I once saw a man in New York City crossing the street. Suddenly, the man heard a car engine approaching quickly and rather than hurry on across, he halted, seeming to freeze, in the middle of the street. The man’s arms stretched out with one hand towards the side he had been moving towards and the other hand pointing back the way he had come. His face was a mask of fear, looking at the car bearing down on him. ...

What small experiments can we quickly run to learn and validate the hypotheses or pivot? Experiments should be fast, cheap, and simple 1 Running the test and observing the outcome is a practice in reducing risk. 1 Feedback loops should be short 1 Tools should be reusable 1 Good enough beats completely perfect 1 Footnotes Every Book Is A Startup, by Todd Sattersten ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

Why Does Optimism Matter? Ancient wisdom says… Where there is no vision, the people perish Psalms 29:18 Followers initially look to leaders to lead with a positive vision. Effective leaders often articulate a compelling, hopeful vision for their organization’s future. It is more fun to be in a growing organization than a shrinking organization. Optimism can indirectly lead to increased Sales & Revenue. Optimism has a more direct affect on customer acquisition, and gaining new business. Optimistic employees act in ways that customers notice. The optimism can be contagious, even if unconsciously. Might they be more likely to believe in the value of the products or services you offer? Wouldn’t that translate into higher sales and revenue? What is Optimism? Optimism is a mindset or attitude characterized by hopefulness and a positive outlook on the future. It’s the tendency to expect good things to happen and to focus on the bright side of situations, even in the face of challenges. How To Improve Optimism Leverage real optimism to help people stay motivated, reduce stress, and cope better with difficult situations. Every organization has some of the difficulties. Failure Modes It is important to be balanced—being overly optimistic without considering potential risks or challenges can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations. It is not blind optimism, but choosing to see how we can make a difference with the parts of situations we can influence or control. Examples Situation: Tom comes to you, his leader, and describes a problem, its urgency, and perhaps its impact, and then stops and looks at you. ...