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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
M.J. DeMarco
Read between
February 19 - February 27, 2022
Imagine winning a billion dollars. After winning the fortune, what specifically would you do? I’m not talking about “travel the world” or “buy a fleet of exotic cars”—I’m talking about AFTER you’ve done all that. AFTER you’ve bought everything and seen everything—what would be next? Writing? Philanthropy? Making movies? Whatever it is, it’s a clue into what gives your life meaning or purpose.
Basically, all the things you think you can’t control are webs you have woven, silken imprisonments caged by excuses.
The truth is, I am suspicious of any company who advertises heavily because it suggests a product that can’t pull.
The evidence of heavy advertising signifies an increased probability that a productocracy—an incredible “tell your friend” company—is not evident.
Newer, oblivious customers need to replace the dissatisfied ones—the push is the business. And if advertising is needed to drive sales, sorry, you’ve got a product problem.
So, if you already have a business, how long would you survive if you stopped advertising? If the answer is weeks or months, you’ve got a product problem. And with a product problem, ultimately, you will have a business problem.
A productocracy has five core Commandments called CENTS. They are: 1 - The Commandment of Control 2 - The Commandment of Entry 3 - The Commandment of Need 4 - The Commandment of Time 5 - The Commandment of Scale
If you think of your UNSCRIPTED journey as the construction of a building, the Commandment of Control represents the land you build upon. Do you own it? Or is it leased or rented from someone else? Can someone misrepresent or ruin it? Change its terms of use? Not renew its terms?
the easier the opportunity, the worse it is. Conversely, the harder something is to solve, the greater the opportunity.
Your Price Professionalism Price Ambiguity Compelling Story (About Us) Ease of Ordering Label/Packaging Design Website Design Affiliations or Associations Cleanliness Customer Service Guarantee Crisp, Clean Photos Refund Policy Public Reviews Included/Excluded Ingredient Celebrity Endorsements Ambiance Comfort Product Features Security Payment Options Shipping Speed or Cost User Interface Bribed Reviews Employee Photos Website Recently Updated
As an entrepreneur, you must always ask, why do you exist in the marketplace? What value are you skewing? And who will yearn for your company should you close up shop? Or would your sudden market absence be met with eerie silence?
Innovation: You blaze your own path and do something never done before. Improvement: You tread an existing path and do something being done already but do it better by skewing value attributes.
If you’re in “I need an idea” mode, the focus shouldn’t be either innovation or improvement but whatever the market tells you. Don’t fight the tape. The market is a fluid, dynamic body of information. It speaks often. When it does, listen. Determine if YOU can fill its needs. Most of the market’s demands can be met with little to no capital.
INSIGHT(S) TO CONSIDER… Getting a job and being responsible is never failure. When you identify as an entrepreneur, a job is simply a means to an end, a part of your unfolding story. QUESTION(S) TO PONDER… If experience and money were no concern, what needs and wants would you pursue? And is experience and money really an obstacle, or just one of the 3Bs?
The Commandment of Time has two components. The first is physicality, where your value must exist in space-time separate from you. This book exists regardless of my existence. On the other hand, if you consult for a living, your income stops when you stop. There is no physicality.
Software/Internet Systems The next popular legacy systems are software/internet systems designed to solve a problem, make something easier, or even provide entertainment. Software systems provide the most legacy bang as, once coded, management consists of upgrade and support. The software-system umbrella contains all the following: Software as a service system (SAAS: learning academies, analytics, social-media management) Internet websites and applications (social media, marketplaces) Mobile applications Enterprise software (software designed for a purpose, e.g., a dental patient management
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Rental Systems A rental system is a form of a product system where the product is not bought but rented. The legacy occurs because both the product and its use through duration create income. Notably, the expiration of time becomes your ally. Some examples: Rental real estate (residential, commercial, Airbnb property) Rental services (cars, party tents, heavy equipment, bounce houses) Parking garages Licensing (rental of intellectual or brand property)
INSIGHT(S) TO CONSIDER… Your objective in creating legacy value through a business system is an immediate payment of MONEY, but an eventual payment of FREE TIME.
INSIGHT(S) TO CONSIDER… An UNSCRIPTED lifestyle should be challenged regularly. Whenever life gets routine or mundane, it potentially signals it’s time for a new pursuit.
Build a business that makes a difference in your customers’ lives but, more importantly, yours.
