Seth Godin, in one of his recent blogs was talking about starting projects and getting stuff done. His main point was: “Not enough people believe they are capable of productive initiative.”
And that’s kind of a sad conclusion that he comes to and while I deeply respect my hero, Seth, I kind of disagree with him. I think people sometimes believe they are more capable than they actually are; if not why do so many restaurants fail? Why do so many new products fail?
Maybe it’s because so many people get into new products or new services or new businesses without really doing their homework and planning their plan. In fact, they all too often will answer questions about the business with such hackneyed expressions as: “That’s a no brainer” or “Oh, I can do that, it’s a slam dunk.” Or worse, “Easy, it’s a done deal.”
Yikes. What is happening here?
Are our egos so frail that we cannot admit that we can’t say what we don’t know nor can we even ask for assistance? No, in some instances we would rather go down with the ship then ask for help… or directions.
If you are capable of productive initiative and have covered as many bases as you can and feel confident, then go do it.
But if you’re not, at least ask for directions.
Or you can always call me. That’s what I do. Help provide input, direction and planning expertise.
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