Why do we add sugar to the saltshaker?

I wonder if we know about the difference between determination and stubbornness. It is rather small, most of the time we use them interchangeably. Yet, there is a subtlety I want to share with you today.

I am as determined as stubborn, that is why I’ve made my dreams come true. As a typical entrepreneur I asked different questions. For example, instead of: can I do that? We think about How can I do that? Instead of will I fail? We think will I learn?

Those little differences have a big impact. Anybody can see the power of those subtleties and start a chain reaction on its own. Then nobody knows where the change come from. Most likely the starting points go unnoticed.

Let me tell you a family story. When he was 7-8 yrs old, my brother George put sugar in the saltshaker. I don’t remember how long it took us to realize that. We never questioned what was in the saltshaker, it was white, it was granular, it should have been salt. You can imagine his grin when we complained at the dinner table about the low quality of salt “they don’t make salt as they use to”… until the day that mum caught him in-fraganti (hands-on) putting the sugar in.

So you see? Sometimes little differences go unnoticed. I am interested in how those differences go along on fostering or hindering entrepreneurial mindset and action. Let’s look at society’s mixed messages: Don’t be selfish, but succeed selfishly, and then, give yourself to a ‘better cause’. You go figure it out, I can’t. No wonder it is hard to think about developing our dreams, specially our entrepreneurial dreams. We don’t have the means to do it. We keep putting salt in the salt shaker because that is what we expect to do. As one of my clients told me, “I just didn’t think about it”. And then life goes on, without exploring small differences that have a huge impact like stubbornness and determination. Those little differences help us take small steps, innovating, experimenting, learning to master few basic things.

Society expects us to move a mountain, but the best way to accomplish that is one stone at a time. Do you know how you lose weight? One milligram at a time. Same for dreams, you make your dreams one grain of salt or sugar at a time. Ok, yes, it doesn’t work for moving sofas, but you get the picture.

Most people think entrepreneurs wake up in the morning thinking about how many risks they will take that day. And there are so many closet entrepreneurs who can’t figure out how to move a mountain because they don’t see that all it takes is a change in a grain of salt or sugar. What would happen if we took action today to make a small change?

Let’s change stubbornness for determination. Both are needed to accomplish something despite difficulties. Stubbornness focuses on getting a message across and forcing a result. Determination focuses on exploring to analyse and change in order to achieve results. A determined person is inspiring; a stubborn person creates rejection. The energy and the input make them as similar as salt and sugar. Entrepreneurs find a way to achieve their goals using either one.

How do we build an entrepreneurial mindset, one grain at a time, what can you do to start contributing to the wealth of the world. What do you need to let go to move from stubbornness to determination. How can you help others. What can we do to help.

My invitation is to explore how to change stubbornness for determination, so we can take a small step. The world needs more entrepreneurs and more inventors. The world needs your creativity.

That is what we learn from putting sugar on the saltshaker.

Alicia

What a safari teaches us about Strategy

Lions, Crocodiles and Buffaloes

 

I love strategy as much as witty smart disagreements, the kind that break our paradigms.. The first time I faced reinventing strategy and competition was in the 90s, when we
discussed how to manage a shrinking market. I could see that whilst being concern with selling more, we were getting less. The issue was to sell different. Mind you I was an arrogant brainer, not
that I've changed much to my dismay, on the arrogant part, but I now love to be proven wrong, would that be age? or maybe I miss my kid's teenagery rebeliousness :-). 
The idea of simplistic competition just bothers me, the thought of stream line 'perfect' growth curve boring. Challenges make us thrive and a situation can suddenly change for better or if we manage it. The trick is to find a perfect fit, focus on the best outcome
leveraging what's in and out the company (or yourself), and keep reinventing the wheel.

I want to share with you a paradigm-breaking video of a safari...mind you every few steps ahhh something new happens.
Check the "Battle at Kruger" at www.youtube.com if you haven't already done so.. it is soo cool!

Two buffaloes and a baby quietly walk by the savanna, near a pond. Without realizing it, they approach a group of lions. Too late
one of the adult buffaloes becomes aware of the lions and gets frightened, running away. The lions chase them and capture the
baby.

Learning 1: If you're going to expose your weaker link, be alert even in an idyllic place. If you're running scared, you lose. That would the simply strategy: one won, one lose,
you do lunch or you are lunch. Too simple!

Lions fall onto the water with the baby buffalo. It is an unequal fight, without resistance or aggression. Suddenly a crocodile grabs the side of the
baby.

Learning 2: If you want to capture a market, better play in a known field or be alert to new competitors. If you are
loosing a battle, don't give up, yet save the energy (resources) in case there is a paradigm shift!

Finally the lions get the baby buffalo out of the water, the crocodile lets go.

Learning 3: Concentrate on where you have the greatest opportunities to succeed. Let the others win without an unnecesary
fight.

In the meantime, a large number of buffaloes has gathered, returning to the scene. The lions hold on the baby buffalo but get unease. A buffalo
attacks one lion, which lets go and runs away, being chased, The crocodile appears no where to be seen.

Learning 4: every one has a weak link, a direct approach might not work best, and in the case of the crocodile, if it is not your market, don't even show up.  

Gradually the lions lose confidence, and release the baby, which is pushed inside the heard and protected. Some buffaloes chase the lions, they loose interest.

Learning 5: If you really want to defend your market, take action quickly while your offer is still alive, look for reinforcements, work as a team and concentrate on the result.
There is always a weak link.

So is the life of an entrepreneur, a new market; a competitor wining customers; surprises and reactions.
Only in fairy tales there are winners and losers. In the commercial arena, there is a 'perfect fit' approach that depends on many circumstances: a weaker baby, a hungrier
crocodile, faster lions, smaller or lower herds. That 'fit' is a moving target, and rethinking the best approach is the healthiest, and most fun, exercise.  

The message is clear, each situation brings an opportunity to learn and recreate the story. The pile of broken dishes grows with our
learning if and only if, we decided to go ahead.

Here is to your action,