right now is frightening. . . But, I've got news for you. What feels like the end of the world to you now may, in fact, be the window you've dreamed of for decades. . . The meltdown has everyone re-examining how they earn a living and what they want out of their lives and careers."
"For those who've never explored a career with equal helpings of passion and prosperity out of a fear of being judged, unsupported or ridiculed, judgment has been suspended. . . This crisis has given you a massive, defensible reason to explore a radically different approach to the way you earn your living."
"What might unfold if you identified what you loved to do first, then tapped the wealth of tools, strategies and technologies that have only come onto the scene in the last few years to build a substantial living around what makes your entire life smile?"
Fields challenges traditional definitions of career success and offers a new standard. "Will this career allow me to: Spend the greatest amount of time, absorbed in activities and relationships that fill me up, while surrounding myself with people I cannot get enough of, and earning enough to live comfortably in the world?"
He also rejects the belief that jobs are the "safe" choice and entrepreneurship is risky. "As long as you're working for someone else, you'll never have the control you want." Additionally, your employer has priorities that can often conflict with your needs. "What's best for you is not their driving motivation."
Jonathan goes on to provide nine specific strategies for taking advantage of the current economic situation and how to begin to craft your own renegage career, whether it is inside an organization or in a business that you create. He also shares real-life examples of people who have applied these strategies successfully.
- Don't freak [he's not talking about the freak factor]
- Own up to your passion
- Research your passion
- Choose your renegade path
- Speeducate yourself
- Turn out your tribe
- Rally your rabbis
- Master your mind
- Get out of your head
He concludes by suggesting that you "get a bucket, not an umbrella."
"While the pundits scream about the sky falling, most people are running for cover, ducking into doorways and buying umbrellas. But, a small group of savvy entrepreneurs and career renegades are out there with buckets waiting to catch it, bottle it, and sell it."
"Everyone's worlds are being shaken, and in this shaking, sometimes violent thrashing, lies a massive opportunity -- the chance to come alive."
My students and seminar participants love The Freak Factor but they fear that this isn't the right time to look for a job or start a business that matches their unique characteristics. What Jonathan is saying is that this is the perfect time to try something new.
Now is the right time to freak out!
Are you ready to put away your umbrella and get a bucket?
If you want more great stuff from Jonathan, click here to download a free sample chapter of Career Renegade or visit his Awake at the Wheel blog.
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Hungry for more Freak Factor?
You need to become even more rare
I got a lot of great responses to What Makes You Rare? Check out the comments for that post to find out why Rick stays up all night refinishing furniture and how Joseph did something that less than 0.001% of college students ever do.
My favorite response was from Michelle. She has a geographic tongue, a condition that occasionally causes white lines on her tongue forming random shapes, especially if she eats citrus. Only 0.6% of Americans and 3% of the world's population have it. That's definitely rare.
But now it's time to create a new list. How can you expand on your existing rarities and find new ways to become even more rare?
Jonathan Fields, in Odds are for Suckers, argues that, instead of avoiding activities in which success is improbable, we should actually seek out those activities.
"A slightly-perverted universal-truth is that great successes almost always occur against a backdrop of ridiculously-bad odds. Why? Because, if it wasn’t so unlikely or so hard, everyone would be doing it and it wouldn’t be considered such a great or unusual achievement. Life is one big risk."
Additionally, "the higher the perceived odds of failure, the more people will be scared away, leaving the super-motivated and unusually-well equipped people like you with an even greater chance of success."
"Nothing grand in work or life was ever achieved by following the odds. For every rule, there is always an exception." In other words, excellence always involves deviance. Rarity and success go hand in hand.
"For my entire life, people have been telling me 'you can’t do that,' and for most of that time, I’ve been doing just that. We all have this voice inside that says believe the nay-sayers, wait for permission, why try when your odds of success are so small and the opportunity for public humiliation so high? Screw the naysayers!
Listening to this voice kills so many dreams. It stops us from doing what is in our hearts, because someone else doesn’t think we should be able to succeed at something grand and unusual.
Thing is, every second of every day, someone who should never have beaten the odds does. So, why can’t someone that be you?"
You've already seen the list of what makes me rare. Here's how I'm trying to beat the odds and become more rare.
- Continue to build a successful business, even though most small businesses fail.
- Get my book published, even though this is almost impossible and I've failed before.
- Become a successful keynote speaker, even though most people can't make a living at it.
- Complete an Ironman triathlon.
So what's on your list? I'd love to hear from you.
For a sobering reminder of just how rare you are, visit www.globalrichlist.com to compare your yearly earnings to everyone else in the world. Hint: Even if you make minimum wage, you are doing very well relative to the rest of humanity.
Tune in next time for more from Jonathan Fields and his Firefly Manifesto.
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Hungry for more Freak Factor?
Five freak factor books for kids - Book 1
This is the first in a series of five posts about children's books that illustrate the freak factor. If you like what you've been reading in the blog and want to share it with your kids, these books can help.
