Discovered in the process

Do stuff. Especially impossible stuff.

There are many things that I would like to change about the way we do things at No More Slaves. There are things that I want to do more of and things I want to do better, but right now we haven’t got the knowledge, the capacity or the capital to do them yet. 

But one thing is for certain, I would rather be part of a company with huge aspirations and the audacity to attempt something incredible at the risk of failure than one that doesn’t try because making a difference looks too daunting. Attempting the impossible but only getting half way there is still way more preferable to the alternative of doing nothing at all.

Think about your organisation’s approach to environmental issues, or social justice, or to creating an engaging and fun environment for your people to work and create in. Think about your own approach to the things that concern and inspire you. Do you bury your head in the sand and resist taking on difficult issues out of fear that you won’t hit a home-run first ball?

It isn’t always possible to do everything perfectly from the minute you first start, but that’s ok. The truth is you learn as you go and you implement change along the way. Not knowing how to achieve the impossible shouldn’t stop you from attempting the impossible. The fine detail will follow as you start to play out your story. For now, your desire to do something that matters should be all that you need to inspire you to start. You may not do it perfectly, but every time you attempt the impossible and don’t quite make it, just remember, your work is still infinitely more valuable than those who did nothing at all.

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The unbearable stress of peeing on public transport

Apart from an overnight train journey from Bangkok to Phuket where my bunk bed was next to the toilet and my cabin was infested with cockroaches, this is quickly turning into one of the most unpleasant journeys I can remember.

This bus is hotter than the sun. It’s hotter than an old people’s care home! And to make things worse I am dressed appropriately for snow. That means I am wearing thermals from head to toe. I’m wilting. I’m dying a slow, horrible death, stewing in my own juices - like a boil in the bag cod.  

And that Grande Caramel latte before I boarded the bus was a Grande mistake. As a seasoned traveller I should have known better. But thanks to countless hours on coaches, boats, trains and long haul flights, I consider myself somewhat of a pro at peeing on high-speed public transport. 

Using the toilet on public transport of any kind is never without stress. What if the bus driver swerves unexpectedly and I’m suddenly hurled through the door with my pants round my ankles? What if I put soap all over my hands and then the little tiny tap refuses to produce any water to wash it off? And I know I locked the door, but is it actually locked? All legitimate concerns.

As most men will tell you from bitter experience, gripping that tiny handrail for dear life and aiming for a toilet bowl the size of a tea-cup with any kind of accuracy as you are flung around like a marble in a tin-can is out of the question, unless you’re feeling supremely confident. No man likes to pee sitting down, but if the alternative is spraying the wall and walking out with wet trousers, then it’s probably best to take a seat.

But this… this is new territory. I open the door to the remarkably tiny cubicle, but no light comes on.  Previous experience tells me that attempting to wee in the dark on a juddering bus is asking for trouble. I panic slightly, wondering what to do.

I pull the door shut to see just how dark it is. It’s pitch black. I search franticly for a light switch, pressing a myriad of buttons I manage only to turn on the electric hand dryer and pump soap into the basin.  

I stand there in the dark carefully considering my options. For a brief moment I consider peeing with the door open, but I think better of it.

After deliberating in the dark, I return to my seat and decide it’s probably best to hold it in. Cardiff is only 3 hours away, and besides, if this bus gets any hotter I’ll have sweated out every bit of moisture before Bristol. 

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Confessions of a cyclist

I have a confession to make. I never learned to ride a bike with no hands. I know, I know - but my brain just wouldn’t let me do it! Riding with no hands only works if you are going fast; and who wants to take their hands off the handlebars when you are going fast? That would mean losing all ability to brake and steer. It’s a stupid idea!

Well, now I’ve decided to learn. I realise it’s daft - a grown man learning to ride a bike with no hands - but I don’t care, I’m doing it. Because we’re not just talking about riding a bike with no hands, are we? We are talking about overcoming the fear that keeps you holding on for dear life. We’re talking about quietening the part of your brain that says “if I let go now it will all end it disaster!” 

The faster your life seems to be going, the less likely you are to want to take your hands off the controls, but just like riding a bike, it’s probably the perfect time. You already know what I’m talking about. You are already thinking about the comfort zones you’ve built around yourself, and the security and stability you’ve been working so hard to maintain. You already know the areas where you need to stop trying to control everything and start taking some risks. On paper it might make no sense at all, but perhaps it’s time to stop rationalising everything and take a leap of faith. 

As for me, I’m peddling as hard as I can, I’m riding as fast as I dare, and I’m taking my hands off the bars. 

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Don’t work alone, even if you are on your own

Creating a company is so much more rewarding when you make it collaborative experience with the people you want as customers. Invite them to be part of the design and creation. Involve them in the story right from the beginning. Give them a stake in it and give them ways to contribute towards making it a success. 

If you build a company using only your own criticism and feedback to improve it, then you risk building a company that only you want to do business with. You’ll think it’s the best thing ever, and you’ll wonder why no one else agrees. 

When you choose to involve and collaborate with your customers the outcome will be far better than anything you could ever have created alone. The icing on the cake is that you will have something that most marketeers would die for - a hardcore of loyal fans, and an army of evangelists who will propel your company forward without you ever needing to ask. 

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Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is a train

Sometimes, just when things can’t get any harder, they take a sudden turn for the worse. Doing what you’ve always done is no longer and option. Standing your ground and holding your traditional course is futile. If you fail to adapt, then this new and unexpected threat will wreck everything. 

Think fast. Take decisive action. Right now survival is all that matters. 

The silver lining, of course, is that this sudden bout of pressure could be the very thing that forces you to innovate in ways that you didn’t even think were possible.

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The Columbus principle

Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas. We all know that. What you might not know is that he died not knowing that he had discovered the Americas. When Columbus left Spain, he was attempting to find a quicker, safer passage to Asia knowing that great riches could be made by discovering a new link with the Silk Trail. But he failed. He failed big time.  

There was, however, an upside to his failure. What Columbus actually discovered in the process of his exploration was something far greater than anything he could have imagined he would achieve. He hadn’t even conceived the possibility that he would discover an unknown land. That wasn’t his goal. He didn’t even know “America” existed, so how could he aim for it? The truth is, he set out to find a better way to do what he was already doing - sailing to Asia - and in the process he discovered something unimaginable. 

Isn’t that what pioneers do?  

Interesting isn’t it that nobody remembers Columbus for what he didn’t discover. If you ask what Columbus is remembered for, few people will recall the fact that he “failed” in what he originally set out to do - it has become an almost irrelevant footnote on the pages of history. Why? Because he discovered something greater on the way.

The value in Columbus’ story for us as entrepreneurs, pioneers and leaders is not that he discovered the Americas and achieved great fame. It’s that he started with the idea he had, and pursued it wholeheartedly, without possibly being able to imagine what his voyage would lead him to accomplish. His biggest failure became his greatest achievement. 

This is the Columbus Principle. Start with the ideas you’ve got, not with the ideas you haven’t got. Set out to do what you do better. Streamline your business, focus on your goals, move towards your dreams. Create some movement and momentum. Set sail. Who knows, if you aim your ship for the Silk Trail, you might just sail into America. 

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Best of 2011: The art of shipping

I first came across the term “Shipping” in this context on Seth Godin’s blog. Put simply, shipping is the art of creating something, and then sharing it with others. That might mean telling your boss about that secret idea you’ve been nurturing at work; it might be posting a blog, publishing that book you’ve been writing, or recording a song and then posting it online. What it is is not what’s important. What is important is that you just get it out there.

I once heard Seth say, “The only reason I have had a modicum of success is because I have just kept shipping.” Incredible. One of the most influential and respected men on the business and leadership circuit puts his success down to the fact that he just keeps producing stuff. Some of it is useful; some of it will be average; some of it may be mundane and some of it will be absolute gold - but the important thing is that he just keeps shipping. 

So kick yourself into gear and get shipping! If you are struggling to get stuff out of your head and out of the door then putting some strict constraints on your project will help. 

1. Set a deadline and do not deviate from it. If you run out of time then it’s time to ship.
2. Set a budget and do not go over it. If you run out of money then it’s time to ship.

Get shipping. Ship something everyday if you can, and just don’t stop shipping. 

Thanks Seth.

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Best of 2011: It’s 11 Dollar bills, but you’ve only got 10

In 1965 Bob Dylan recorded a song called Subterranean Homesick Blues which includes the line “The man in the coon-skin cap by the big pen, wants 11 Dollar Bills, but you’ve only got 10.”

On the surface these may not be the most profound lyrics Dylan has ever written, but these words have a hidden significance for me. I often quote them to myself when I come up against resistance, whenever I feel stretched by a new challenge or under pressure from increased responsibility. Whenever my goal seems just out of reach, I say to myself “It’s 11 Dollar bills, but you’ve only got 10.”

It serves as a reminder that the future that I want is going to require more resources (experience, cash, knowledge, capabilities) than I’ve got now. If the future you envisage is greater than your present situation, then somewhere along the line you will have to find a way to bridge the gap. It will cost more time than you’ve ever invested before; it will take more energy than you ever knew you could muster, and you will need to draw on undiscovered wells of talent, imagination and creativity. 

Meaningful achievements won’t just fall into your lap. They will hang tantalisingly just out of your natural reach, so that you have to stretch yourself to take hold of them. 

Don’t feel discouraged - your ambitions are achievable. You just need to remind yourself “It’s 11 Dolar bills, but I’ve only got 10.” And then I ask, “Now where can I get 1 more Dollar?”

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Best of 2011: Plant an orchard

If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? I would tell myself this: start a business and don’t give up. If your success isn’t instant then keep going because growth takes time.

Can we get metaphorical for a minute? Starting a business is like planting an orchard; it takes resources – time, energy, money – to cultivate the ground, and then you have to wait for the trees to mature before you can eat the fruit. Right now I feel like I’m planting an orchard. I know my business has the potential to bear fruit, but I also know I’m going to have to wait for it.

What if I had followed my convictions and planted my orchard 5 or even 10 years ago? Maybe I would be enjoying fruit right now instead of digging holes and planting trees. If you consider that anything you start today - your career, your business, a new hobby or whatever - will take years to bear really good fruit, then what are you planting today that you want to harvest in the future? Anything?

As Rick Warren says, “We overestimate what we can do in 1 year and underestimate what we can do in 10.” In other words, plant an orchard, and don’t stop nurturing it until you are eating its fruit. And that may take longer than you think.

I really hope this helps somebody, because I wish someone had told me this years ago. If you want fruit today then too bad, you should have planted an orchard 5 years ago. But if you want to eat fruit in 5 years time then you had better start planting an orchard today.

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