Kindle Notes & Highlights
Unicorns don’t share physical attributes. They weren’t all good looking or tall or inherently athletic. What they had in common were traits and habits that were actually teachable.
People who stand out in work and life possess the power to get what they want and inspire others while doing so.
when it comes to excelling, particularly in the workplace, it might be time to start looking for solutions in different places.
For better or worse, robots helped us out during the pandemic. When employers were scrambling to find labor that didn’t get sick or spread infection, AI was there. As a result, economists estimate that 42 percent of jobs lost in the pandemic are not coming back.
The Unicorns hold a skill set that can be learned. What we’ve discovered in our research is that these people have skills that can be developed by anyone.
The day is coming when interviewing is going to be less about competence and more about soft skills and cultural fit.
I’m always amazed at how, when we do a search, and we get down to two finalists, the person who wins the job is simply, as one of my senior consultants says, the person who plays best with others.
We live in a time of on-demand everything. If we ourselves are not on demand in some capacity as well, we lose. We lose opportunities to achieve more and be more. Response time matters.
The word procrastinate comes from the Latin crastina, which literally means “tomorrow.”
But it’s important to remember that being fast doesn’t mean saying yes to everything always. Rather, it means discerning (quickly!) what needs an immediate response and what does not.
In the start-up world, there’s a cautionary phrase: beware of distractions disguised as opportunities.
The data is here to back this up. A 2021 study looked at over 5.7 million inbound leads and determined which were most likely to convert. The answer: the ones a rep responded to in less than five minutes. If those leads weren’t attended to in the first five minutes, the chances of them converting plummeted by a factor of eight.
In business and relationships, being quick to respond almost always pays off.
“I’ve learned that if I have time to take care of something right away, it usually is the best time to get things done.”
The overwhelming evidence shows that texting is the fastest way to a prospect’s heart—or, at least, consciousness.
DISTRACTION OPPORTUNITY Doesn’t get you closer to your goals Gets you closer to your goals Your limbic system gives it a “heck yes.” Your whole brain agrees on it. Takes more time/money/resources than it is worth Yields results that are worth the sacrifices you have to make for it
Fear loves to make you overthink.
“Thinking” is valuable. Overthinking is not.
“It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you’ll do things differently.”
Flash and dazzle are great for sprints, but if you want to win the marathon, you’re going to need authenticity.
Aspirational is out and authentic is in. Aspirational is no longer working for a lot of brands. Authenticity is gaining market share.
Implausibly enough, we can translate what works for brands so that it serves us. Owning who we are, not trying to be overly sales-y, and remembering the value of good reviews, these things are key to being a Unicorn.
Authenticity is about telling the truth and not always in the most winsome light
“People will nod at your successes. They will laugh with you at your slipups. But they will remember you for how you handled the failures.”
Everyone’s made mistakes. Authentic people can share those mistakes appropriately.
“People hunger for authenticity from their leaders,” says Angela F. “Being vulnerable and open about our strengths and weaknesses helps build bridges and trust. We could all use a bit more of that.”
“People pick up on a lack of consistency very quickly, and it is far easier to lose credibility than it is to build it,”
“In the same way simply telling the truth keeps one from having to keep track of multiple versions of lies; staying intentionally consistent and authentic frees someone from having to keep track of how they appear or present themselves in different contexts. It is far easier to manage, it preserves reputation, and presents opportunities to engage with people.”
stakes situations, people aren’t typically transparent. People aren’t usually authentic. If you can spot someone who is authentic, you’ve spotted someone who stands out of the crowd. If you want to be a Unicorn, I’d suggest you get comfortable with authenticity.
“Adopting the mindset that pleasing everyone is not possible will set you free,” says Sam T. “If you are spending your valuable mental and emotional energy worrying about whether or not you are pleasing everyone, you are wasting that energy.”
“Everyone gets through divorces. But the people that actually heal from them are the people who can name what part of the failed marriage was their fault. Very few people do this, but the few that do recover quicker.”
AUTHENTIC TAKEAWAYS Our brains crave authentic. Authenticity can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you in terms of building trust and confidence. You don’t have to be perfect, just authentic. Mistakes are okay and make you better. Being authentic is easier than keeping an untouched frosted cake in the fridge in case you need to stick your face in it when your estranged wife comes over unexpectedly.