My middle daughter just started kindergarten and is reading through a series of Hooked on Phonics books, including Kim Kangaroo. The story is a perfect example of my Too Much or Not Enough concept. It goes like this:
"Kim is a kangaroo. Kim hops a lot!"
Unfortunately, everyone Kim meets tells her that she hops too much.
She responds by saying, "this is what kangaroos do."
Finally she meets the perfect companion, Ron Rabbit.
Ron doesn't criticize Kim for hopping because rabbits also love to hop.
The story ends with Ron and Kim having a great time hopping together because that's what rabbits and kangaroos do.
This story makes three important points:
- Some people will always criticize you for doing what you were designed to do.
- You don't need to change who you are to make others happy. Keep doing what you do best.
- You can always find someone who accepts you for who you are.
Next time someone criticizes you and tries to get you to fix an apparent weakness just act like Kim Kangaroo. Tell them, "I'm not going to change. This is what I do." Then start looking for other people who like to do the same things and will accept you for who you are.
Make sure to come back or subscribe to the blog for more children's book recommendations
Are you distracted or singleminded?
Most people believe that they should build on their strengths. Very few people believe that they should neglect their strengths to focus on just their weaknesses. I agree.
But here's the problem. Most people are also uncomfortable about focusing exclusively on their strengths and neglecting their weaknesses. They want to do both. They want to fix their weaknesses AND build on their strengths. It seems like a reasonable approach but it is destined to fail.
As Seth Godin explains in his recent post, competing with the singleminded, a company that focuses exclusively in one area will almost always defeat a competitor that is trying to do a lot of things well.
"When you have someone who is willing to accomplish A without worrying about B and C, they will almost always defeat you in accomplishing A. . . The singleminded have a fantastic advantage. And sometimes, their singleminded focus on accomplishing just that one thing (whatever it is) pushes them through the Dip far ahead of you and then yes, they make a ton of money and you've lost forever."
The same principle applies to individuals. While you are busy diffusing your time and energy broadly in an effort to improve in a variety of different areas, someone else is obsessively developing their strengths and flaunting their weaknesses. They aren't allowing their weaknesses to distract them from focusing on the areas in which they have the greatest potential.
If you want to win, in your career or your business, you need to be singleminded. Don't let your weaknesses and the goal of being well-rounded keep you from a maniacal focus on improving your strengths.
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Hungry for more Freak Factor?
Get the free e-book at www.changethis.com/45.02.freakfactor
Cubicle Countdown - 7 Lessons in 7 Days - Days 6 & 7
The countdown is over. The Escape from Cubicle Nation workshop in Charlotte was yesterday. If you didn't make it, you can still check out Pam's website for a list of workshops near you.
I was unable to post for the final two days because I was preparing for a presentation in Greensboro where I recorded a new demo video for The Freak Factor. However, I still wanted to wrap-up my review of Pam's book.
If you read the last post, Lesson Five: Stand Out, you learned how to differentiate yourself and your business. In this final entry, we'll discuss the importance of integrating your personal goals with your business goals and I'll include some random insights from the seminar.
Lesson Six: Integrate Personal and Business Goals
One of the most common questions that Pam gets is "How do I get started? How did you do it?" You might be surprised by the answer.
Pam suggests that you start with your life goals. Imagine your ideal day five years in the future. Imagine what you'd like your home, work, relationship, activities and community to look like. How much do you want to work? Where do you want to live? Who do you want to spend time with?
You shouldn't start by just developing business goals. Most of us are starting a business because our current work doesn't make us happy. However, simply starting a business won't create happiness. We need to begin by learning more about ourselves and what we want life to be like, then we can discover what kind of work might profitably contribute to that life.
Aligning these two sets of goals can be challenging. Pam likens it to the difference between smoking a crack pipe and drinking wheatgrass juice. Crack makes you feel good right now, but does a lot of damage over the long-run. Wheatgrass juice is unpleasant in the short-term, but has a lot of long-term benefits.
"Keeping clear with my life purpose and business vision, which I call drinking wheatgrass juice, will give me long-term physical, emotional, and spiritual satisfaction. It is not a fast high, it is a lifetime of making smart, healthy choices."
The "'crack-pipe' story is meant to illustrate a very important point: if you don't consider your life as a key part of your business model, you may find yourself outwardly successful and inwardly miserable."
This distinction is vital. There are many entrepreneurs who are "miserable because they got too enamored with business growth at all costs and didn't see creating a great business as a means to live a great life."
Many people aren't aware of this danger. I've seen this a lot as I help small business owners with strategic planning. When I ask them about their personal goals, they seem confused and don't offer clear answers. They don't see how it is relevant to their business planning. Don't make that same mistake.
Now, unless you plan to live your life completely alone, you also have to involve your family, friends and other key people in your planning. If you want to have a great life together, you have to come to some agreement about what that life will look like.
What does this all look like when you are done?
Here is Pam's formula for combining personal characteristics and goals with business planning to create a profitable and fulfilling company. This is a good checklist for you as you work through the planning process.
