Expected Outcomes

Despite calculated actions and contingency plans it's amazing how often the outcome of our efforts differs from how we imagine it. We're by no means consistent, no matter what lengths we go to to produce consistent results.

That can be de-motivating for some, but on further exploration you realize it's not a big deal. In fact, if you stop to think about the number of contingencies involved in a given effort, it's amazing that we can produce any semblance of consistency.

Imagine a basketball player taking a shot during an NBA game. Even a super star like Kobe Bryant will miss his shot 56% of the time. Typically a 56% failing rate is nothing to get very excited about. If you fail more than half the times you try something that's anything but consistent.

What goes into those odds? How was Kobe being guarded, was he wide open, was he doing a layup or a 3 pointer, was he fresh off the bench, was he tired, did he have any nagging injuries, were his hands too sweaty, did he have a clear view of the hoop, was he squared up, did he get enough sleep the night before, did he eat his wheaties... you get my point.

If you think about it there are always going to be lots contingencies that affect the consistency of the outcomes. The only think worth sweating about is the consistency of your efforts. I believe that if you can manage a consistent focused effort in the direction you want to go, eventually, you'll get the outcome you're looking for.

Thoreau said it best:

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

Your Online Reputation

If someone "Googles" your name what will they learn about you? And...do you have any control over what they see?

You may have more control than you realize.

When I Google "Henrik Joreteg" my professional profile on LinkedIn.com is the first search result. This includes all the professional details about me. It's a lot like posting your resume. There are also references and recommendations that add credibility to what is written in my profile and there are links to my business (HouseFLIX.com) and to this blog.

This blog happens to be the second Google search result which will again, hopefully give a better view of who I am and serve to further increase my credibility.

By publishing a blog and posting a profile on LinkedIn you can dramatically increase the quality and accuracy of information that is available about you on the Internet.

Sticky Ideas

Why is it that some arguably worthless, incorrect, ideas such as urban legends spread like wild-fire while other far more intelligent and worthy ideas don't get anywhere.

They're not "sticky!" Companies spend so much time trying to say things that are descriptive or include all the messages they want to broadcast, but they often fail to spend the time tweaking the presentation of the idea to make it interesting... to make it stick.

That's what the book "Made to Stick", by Chip Heath and Dan Heath is all about. It's about deconstructing what makes ideas sticky.

The book gives the example of a man who worked for a non-profit group that educates the public about nutrition. His organization discovered that a typical medium sized bag of movie popcorn contains 37 grams of saturated fat. So what?!?!

In reality 37 grams is a tremendously unhealthy amount to consume in one sitting.

This man's job was to turn that statistic into a captivating story. The typical numeric explanation or graph would not have made much of a stir. The line he came up with was:

"A medium-sized 'butter' popcorn at a typical neighborhood movie theater contains more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings - COMBINED!"

The story was a sensation! It made the front pages of USA Today, the LA Times, and The Washington Post's Style section. It was featured on all kinds of news casts and the end result was a noticeable drop in popcorn sales and ultimately several major theater chains changed the type of oil they used!

The idea stuck! It's a fairly uninteresting stat, but it was crafted into a very "sticky" idea. That's the crux of effective marketing. Build a captivating idea, focus on how it needs to be presented, and take the time to make it "sticky".

The book concludes that sticky ideas generally need to have these characteristics:

1. Simplicity
2. Unexpectedness
3. Concreteness
4. Credibility (real or implied)
5. Emotions
6. Stories

The authors expand on this significantly. But that's the gist of it. It's a compelling concept.