Justin Trudeau said, “Change is moving faster than ever, but will never move this slowly again.”
Diversity is a huge accelerant of agility. Diverse thoughts, diverse voices, ages, backgrounds, and cultures make stronger teams.
We need to be agile, not just to pivot quickly but to look at old problems through new lenses.”
“For me, the biggest thing that helped me become more agile is simply understanding that change is unavoidable. No matter what you do in your life, you will encounter change. You can either get frustrated or grow with it.
“Practice humility to ensure you aren’t tied to your pathway,” recommends Dave H. “If things need to change, making sure your idea isn’t tied to your value helps you to be much more agile.”
AGILE TAKEAWAYS We’re becoming less agile every day. Our brains need to be stretched as much as our bodies. Doing things because “that’s the way we’ve always done them” is toxic in the workplace. Agility thrives on diversity, new ideas, and fresh experiences.
When faced with challenges, people can either choose to be on the problem side of the equation or the solution side.
As someone once told me, you can have control or you can have growth, but you can’t have both.
“William, everyone falls into one of two categories. People are either on the problem side of the equation, or they are on the solution side. When I lay down to die, I’d love for people to stand up and say Jack was always on the solution side.”
Our brains are negative biased. Think about it: When our ancestors peeped out of the cave, was it in their best interests to see and admire the good things, like that lovely copse of May apples blooming over there? Or would it have served them better to clock the wild hyenas, foul-smelling water source, and extinguished fire? Which ones are you going to tell the group about? Gratitude makes our lives better, but for early people, recognizing and voicing the negative made their lives last.
WHY HIRING MANAGERS LOVE THE SOLVERS When’s the last time you went to HR with something good? Enough said. Tips for cultivating a Solver mentality at work: Encourage humility and lifelong learning. Celebrate Solver victories and give credit to individuals where it’s due. Ask that staff bring solutions to the table at each meeting; even if they’re bombastic and unachievable, it puts them in the right mindset. Language counts: rebrand “problems” as “possibilities.”
“As a Solver, I have the keen ability to look at an issue, accept whatever happened in the past that has led us to where we are in the present, and create a solution so the situation does not repeat itself in the future. It is imperative to remain calm when you are a Solver.”
Say yes John A. tells us that just showing up and saying yes is the most important step to being a Solver and a Unicorn. “Get involved,” he says. “Make sure you are going above and beyond in everything, especially when you’re new or entry level. That earns you the opportunity to be involved in more things and ultimately gains you influence and responsibility. Simply say yes to all the opportunities to get involved that come your way.”
SOLVER TAKEAWAYS Complaining, like that last cocktail of the night, is fun, but it’s also bad for you. Never say “I” when you could say “we.” Don’t solve in a vacuum. Learn the difference between a problem that needs to be solved and something to let go.
CASE STUDY: THE ANTICIPATOR UNICORN During a sabbatical that took him from India to Hawaii, the story goes, Marc Benioff had an epiphany: Why couldn’t business software be as user friendly as Amazon.com? Benioff, who since his childhood had been fascinated with technology and its future, had a hunch that a business management system that “lived” completely online and required minimal up-front costs could replace the decades-old model of software that had to be installed, updated, and managed with costly hardware. He was right. Salesforce requires nothing of the user beyond internet access.
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In the Old Testament, a large section of the Hebrew scriptures is given over to a section called the prophets. Prophets were able to see into the future. Prophets were valuable for helping kings out of a pickle. Prophets could anticipate. But most scholars agree the prophets of the Old Testament were not necessarily looking five and six hundred years into the future when they were giving their prophecies. Rather, they were giving a spiritually driven commentary on how to respond to the crisis as of that minute and in the very near future. If they happened to prophesize about something five or
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‘I’m good at being spontaneous when I’ve prepared to be spontaneous.’”
ANTICIPATOR TAKEAWAYS Anticipators are next-level important. You don’t need to see that far ahead, just farther than anyone around you. Learn to be a better Anticipator by knowing yourself, your history, and your surroundings.