Natural passion and interest + Skill and competence + Business model that delivers the life you want to live + Solid business planning with well-defined market = Likelihood of Good Business Idea
There is too much good stuff in Pam's book for me to include it all here. Get the book and you'll find more great information on:
- Finding the right mentors
- Free resources for building your business
- Health insurance for people who are self-employed
- Building a strong backbone for your company
I'll wrap up this lesson with one caution. "As much as we talk about wanting to be happy and fulfilled, when you actually are, it can annoy the crap out of those around you."
Your happiness will often remind other people how unhappy they are. This is important. You want to involve other people in the process but don't let them keep you from pursuing your dreams just because they haven't been willing or able to do the same.
If you'd like to begin the process of aligning your goals, you can download a life plan guide from Pam's website. It is at the bottom of the page on the left.
Lesson Seven: Random Insights from the Workshop
The following quotes are from Pam Slim:
"Desperation was never good for dating. It is even worse for marketing."
A Navajo proverb: "If you hang out in a barber shop long enough, you'll eventually get a haircut." Are you hanging out in the right places to get what you want?
"Controversy is good. Don't be afraid to polarize people." From Pam's mentor, Guy Kawasaki.
These quotes are from Kelly Rogers, a participant at the conference:
"Being who you are not is exhausting."
"I think with my mouth open."
This last set of quotes is from artist Shaun Cassidy. He led a one-hour creativity exercise during the workshop. It was one of the few team activities that I have ever actually enjoyed. The picture on the left shows the final product. This was one group's interpretation of the word "transformation."
"Seemingly negative parameters can actually help you to be more innovative."
This quote is my favorite and is supported by significant evidence. The book, The Paradox of Choice, explains that when we have too many choices, we struggle to make decisions. Ironically, more options don't liberate us, they paralyze us.
Shaun's idea also reinforces my belief that our weaknesses and limitations are not a bad thing because they rule out options for us and make it easier to focus on the areas where we can be truly successful. Limitations are liberating.
"There is tremendous value in not being in total control and not knowing exactly what you're doing."
"Creativity isn't a lightning bolt. It springboards from the great work of others."
"I think with my hands, not my brains."
I think it is interesting to contrast Shaun's method of thinking with Kelly's. He thinks with his hands. She thinks with her mouth. Both approaches are unique to them and might not work for everyone.
You can also find these quotes on Twitter using the hashtag #efcnclt
Now that I've attended the seminar, I can tell you that it is wonderful. I left there encouraged and enlightened. I also left there with a great new set of colleagues and friends in Charlotte.
Do you like what you're reading? Do you want more? Get a free sample chapter from Pam's book. [No registration is required. The link opens directly into a PDF document.]
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Hungry for more Freak Factor?
Get the free e-book at www.changethis.com/45.02.freakfactor
Cubicle Countdown - 7 Lessons in 7 Days - Day 5
Just three days left until the Escape from Cubicle Nation workshop in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, 8/13. If you can't make it, you can check out Pam's website for a list of workshops near you.
If you read yesterday's post, Lesson Four: Rediscover Your Passion, you learned that passion will give you the energy that you need to fuel your business. However, passion is not enough. You also need a plan and "the core business plan is how you're different."
Today we'll take a look at how to differentiate your business from your competitors.
Lesson Five: Stand Out
To have a successful business you need to "learn to stand out from the crowd." This is my favorite lesson because it fits so perfectly with the Freak Factor concept. It seems obvious that we need to stand out, especially in business. Every marketing textbook touts the absolute importance of differentiation, of being different than your competitors. However, it isn't easy to do be different in real life and most people don't create a business that truly differentiates itself from others. As Pam explains, "common sense is rarely common practice."
This disconnect occurs because "we are told at an early age that our fire and passion is not 'appropriate.' We hear things like 'nice girls from the suburbs don't start punk rock bands.'" In other words, when you actually try to differentiate yourself or your business, other people criticize you and try to discourage you. They try to get you to be more normal.
And other people aren't the only barrier. Our own beliefs often keep us from being different. "We see others around us conforming to 'safe' lives and we don't want to stand out."
As Paul Graham points out, starting any business makes you "statistically abnormal." The decision to be an entrepreneur is the first step toward being different. The next steps involve differentiating your company as well.
Find YOUR Business
Don't listen to other people who tell you what kind of business you should start. It might be a good business idea, but not the right business for you. "It's not like you get up in the morning and say 'I want to be an entrepreneur. Should I make chips, software, a dry cleaner, desks?' That is the wrong order. The right way is you love dry cleaning or software or chips and becusse of that love of and knowledge of that industry, you are going to change that industry. If you want to be an artist, be an artist! But don't do it because you read in BusinessWeek that the market for art is getting bigger. Quite frankly, you might not have the talent."
Be Yourself
Your personality and style can shine through in both your business and the way you operate it. In her recommendations on blogging, Pam says "don't be afraid to be funky and use humor. . . People are hungry for real conversations with real people. Let your true self show through in your business." It is tempting to try to be what you think other people want you to be. That doesn't work. It's not authentic. Be yourself. Be real.
You Can't Please Everyone
We have to make choices. We can't do everything and we can't please everyone. "There's that common reaction of 'No, no, no, but everybody wants this.' Well, yes, but you can't do business based on everybody."