You can scale anything: a laundromat, a retail store, rental houses, your husband’s secret mustard recipe, anything. The question is, how difficult will it be? There are three basic scale strategies, each with their own internal challenges. They are: A customer strategy A chain/franchise strategy A channel strategy
The moral of this tale parallels the perils of execution: you simply won’t know what’s needed until you need it. The odds of picking the right weapons before they’re needed are about as far-fetched as someone picking pepper spray and plastic for the forest. In the end, we confuse preparation and busywork for execution, when the real mettle comes from entering the forest and experiencing firsthand what the game demands.
Identify the problem or the challenge and then act. Unlike the death forest, we can choose the tools needed based on the encounter.
You see, if you postpone action until you have all the answers that pave execution, you’ll never get started. NEVER.
But oftentimes, it’s something else: a complaint, a suggestion, a user-interface problem, or just an email seeking more information. Whatever echoes land in your lap, it is your job to HEAR them and then ASSESS them. Is this echo actionable? Problematic? Is it an opportunity to redirect or reevaluate your value proposition?
Saturating the market with your action is great, but you’ve got to tune your senses and unwrap the gifts of echoes. Inside you’ll find clues to where you should and should not be heading.
Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best. ~ Theodore Isaac Rubin, Psychologist
Plan Path Proof (Soft) Prototype Proof (Hard) Productocracy Propagate
Does your solution have any primary dependents for execution? Example: exclusively sold at Walmart, distributed at Facebook, etc. If so, what control risks can be mitigated? Does your solution have secondary dependents? Partners, suppliers, manufacturing, importers, channels?
The strongest brands link into the identities of their target customer.
If you want to sell more of anything, give your product or company a story. People love stories because it’s how we make sense of our world. Linking a story to your company or product gives the customer a chance to become part of the narrative. When the story resonates with your customer’s identity, it strengthens your brand.
Tell your audience WHY you are in business; be fiduciary about it. When they make the connection, they will choose you over the big bully on the block.
business is hard enough. Don’t make it any harder by letting your limited worldview corrupt the real world. Again, your perception is not the reality.
once I focused on what attracts money and not money itself, the money flowed. Likewise, once you focus on what attracts good search-engine results—valuable content—the good SEO results follow.
INSIGHT(S) TO CONSIDER… Fad businesses might be poor ventures to pursue, but they can provide valuable business experience, especially for those who are just getting started.
INSIGHT(S) TO CONSIDER… Comparison is future-oriented and focused on what is missing, creating anxiety. Gratitude is present-oriented and focused on what you have, creating peace.
With comparative immunity, you're laughing at the Joneses for their idiocy; you pursue what’s important while denying the rest.
The three-three rule says that if any of your investments, whether they be stocks or bonds, appreciates unrealized gains greater than or equal to three years in dividends in any three-month period, SELL
Southern Company (SO) Current Dividend: 5% Share Price Cost Basis: $43.00 Shares Purchased: 1,000 ($43,000 principal) Annual Dividends: $2,150 (.05 X $43,000) Three-Year-Rule Scenario: If SO appreciates to $49.50 within (3) months, you should sell and take the $6,450 (3 X 2,150) gain, which represents 3 years of dividends.
The Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund (FAX) Current Dividend: 8% Share Price Cost Basis: $5.00 Shares Purchased: 10,000 ($50,000 principal) Annual Dividends: $4,000 Three-Year-Rule Scenario: If FAX appreciates to $6.20 within (3) months, you should sell and take the net $12,000 gain, since the $12,000 (3 X 4,000) threshold was breached.
For market awareness, here are some questions which cornerstone the ostrich rule: Is the company’s industry dying? (RadioShack, Kodak) Is the company’s industry being disrupted? (Barnes & Noble, Blackberry) Is the company’s industry going through a cyclical shift that could endanger the underlying asset? (Linn Energy, Chesapeake Energy) Is the company likened to a fad or a trend? (Crocs, Krispy Kreme, Mossimo)
Refocus your grind into the right system as opposed to the wrong system and it’s yours for the taking. I remind you: When I got started, there were plenty of people in this world who worked far harder than I did. I simply channeled my effort into a system where results could be unlimitedly leveraged versus limitedly capped.
INSIGHT(S) TO CONSIDER… While in cash-accumulation mode, I did not change my investment style and invested according to the capital-principle: I saved for income, not for growth. Basic financial awareness is a required UNSCRIPTED skill, as important as sales and communication. Apply the KAIZEN principle in these areas.
