Hey GirdleyWorld!
After a couple of weeks talking about stress and mistakes, we’re going light today:
- 14 pieces of oddball business advice
Let’s do it!
1. Don't read business books
Most of them could have been a pamphlet, but publishers need to fill pages.
A great hack: find the podcast that interviews the author. You'll get all the important parts in 1% of the time.
2. Don't write emails longer than 5 sentences.
My go-to writing tip: remove 50% of your words. Then remove 50% of your words again.
You’ll be a lot more succinct. (Plus it’s good practice for Twitter!)
If it’s really a complicated idea, just pick up the damn phone (or send a Loom video).
3. Ask for more constructive criticism.
Americans are terrified of giving honest feedback, especially to anyone with any sort of power. (I had to build a whole feedback collection system to get people’s actual opinions.)
So I guarantee you’re not getting enough constructive criticism.
Start asking for it. All the time.
You can soften it with questions like, “What would you do differently if you were me?”
The other key: always say thank you. If you argue or get mad, you’ll never get a real opinion again.
4. Don’t focus on being the biggest company.
Tons of businesses are pushing to be the biggest in their space.
But big doesn’t always mean profitable.
American Airlines is one of the biggest carriers in the world, but they’re constantly struggling with razor-thin margins.
Southwest is a lot smaller, but they’ve been reliably profitable for decades.
I’d rather be Southwest every time. (Well, until recently that is!)
5. The entrepreneurs who need business coaches the most…
Are the ones who most refuse to hire them.
(Take a good look in the mirror.)
6. Don’t obsess OR ignore your competitors.
Psychologically, people give more weight when you say something as an absolute.
Obsessing over your competition means you’re not paying enough attention to your own business.
Ignoring them means you won’t catch what works.
The truth is in the middle:
Observe competitors so you can copy their best moves.
7. Don’t worry about the macro.
Small businesspeople worry too much about the big picture.
Employment rates, the economy, etc.
Things you have no control over.
Just focus on making good decisions at the micro level.
8. Make your product easier to buy
Do you know how many clicks it takes to buy your product?
How many forms you have to fill out?
How many emails to open?
If you’re not sure, go now and try to buy from your own company. If you’re not intentional about keeping it simple, things can get complicated without you noticing.
9. Annual performance reviews should be 4 bullet points, max.
If you point out 10 things to improve on, how many are going to change?
None.
Too many priorities mean none get worked on. Focus on whatever will have the biggest impact.
10. Your job postings probably suck.
30 minutes of copywriting work on job postings would 3x your candidate pipeline.
But people keep writing bland job postings like it's 1995.
(Here’s what I do to make them better.)
11. Most bosses say thank you 25% as much as they should.
It does make a difference.
Sub-point: Most bosses say thank you to employee spouses 1/100th of what they should.
12. Messy office = messy company.
They say “how you do anything is how you do everything.”
Pick up the trash, straighten the photos, and throw out the junk.
High-performance companies have high-performance spaces.
(And working at home, this is doubly important. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, try cleaning your desk. You’ll be right as rain in no time.)
13. Only the CEO can "own" company culture.
You can get help with it.
You can workshop what you want it to be.
But you can’t delegate it. Nobody else has the authority to change a culture.
It’s inherently top-down, so nobody else will if the boss isn’t living the company’s core behaviors.
14. HR first interviews are a big mistake.
Your company only gets one first impression.
If you have great candidates coming in, you want to sell them on the job.
So why would you put an HR person in the first-round interview in a hiring process?
Qualification phone screens? Fine.
But hiring managers are the ones you want to sell your company.
Got oddball advice of your own? I’d love to hear it — hit reply and let me know.
Have a great week!
Michael