"I try to talk about displacement. In small business, displacement is a critical principle that I think is poorly understood. And what that means is that everything that you do rules out something else that you can't do. So you're stuck with trying to focus on what's most important and the narrower the market, the easier it is to get there. You want to really know your target customer."
I love the concept of displacement. It reminds me of a quote from G. K. Chesterton. "When you choose anything, you reject everything else . . . so when you take one course of action, you give up all the other courses." This is one of the fundamental reasons that I counsel people to stop trying to fix their weaknesses. Time spent trying to fix your weaknesses takes away from time you could have spent building on your strengths. You might want to do both, but you can't. Pam uses a dating analogy to explain why. "The more time you spend waiting around on a lukewarm romantic prospect, the less time and energy you have for a quality one."
Find Your People
"Who are my people? These are not just those people who would grudgingly fork over money for your product or service; they are people who would clamor to do business with you because you are the exact answer to their problems. They are your ideal partners, clients, customers, and mentors. These are people whom you like to spend time with, who embrace you despite your perceived warts, mistakes, and flaws and who are deeply affected by your work." The right people will not reject you for being yourself, for being real. Don't try to please everyone. Try to please the right people.
In his post, Who Spreads Your Word, Seth Godin narrows the definition of the "right people" to focus on those that tell others about your company, product and/or service. You have to find these people and build relationships with them.
As with differentiation, "this is obvious, of course. But what you are you doing about it? Have you figured out which portion of your user base are the talkers? Is it possible to focus your development efforts on actually making something that they like? Or, are you confusing the people who talk about your competition or about other industries with the people you need to reach? Might not be the same tribe."
"The #1 cause of an idea that's not spreading or a business that's not growing is that they don't have a committed group of people spreading the word about them. If you treat everyone the same, you're not increasing the odds that some people will step up on your behalf."
"This is the first question to ask someone who is frustrated at the rate their idea is spreading. 'Who are you hoping will talk about you?' If you don't know, it's unlikely to happen all by itself. On the other hand, if a marketer is smart about finding, courting and delighting the group most likely to spread the idea, it's time well spent."
Jonathan Fields, author of the Awake at the Wheel blog, offers a good summary that combines today's lesson with the previous posts on time and energy management. "Find something you're madly passionate about, surround yourself with people you love to be around, work your buns off and make a ton of money . . . as a byproduct of the fact that you're having the time or your life and contributing value to the world along the way." This quote is also an excellent lead-in to tomorrow's lesson on integrating your business and life goals.
The key lesson for Day Five is that your business will succeed if you aren't afraid to stand out and be yourself. Don't choose a business idea that requires you to fix your weaknesses or become someone that you are not. Differentiation requires you to be unique and that often means accepting imperfection in yourself and others.
Do you like what you're reading? Do you want more? Get a free sample chapter from Pam's book. [No registration is required. The link opens directly into a PDF document.]
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Hungry for more Freak Factor?
Get the free e-book at www.changethis.com/45.02.freakfactor
Cubicle Countdown - 7 Lessons in 7 Days - Day 4
Just four days left until the Escape from Cubicle Nation workshop in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, 8/13. If you can't make it, check out Pam's website for a list of workshops near you.
If you read yesterday's post, Lesson Three: Stop, you discovered how to find more time. However, you are probably still wondering how you will ever find the energy to fill that time productively. You are already exhausted and drained, especially because your current job is sucking the life out of you.
Fortunately, Pam also thought of this and has some excellent tips for improving your energy management.
Lesson Four: Rediscover Your Passion
Before we can rediscover our passion, we have to realize how we lost it. Pam shares this gut-wrenching email from one of her readers.
"I describe my office job and cubicle as toxic to my spirit. Before I graduated, I was ambitious, excited and had big dreams. My work sucks all the creativity and fun . . . and is starting to sap my spirit too. It has dampened my will and motivation and has just made me stop caring. I'm . . . no longer excited about projects or making a difference. I"m just going through the motions . . . it's hard to keep the lethargic work energy from spilling over to other aspects of my life."
Another reader explained it this way. "I felt as if the blood was being siphoned out of my body. Not enough to put me out of my misery, just enough to take away my will to live!" When our jobs don't fit our goals, values, skills and/or personality, they rob us of our energy. We've already touched on many of these themes but it is worth taking a closer look.
Lions in the zoo are lethargic but lions in the wild are powerful and active. Pam explains that being trapped in the wrong job can lead to:
- Not being able to identify what makes you happy
- A feeling of numbness and emptiness
- A feeling of burning rage
- A feeling of powerlessness and loss of self
- A sense of loneliness
- A loss of direction
None of these states are conducive to effective entrepreneurship. The obvious solution is to leave the toxic situation and it is important not to wait too long. "If you continually repress your natural desires, you will find yourself in a permanent 'living dead' state, so used to choking down your emotions that you can no longer access them."
