I’m smaller, therefore I’m the underdog, right?

I’m smaller, therefore I’m the underdog, right? History remembers David as the underdog when he fought Goliath, the young boy standing up to the seasoned giant.

But the reality is quite different.

David was using artillery (a slingshot) to fight a lumbering, slow-moving, behemoth. Goliath couldn’t defend against the stone that was slung at him; Goliath couldn’t win and David couldn’t lose.

To win this battle David didn’t fight head-to-head; he thought and acted unconventionally and set up the playing field so success was inevitable.

In what areas of your life and business are you doing what everyone else does because that’s how it’s done?

96% of business ultimately fail, so my thoughts are that doing what everyone else does is probably a pretty bad idea.

Sam Hazledine, author Unfair Fight

0-100 in 2.2 seconds, or slow and steady?

0-100 in 2.2 seconds, or slow and steady? Super tankers work because they are slow, steady, and incredibly powerful. They can move huge amounts of load over great distances.

Formula One cars work because they are incredibly fast, they can turn on a dime, and they can get around a track really quickly.

Large organisations work because they have huge mass, they are massive forces with great inertia, they go where they are pointed. But they can’t stop quickly and they take a long time to turn, they are going in one direction and that’s that.

Even with engines in full reverse a super tanker will take over 9 kilometres (5.5 miles for our American friends).

On the other hand, it’s possible to make a massive impact by being quicker to turn, by being more nimble, by having the ability to pivot.

It’s important not to confuse what you are though. Trying to turn your small business into a super tanker might negate the advantage you have.

I’m yet to see a super tanker in pole position.

Sam Hazledine, author Unfair Fight

Overnight failure/success

Overnight failure/success Companies and brands are overnight successes, or overnight failures.

Essentially life happens gradually, then suddenly.

Gradually because it’s the small things done consistently, every day, that mean we either succeed or fail; opportunities are missed or taken, customers are looked after or ignored, staff are engaged or become disenchanted.

But we don’t always notice when things are going awry because we still have profit, and profit can disguise many sins.

But all of a sudden the profit runs out and the business falls over.

Of course it didn’t happen suddenly, you just suddenly noticed.

On the flip side success doesn’t happen overnight either; it’s the small things done consistently well, that might not seem to be paying off at the time, that lead to it.

Then all of a sudden profits pop and your company is an overnight success that took five years to develop.

This is how life works, but people focus on the ‘suddenly’ part, but that’s not how it happens.

Success is gradual, and gradual is critically important because it’s the only part you can do something about.

Sam Hazledine, author Unfair Fight

Ask a better question…

Ask a better question… Get a better answer.

Our mind is programmed to answer the questions we ask of it.

What colour is the sky?

Even if you tried, you couldn’t help but think of ‘blue’ could you?

So what questions are you asking yourself day in day out? And are they serving you?

If we spend our time asking things like ‘why do I always fail?’, ‘why won’t it work out for me?’, ‘what have I done wrong?’… then the answers are not going to serve us.

What if instead you were to ask ‘why am I certain to make this a success?’, ‘how can I make this work out for me?’, ‘what am I doing really well?’…

Ask a better question, get a better answer.

Sam Hazledine, author Unfair Fight

The feedback you’ve been waiting for

The feedback you’ve been waiting for “You did a great job, I couldn’t be happier.”

Of course we love to hear this sort of thing.

But this isn’t feedback, it’s applause.

If you want to improve then it’s important to actively seek real feedback on how you can improve.

I’m like anyone, and often this sort of real feedback can sting, especially when we’ve done our best, but it’s important to remember that honest feedback given openly is a sign of caring from someone who believes in you and wants you to be even better.

Empty criticism and being mean does no good and we don’t need any of that.

But insightful feedback is priceless.

Sam Hazledine, author Unfair Fight Access Sam’s recent blogs: