clips of logic

If it seems like you don’t have enough time to reply all the emails you get, maybe you should check out this tip.

The Problem

E-mail takes too long to respond to, resulting in continuous inbox overflow for those who receive a lot of it.

The Solution

Treat all email responses like SMS text messages, using a set number of letters per response. Since it’s too hard to count letters, we count sentences instead.

There are 2, 3, 4 and 5 sentences policies. This should help improve your productivity by spending more time away from emailing.

A while ago, I posted about Derek Siver’s talk on the First Follower idea. It was very insightful and inspiring so naturally many urged him to develop the idea and maybe write a book about it. He responded by giving the idea away to anyone who wish to take it further.

He’s not the only one that gives something away without taking anything from us. Many smart marketers are using this selling by giving approach. By giving great content, ideas and insights away, they build up a reputation and goodwill among their fans and readers. Guess what happens when they put out something for sale.

1. Figure out what your gift is, and give it to them on a regular basis.

2. Make sure it’s received as a real gift, not as an advertising message

3. Then figure out exactly what it is that your trail of breadcrumbs leads back to. - Hugh MacLeod

Try to identify your gift that you can give to others. As stated by Hugh, the gift must be sincere and not accepted as marketing message. Do this at a regular basis and good things will happen for you. Remember to give first, take later or maybe never but that it’s okay.

Ever wonder why some people and companies succeed while others fail horribly. Why some artists command a premium on their art while others struggle to make a living.

I think the answer is the YOU element. The thing that makes your art, product, service unique and can only be achieved by you alone. The thing you and your creation stands for.

When I buy something from you, I’m not just buying it for me, I’m buying to be part of a community. To be your customer and to be a part of what your brand stands for. When I buy a Macbook, it means something. It shows what I want in a laptop.

The best way for your product to be noticed is to create a Purple Cow, something that’s unique and remarkable. Guess what’s unique and remarkable? You!

You need to identify your gift, your special sauce, your touch that makes your creation different. The stuff that only you can pull off. When you look at drawings from Hugh Macleod, you can instantly identify him in it. It’s something only he can do.

Everyone’s an artist now. – Seth Godin in Linchpin

Everything you create is art. As long as you are creating something, you are an artist. Seth Godin says anyone who put their heart and soul into their work, people who add the human element into the equation, the ones that do emotional labor are all artists. Art is something that’s human, not something that’s made by a machine.

Your art is also a reflection of you. Your personality, your thoughts, your values. It tells a lot about you and hopefully it’s a story that others would love to hear and share with friends.

I think this applies not only on an individual level (artist, musicians) but also for companies and organization (e.g. Apple, Nike). If you’re building something, you have to literally put yourself into it. As long as things you are doing have you in it, you’ll be fine.

In Linchpin, Seth talks about how we are trained and brought up to read maps. We expect our teachers to tell us what to study and our bosses to tell us what to do. We are taught to be map-readers and we are damn good at it.

However, if you want to be indispensable, someone that is able to chart your own destiny, you need to learn how to make your own map.

You have to be someone that decides what to do next, not the one who awaits the next instruction. By creating your own map, you can create value. Value that only you can add to the equation.

Following someone’s else map won’t get you far. The map to success can only be drawn by you alone.

Read from right to left

I took this photo at a restaurant in China. Should the person who made the sign be held responsible or the person who is in charge of getting the sign made? The manager who oversees the entire process? I think everyone involved is at fault.

Any one of them could have took the extra effort to double check the spelling or run it through a spell checker or realize that English isn’t read from right to left.

Does this count as a case of Not my Job?