Robert Quinn, author of Deep Change, uses similar terms. He refers to this as slow death and argues that deep change is the only antidote. In this case, deep change involves knowing yourself, doing what you love and developing a solid plan.
Know Thyself
The first step to regaining your energy is to know yourself. "When you truly know yourself, you tend to design a business that matches your strengths. Because you are the one in charge, you care more." However, you can't find the right match if you don't know what your strengths, interests and quirks are. Pam suggests the DISC profile as one helpful tool for enhancing your self-knowledge. You can use this link to take the DISC assessment.
Do What You Love
Yesterday we talked about avoiding tasks that you hate. The obvious parallel is to choose activities that you love. Once you have learned more about your unique strengths, weaknesses, interests and skills, you can create a business that fits like a glove. When you do this, you will feel your energy return.
"What many people don't realize is that when you force yourself to do something you don't want to do, you have to deplete the energy from your body to do it. When you make it through a week where you have forced yourself to do work you don't enjoy, you will feel exhausted, drained, and in need of martinis, industrial-strength aspirin, and/or face-planted-in-pillow rest."
"When you do things you love, your body generates energy naturally. You may work an equal number of hours, or more, than when doing work you don't enjoy, but the difference is you will feel spent, not depleted."
"As hard as you try, you cannot manufacture passion. Choose a business that allows you to express your best skills, talents and interests. This enthusiasm will permeate your brand and draw customers to you. You want to make sure that you will enjoy your business as you are growing it, not just when you get to a certain level of financial success."
Not only should you do what you love, you should do it with people that you love. Find peers and mentors that inspire and challenge you. Their encouragement will keep you going, even when times get tough.
If you want to learn more about energy management, I highly recommend The Power of Full Engagement by Loehr and Schwartz. They have trained world-class athletes and corporate executives how to maintain the energy and focus that it takes to succeed at the highest levels. As they explain, the time available to each of us limited but the quality and quantity of energy is not.
Create a Plan
Although doing what you love is important, "intense passion for something and a viable business model to turn this passion into a living are two totally different things. Doing what you love isn't enough. Because of this, we'll spend the next couple days exploring the importance of integrating your business plan with your life goals and learning how to differentiate your business from the competition.
The key lesson for Day Four is that you can increase your energy by doing what you love. Don't choose a business idea that requires you to fix your weaknesses or become someone that you are not.
Do you like what you're reading? Do you want more? Get a free sample chapter from Pam's book. [No registration is required. The link opens directly into a PDF document.]
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Hungry for more Freak Factor?
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Cubicle Countdown: 7 Lessons in 7 Days - Day 3
Just five days left until the Escape from Cubicle Nation workshop in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, 8/13. If you can't make it, check out Pam's website for a list of workshops near you.
If you read yesterday's post, Lesson Two: Start Now, you are excited about getting started but are probably wondering how you could ever find the time to begin working on your business. You have a job, a spouse, kids and a seemingly endless list of tasks and appointments. You can't start now. . . or can you?
Pam anticipated your time management concerns and has some great suggestions for carving out the hours that you'll need to achieve your dreams.
Lesson Three: Stop
You are half-right when you say that you don't have the time to start your business. You won't be able to add the responsibilities of an entrepreneur on top of all your current activities. And you don't have to. You need to take a look at your current schedule and start eliminating the activities that don't contribute to the success of your new company.
Pam is on solid footing with this advice. Peter Drucker calls it "organized abandonment." Jim Collins says that you don't need a to-do list. You need a "stop-doing list." Tom Peters recommends that you go a step further and get a "stop counselor" to help you eliminate unnecessary or distracting tasks. I discuss these perspectives in more detail in my post, Godin and Collins Want You to Stop.
1. Be Ruthless
Pam starts with some tough talk. "Stop watching f*ing episodes of Lost! Despite feeling like there is no extra time in the day, many people waste time on pursuits like cheesy television shows and meaningless Twitter conversations. If you want to make your business happen, you will have to be ruthless with your time."
In his post, Is Effort a Myth?, Seth Godin reinforces Pam's suggestion to reduce your time spent watching TV and surfing social networking sites, and adds newspapers, commuting and meetings to the list of time wasters.
2. Do Less
It is possible to do less and achieve more. Sometimes our schedules are full and we aren't wasting time on worthless activities. However, we aren't necessarily aligning our daily actions with our business goals. The fact that we are busy often convinces us that we are doing all that we can to be successful. But it isn't true.
Busyness often disguises other problems, like a lack of planning or discipline. To emphasize this point, Pam quotes Timothy Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Workweek. He argues that "being busy is a form of laziness--lazy thinking and indiscriminate action."
But laziness isn't always a bad thing. As Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone, explains, "elegance is putting in the least amount of energy for the greatest return." Many people are suspicious of a work smarter not harder philosophy. However, the fact is that some activities simply have more value and will provide a greater return on your investment than others. Stephen Covey calls these Quadrant II activities. They are important but they aren't urgent, so they often go undone. Here are a few activities that have a guaranteed payoff:
If you are still not convinced, I recommend Seth Godin's Do Less manifesto at ChangeThis.com
3. Procrastinate More
Pam cites wine guru and speaker, Gary Vaynerchuk, who exhorts his viewers to "stop doing what you hate!" Similarly, Marcus Buckingham argues that the most important thing to know about personal success is, “if you don’t like it, stop doing it.” I call this permanent procrastination and we'll discuss it more in tomorrow's post on energy management.
