Upmarket Magazine

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You rock Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT This is deceptive. You don’t rock all the time. No one does. No one is a rock star, superstar, world-changing artist all the time. In fact, it’s a self-defeating goal. You can’t do it. No, but you might rock five minutes a day. Five minutes to write a blog post that changes everything, or five minutes to deliver an act of generosity that changes someone. Five minutes to invent a great new feature, or five minutes to teach a groundbreaking skill in a way that no one ever thought of before. Five minutes to tell the truth (or hear the truth). Five minutes a day you might do exceptional work, remarkable work, work that matters. Five minutes a day you might defeat the lizard brain long enough to stand up and make a difference. And five minutes of rocking would be enough, because it would be five minutes more than just about anyone else. Image credit: Jsome1

Do You Know Your Competition? Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:00 AM PDT If I asked you to list your competition, who would be on your list? Most of us would write down people in our industry. Companies with the same customers. Or even that guy down the hall. But if you said anyone other than yourself, I think you're missing the point. In a world where everyone is a marketer and everyone has the potential to be their own brand, your competition isn't against 5 billion people. It's against yourself. You would probably drive yourself crazy trying to compete against thousands (or millions) of others. There are too many variables to control when you define competition as a rival business. Maybe you can influence their customers or attack their brand. But you can't influence their ideas, their experiences, or their education. And in today's economy it's those three things that give people a competitive advantage. Instead it's more important to live each day with a sense of urgency. To push yourself just a bit further today than yesterday. Why? Because who wants to live in the same spot their entire lives? And because if you don't push yourself who will? I want to know what I can do, not just what I am capable of doing. I think this is why I love pre-season football. Every year players compete not against other players, but against themselves. I was reminded of this reading an article about the Steelers new Nose Tackle. He is the story of the football player no one wanted. Undrafted. Signed. Then cut. Signed. Then cut. Signed again. If anyone ever had an excuse to quit, it was this guy. Now, after 4 years, he's finally ready to be a starter on football team that's gone to 3 Super Bowls in 7 years. How did he do this? Not by competing against other players (although that's what the media always talks about) but by competing against himself. By hitting the gym. By running. By eating right. By doing the hard grunt work when no one else thought he would cut it as an NFL player. He fought against his own desires to quit. And in doing so was able to add 10 pounds of muscle every year. Every morning he looked the competition in the mirror. And he won. A friend of mine used to root for the strongest possible opponent when watching sports. He never wanted his beloved St. Louis Cardinals to face inferior challengers. Why? Because he wanted to see his team win at the height of their game. He didn't want any doubt as to who was best. No excuses. How often do we take this into business? Not very often if we're honest. Most of us would rather go up against a weak challenger, not Apple or Google. We'd rather see them mess up their own product line or show up late to a meeting than come up with a better product, or more insightful answer during a meeting. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of people in your industry matters. I'm not denying that. Knowledge is always important. But if you aren't doing the best you can then what's it really matter? Photo credit: United States Public Domain

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