Seth Godin's Blog, page 84

You go first

That's the key insight of the peer-to-peer connection economy.

Anyone can reach out, anyone can lead, anyone can pick someone else.

But if you wait for anyone, it's unlikely to happen.

It begins with you.

            

Save as draft

Is that a habit?

If your instinct is to publish, to share, to instruct, to give away, to engage and to put it into the world, then 'save as draft' is a rare thing.

On the other hand, if you find yourself noodling then putting aside, waiting for perfect, you're on track to be waiting for a very long time.

Ship.

[Tomorrow, Thursday April 27 is the first priority deadline for the next session of the altMBA. This is an intensive 30-day workshop that creates the habit of shipping. We help people learn to see, to take action, to make decisions and to cause change to happen. It might just be for you.]

            

And then we got bored

Six missions after Apollo 11 amazed the world by going to the moon, Apollo 17 was the last trip.

It fell off the cultural radar. Flying to the moon, driving around and getting back safely wasn't interesting enough, apparently.

And the miracle of the internet, which connects billions of people, instantly, is something we all take for granted after less than a generation.

Is it any wonder that your magnificent Facebook post or clever tweet isn't racking up ever more likes?

            

You look like you’re lying (when you’re nervous)

This is a significant bug in our culture and a glitch in our DNA.

When we're on the spot, giving a speech, or pulled over by a cop, we get nervous.

We sweat, talk too fast, constrict our throat, avoid eye contact, put on a half smile and do many of the things that people often associate with lying.

At the same time, because the con man (who might also be a politician or CEO) has figured out how to avoid these telltale signs, we give them the benefit of the doubt and they lie with impunity.

If you have good intentions, you have two options: You can either avoid getting nervous (which comes with practice) or you can work on the most obvious symptoms you display, intentionally diminishing them. Actors are better on screen than the rare famous person doing a cameo because the actors have been taught how to read their lines without all the telltale signs of lying. (Of course, reading lines is lying...)

If you're using a microphone, use it. No need to brace your body to shout. Talk more slowly. Intentionally make eye contact...

And don't lie. But you knew that part.

You shouldn't have to practice appearing to be truthful when you're being truthful. But you do. Because we're humans and we're judging you.

            

What does "science" mean?

To countless teenagers who had the wrong teacher in high school, it means, "a boring collection of right answers, categorized by topic."

Once we discover that some things we were taught aren't black and white any more (Pluto, DDT, infant formula), it's not surprising that people begin to go from bored to skeptical. About all of it.

Except that's not what science is.

Science is a process. It's not pretending it has the right answer, it merely has the best process to get closer to that right answer. Science is an ongoing argument, one where you show your work and make a prediction about what's going to happen next.

And you're not allowed to have magical faeries. Not allowed to change the explanation based on what just happened. You must begin again, from first principles, and make a new argument, and show new work, and make a better prediction.

Science isn't only done in the lab. Every one of us does it at work, daily.

Science isn't something to believe or not believe. It's something to do.

            

The best time to study for the test

... is before it's given.

The best time to campaign is before the election.

And the best time to keep a customer is before he leaves.

            

Who are we seeking to become?

We get what we invest in. The time we spend comes back, with interest.

If you practice five minutes of new, difficult banjo music every day, you'll become a better banjo player. If you spend a little bit more time each day whining or feeling ashamed, that behavior will become part of you. The words you type, the people you hang with, the media you consume...

The difference between who you are now and who you were five years ago is largely due to how you've spent your time along the way.

The habits we groove become who we are, one minute at a time. A small thing, repeated, is not a small thing.

[And the same thing is true for brands, organizations and movements.]

            

There is no 'the industry'

It's easy to say that, "the industry is to blame," or "the industry doesn't understand this."

But because no one is charge, because there's no coherent enforcement method, this is merely a shorthand. There is no industry, no economy, no market. Only people.

And people, people can take action if they care.

            

Complicated problems rarely require magical explanations

One clue that someone doesn't understand a problem is that they need a large number of variables and factors to explain it.

On the other hand, turning a complex situation into something overly simple is an even more common way of demonstrating ignorance of how the system works.

What we're looking for isn't the number of countable variables. It's the clarity of thought. The coherence of the explanation. The ability to have that explanation hold water even if small inputs change. The explanation might be long, but it makes sense.

Too often, the overly simplistic explanation is just a form of hand waving. We beg the question because we mention the simple explanation plus the miracle. It's the miracle, the homunculus, the little man in the machine, that actually holds the answer, and punting on explaining it is lazy. We use magic to kick the explanation down the road, making it not simple, but obtuse.

[Examples: Magical faeries. Conspiracy theories. Science denialism. Simplistic views of marketing or culture...]

A useful description is one that can be tested, expanded and makes accurate predictions. A lazy one just makes us feel better until we actually have to engage with the system in a useful way.

It's entirely possible that you're trying to work with a complicated system, one that can't be boiled down to a simple catch phrase. That's okay. Clarity is still possible.

If you've committed to only working in systems that are simple enough to be explained in sixty seconds on cable news, you've opted out of making the impact you're capable of.

            

Avoiding the good/great chasm

You can be good at Twitter in about five minutes a day. Spending ten minutes doesn't make you twice as good... in fact, there's probably little measurable improvement. To be great at Twitter might take five hours of daily effort.

All the time in between five minutes and five hours is wasted. You're in a chasm with no measurable benefits.

We see the same thing happen with your Yellow Pages ads or your customer service. Showing up takes some effort and it often pays off. Showing up a bunch more is often worthless. If you want to truly be great, you're going to have to do things most people couldn't imagine. That's what makes it great, after all. The scarcity of it.

This is the underpinning of the Dip. Don't get caught doing more than you need to but less than you want to.