One way to stop doing the activities that you don't enjoy is to outsource them. Hire people with the skills, experience and interest in doing the things that you dislike. In doing so, you'll have more time and more energy for the work that you do best.
"I am a big fan of outsourcing anything in your life that is not a core strength or a joy to do. As long as you focus your freed-up time to generate more revenue or opportunities, it is a good trade."
For a very humorous discussion of outsourcing personal and business tasks, read AJ Jacobs' article, Outsourcing Life. He outsourced his worries to an assistant in India but did he go too far when he asked his virtual assistant to apologize to his wife for him?
In summary, Pam says, "I am convinced that truly successful people, those who enjoy every part of their life and have financial stability, are very picky about where they spend their time and energy. So prune relentlessly." I love this metaphor and recently suggested seven questions that will help you decide which activities need to be pruned.
The key lesson for Day Three is that you have the time to start your own business. You just need to eliminate activities that distract you or detract from your progress. Now that you have the time you need, on Day Four, we'll look at strategies for getting the energy that it takes to be an entrepreneur.
Do you like what you're reading? Do you want more? Get a free sample chapter from Pam's book. [No registration is required. The link opens directly into a PDF document.]
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Hungry for more Freak Factor?
Get the free e-book at www.changethis.com/45.02.freakfactor
Cubicle Countdown: 7 Lessons in 7 Days - Day 2
Just six days left until the Escape from Cubicle Nation workshop in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, 8/13. If you can't make it, check out Pam's website for a list of workshops near you.
If you read yesterday's post, Lesson One: Find the Right Fit, and realized that you are stuck in the zoo and your shoes don't fit, then you're probably feeling anxious and fearful today. You want to find the right fit but, as Pam Slim says, "you don't want to end up living in a van down by the river." That's normal and Pam wants you to know that "you aren't crazy."
She's not crazy either. She doesn't expect you to quit your job right away because simply "hating your job is not a business plan." But you can get started right now.
Lesson Two: Start Now
The first thing to acknowledge is that, even though leaving your job is risky, staying in your job isn't safe either. The current economic downturn and rising unemployment rate are painful reminders of this fact. Because of this, you need to be ready to leave your employer, especially because your employer might leave you first.
"As I watched formerly high-flying corporate employees slink our of their offices with their personal effects in cardboard boxes, I asked myself: 'Who feels better today, those employees who put all of their effort into their job, or those who took the time to develop a wide social network, invest in self-development, and pursue a small business on the side?'" I think the answer to that question is obvious, I call the second group, part-time freaks. They still have their job but they flaunt their weaknesses on the weekends.
"Probably the easiest way to turn your passion into your job is to do it gradually. If possible, don't quit your day job before launching your business. If you want to podcast, start with a monthly show or with a very short weekly show and see how it works. If you want to open up a yogurt shop, take a part-time job in someone else's yogurt shop and learn everything you can about how to run the business. If you're passionate enough, it won't even feel like work. In many cases, if your idea is a good one, you'll eventually become so busy or successful in your part-time endeavor that it will be clear when you should quit your day job and become a full-time independent business owner."
This is great advice. I've gradually built my business over the last five years while still maintaing my job as a college professor. I've slowly invested more and more time, energy and money into the business as it has built momentum and become more profitable. Yesterday I got a call from Bob Fink at Educational Resources of MN. During our conversation, he explained that he has also developed a tremendously successful business while continuing his job as a fourth grade teacher. We both started small and built our businesses steadily during the evenings and weekends.
If you think that you don't have any time to build a business on the side, tune in tomorrow and let Pam show you how to find the time you need.
In the meantime, Pam has at least ten other great suggestions for getting started, without leaving your job.
- Take responsibility for your decision to keep your job.
- Learn as much as you can during the workday.
- Look for projects that relate to your business idea.
- Find a mentor and/or coach.
- Network with other entrepreneurs and potential customers.
- Attend conferences and workshops.
- Take advantage of your company's tuition reimbursement policy.
- Get out of debt.
- Save up six-months of living expenses.
- Simplify your life and reduce your monthly expenses.
The last three tips related to personal finances are especially important. You're not really afraid of losing your job. You're afraid of being unable to pay your bills. By increasing your savings account and reducing debts and living expenses, you are reducing the probability that your business will fail. This is because your new business won't have to generate nearly as much profit as it would if you didn't follow these three steps.
Don't make it harder than it has to be. Adjust your lifestyle, at least in the beginning, to fit your dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. You can always get back in debt and live beyond your means once your business has become a phenomenal success.
The key lesson for Day Two is that you don't have to quit your job to begin your entrepreneurial journey. You can get started right now. On Day Three, we'll look at strategies for finding the time to begin building your business.
Do you like what you're reading? Do you want more? Get a free sample chapter from Pam's book. [No registration is required. The link opens directly into a PDF document.]
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Hungry for more Freak Factor?
Get the free e-book at www.changethis.com/45.02.freakfactor
Too strategic or not strategic enough?
During my managerial career, I was often criticized for focusing too little on details, tactics and operations. I was told that I focused too much on vision, strategy and the big picture.
How did I fix this weakness? How did I improve my ability to provide tactical guidance?
I didn't. Instead, I became a college professor and started teaching strategy, not operations. And I became a consultant that helps business with strategic planning. My big-picture perspective, formerly seen as a liability, is now a valuable asset.
As Seth Godin argues in his blog post, When Tactics Drown Out Strategy, many organizations are so busy with tactics that they don't spend enough time developing a strategy to integrate those tactics.
"In my experience, people get obsessed about tactical detail before they embrace a strategy... and as a result, when a tactic fails, they begin to question the strategy that they never really embraced in the first place."
Certainly organizations need both a clear strategy and aligned tactics. However, strategic and tactical skills don't need to reside within a single individual. That is what teamwork is for.
As managers and co-workers, we need to learn to embrace the strengths that others bring to the workplace and stop worrying about their weaknesses.
As individuals and employees, you need to embrace tactics if you are tactical and strategy if you are strategic. Don't let your boss or your organization force to you find balance or to become more well-rounded. Your perspective is valuable and unique, but so is the perspective of people that see things differently.
You aren't too tactical. You aren't tactical enough. Do it more.
You aren't too strategic. You aren't strategic enough. Do it more.
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Hungry for more Freak Factor?
Get the free e-book here www.changethis.com/45.02.FreakFactor
Cubicle Countdown: 7 Lessons in 7 Days - Day 1
When I first met Pam Slim at an author's conference last year, I was jealous. But not for the reasons you might think. I was jealous of her name, or, more specifically, her last name.
I've always been extraordinarily tall and skinny, and when I was a kid, I wore Toughskins and they came in three sizes: husky, regular and slim. I wore slim. I am slim. So why didn't I get such a perfect last name?
But my jealousy faded, and was replaced with interest, when she told me about her book, Escape from Cubicle Nation. I was interested for three reasons. First, my Freak Factor readers and seminar participants regularly ask, "Are you saying that I have to quit my job, since it doesn't allow me to flaunt my weaknesses?" Second, the most common goal of my graduate students is to start their own business. Third, I've been running my own business, in addition to teaching management, for the last five years. However, I've never had much guidance on how to be an entrepreneur. I've just been figuring it out as I go along.
Six months after meeting Pam, I downloaded her book to my brand new Kindle and read it on the plane during a business trip. I was hoping to discover useful information and I was not disappointed. As I read, I pasted huge copies of text to the Notes feature on the Kindle.
Next Thursday, August 13, I'll be attending Pam's workshop in Charlotte, NC. Over the next seven days leading up to the seminar, I want to share seven lessons from her book that demonstrate the importance of freaking out, whether you decide to stay employed or to make your escape and start a business.
Lesson One: Find the Right Fit
Do you have to quit your job? Maybe. Pam argues that "you aren't meant to have a boss" and she uses a blog post from Paul Graham to support this belief. Here is Paul's story:
"I was in Africa last year and saw a lot of animals in the wild that I'd only seen in zoos before. It was remarkable how different they seemed. Particularly lions. Lions in the wild seem about ten times more alive. They're like different animals.
I suspect that working for oneself feels better to humans in much the same way that living in the wild must feel better to a wide-ranging predator like a lion. Life in a zoo is easier, but it isn't the life they were designed for."
Have you ever been frustrated with your work and said, "this place is a zoo." Maybe it is a zoo and maybe you are unhappy in your job because you weren't designed to be caged. Maybe there is nothing wrong with you. You are just in the wrong environment.
Pam goes on to say that "each of us has natural, organic preferences for how we feel most alive, relaxed, happy, and passionate at work." We feel alive when we find an environment that fits these preferences. Our desires are natural and organic, we don't need to change them. We need to acknowledge them and adapt our lives to them. A lion doesn't need to learn how to live in the zoo. He needs to find the open plains and live the life he was made for.
When we resist the urge to accept our natural preferences and fail to find the right fit, it can be tremendously painful. Pam helps us understand that pain with another graphic illustration.
"I liken it to wearing a shoe two sizes too small. Your ideal situation is like wearing a pair of size eight wide shoes of a stylish, comfortable brand that feels custom-made for your foot and looks sexy too. Your current situation is like wearing a pair of size six narrow shoes, in an unflattering material, with a heel that is both ungainly and unattractive. So why in the world do we try to jam our foot into an unattractive, uncomfortable shoe, otherwise known as our day job?"
If your shoes didn't fit, would you find new ones or would you repeatedly jam your foot inside them, hoping to someday adapt? Would you blame yourself or blame your shoes? Would you change yourself or change your shoes?
Should you quit your job? Maybe, if it doesn't fit. The alternative is even more painful.
Consider this brutal example from Cinderella (not the Disney version). "Cinderella's step-mother instructs her daughters: 'Listen,' said the mother secretly. 'Take this knife, and if the slipper is too tight, just cut off part of your foot. It will hurt a little, but what harm is that? The pain will soon pass, and then one of you will be queen.'"
I've experienced firsthand the pain of trying to fit in and the joy of finding the right fit. Nearly all of my apparent weaknesses were transformed when I left my job as a manager and became a college professor and public speaker. I've felt the freedom of leaving the zoo. I've felt the comfort of finding the right shoes.
- I'm a bad team player but now I work by myself.
- I'm not a good listener but now I get paid to talk.
- I'm not detail-oriented but now I help businesses to improve their vision and strategy.
- I'm bad at taking orders but now I run my own business.
Leaving the wrong environment for the right one worked for me, but before you decide to quit your job, you need to answer these two questions:
First, does your job allow you to do what you were designed to do or does it require you to deny your true self? In other words, are you a lion on the open plains of the Serengeti or are you trapped in a zoo?
Second, does it match your natural preferences or rub you the wrong way? Are your shoes the right size or are you cutting off a part of yourself in order to fit in?
If the answers to these questions fill you with anxiety, don't worry. Pam anticipated this because she coaches budding entrepreneurs and understands their fears. Think of her book as a form of therapy. Tomorrow she'll show you how you can get started on your journey to find the right fit, without leaving your current job.
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Are you too bossy?
My dad saw a girl wearing this t-shirt the other day. I also found a second version while searching for this image. It says . . .
"I'm not bossy, I just have better ideas."
I thought these were great examples of The Freak Factor since they reframe bossiness, an apparent weakness, as the possession of superior knowledge, an obvious strength.
This reminded me of the song Bossy by Kelis, which starts off with the lyrics . . .
"You don't have to love me. You don't even have to like me, but you will respect me. You know why? Cause I'm a boss."
Do people tell you that you are too bossy? Have you been trying to get better at letting other people take charge?
Forget about that. Here's a three-step process that will work much better.
- Be the boss.
- Download "Bossy" and play it loudly.
- Buy the bossy t-ehirt and wear it proudly.
Some people may not like you, but others will respect you.
McFreak
McG is the director of Terminator Salvation, Charlie's Angels and a variety of television and internet hits. In a recent Fast Company article he admitted to being a control freak. I love the interviewer's response to McG's confession.
"As afflictions go, it would be hard to find one better suited for a media mogul - or any mogul for that matter - than a seemingly endless capacity for control. To call McG a control freak might be uncharitable. Let's just say he's extremely attentive to detail."
He goes on to describe the frenzy of activity and decision overload that characterize a movie set. This situation might overwhelm other people but, since McG is a control freak, this world is his "paradise."
In other words, McG is a phenomenally successful and wealthy media mogul because of his weakness, not in spite of it. And he has done this by finding the perfect fit for his particular problem, a situation in which his apparent weakness is a powerful strength.
What's McG's next move? He's trying to find a way to gain even more control over the movie-making process by eliminating the studios from the process. He's flaunting his weakness by becoming even more of a control freak.
Are you a control freak? Learn from McG's lesson and find ways to take even more control. Don't fix it, flaunt it.
Normal? Probably not.
I saw this sign while doing some shopping in Boston last year.
I think it is true. People only seem normal because we don't know them. We assume that other people are normal but they're not. They're freaks. We all are.
Time to get used to it. Time to embrace it.
The Unusuals
I was spending some quality time with my DVR tonight and found an episode of The Unusuals. It seemed like it had some freak factor potential and I was not disappointed.
Walsh: "You're a good cop."
Alvarez: "For a freak."
Walsh: "Hey, we're all freaks aren't we? That's a good thing. To stand out, to be different. It makes us good at what we do."
I agree.
- We're all freaks.
- It's good to be a freak because it helps you to stand out.
- The characteristics that make us freaks also make us good at what we do.
Too Much . . . Or Not Enough?
The Freak Factor is all about exaggerating your apparent weaknesses. It's time for a few specific examples of how this has worked for others.
Are you too cynical?
Maybe you are not cynical enough.
The people at Despair.com have turned cynicism into a business.
I personally like this de-motivational poster because it also supports the thesis of the freak factor. There is a place for everyone.
Which one of your weaknesses could you turn into a business (or a position on a professional sports team)?
* My apologies to soccer fans. I'm just bitter because I was too tall and uncoordinated to succeed in soccer.
My Books
Recent Posts
- Why do we kill great leaders?
- New eBook: The Freak Factory - Making Employees Better by Helping Them Get Worse
- Defy the Box: Break Free of the Pre-Packaged Life
- Freak Factor TV - Are You Making Copies or Originals?
- Conduct a Better Interview: Ask About Candidate's Side Effects
- Free Freak Factor Webinar
- Freak Factor Radio - Go Renegade with @JonathanFields
- Freak Factor Radio - Escape the Cubicle with @PamSlim
- Freak Factor TV - Conquer Stress with Fanatical Obsession
- Limitations are Liberating
