“If you keep experiencing the same things, your mind keeps its same patterns. Same inputs, same responses. Your brain, which was once curious and growing, gets fixed into deep habits. Your values and opinions harden and resist change.
You really learn only when you’re surprised. If you’re not surprised, then everything fits into your existing thought patterns. So, to get smarter, you need to get surprised, think in new ways, and deeply understand different perspectives.”
-Derek Sivers
Derek Sivers built CDBaby in the late 90s. This was a marketplace for independent artists in a time when the only way they could sell their music was at a concert or through a distributor. Sivers would eventually sell CDBaby for $22M and give it all to charity. From time to time, he writes relatively short books. Anything You Want was 87 pages. He typically eliminates all the mainstream fluff that books published through larger houses must have (i.e., over 250 pages, etc.). I’ve compiled eight of my favorite takeaways from Anything You Want. Let’s get into it.
1. Pay Attention To Your Energy
Pay close attention to what excites you and what drains you. Pay close attention to when your being the real you and when you’re trying to impress an invisible jury.
People have said to find your passion, and you won’t work another day. I disagree. Find what you love, and you will never work harder. But you’ll be energized. Whatever you do, just be aware when making decisions for the invisible jury in your head.
2. Hell Yeah or No
Use this rule if you’re often over-committed or too scattered. If you’re not saying “hell yeah!” about something, say no.
We all get there—the stress, the full calendar, and feeling overwhelmed. When this happens, apply the “Hell Yeah!” rule. Go through what’s scheduled, and if you are not a hell yeah, then don’t do it. It doesn’t mean you can say no to everything until someone offers you a trip to a tropical island. It means that what you say yes to must be an excellent use of time.
By the way, I use this rule for hiring too.
3. You Aren’t Giving Your Opinion, You’re Giving A Command
The boss’s opinion is not necessarily better than anyone else’s. But once you become the boss, your opinion is dangerous because it’s not just one person’s opinion anymore - it’s a command! So adding your two cents can really hurt.
Consider if your feedback is more valuable than the confidence they will get when you say, “You nailed it.”
4. Sweet People = Happy Customers
Hire the sweetest, most empathetic people, and make sure they have all the time and resources they need to make your customers very happy. If they get so busy that their interactions are getting succinct, it’s time to hire another. It’s worth it.
It seems not fashionable to be “sweet” in today’s world. We need sweetness. We need Gramma's homemade cookies. Find the people with deep empathy and care. Will you get burned sometimes? Yes. The fans you create will more than compensate. Let them answer the phone, and don’t measure their productivity in metrics like “minutes per contact” or others that limit the ability to make a connection. Focusing only on speed and efficiency as it relates to your customers will eventually kill your business.
5. Scarcity = Bad Service
All bad service comes from a mindset of scarcity.
People say no because they are protecting something—often status or resources. When you fear losing, you retreat to your fortress and horde your supplies. When our teams are focused on conserving and protecting, the result is often bad service. Does that $40 refund matter? Loud people are loud - whether they are complaining or complimenting. Sivers says, “Give refunds. Give them attention. Take a little loss. You can afford it.”
6. Get To Know Them
Take a few minutes to get to know anyone who contacts you.
When a new artist contacted CDBaby, they said, “Tell me about your music. Do you have a website?” Then, they would listen and understand a bit more about the artist while they were on the phone. They did it from a place of genuine curiosity. Only then would they say, “How can I help you?”
7. Clarity Matters To Everyone
You should feel the pain when you are unclear.
Sivers shares the story of sending a regular marketing email, but it wasn’t clear. He had to answer 5,000 responses looking for clarity. As leaders, clarity is everything. The most painful lesson I’ve learned is that not everyone has access to the information I have. As a leader, you are exposed to things the rest of the team may not see. You may see it daily and believe “everyone understands” or “everyone knows,” but that’s not true. If you do this, you deserve the pain.
8. What matters?
It’s about being, not having.
Erich Fromm said, "To have or to be? That is the question. The difference between having and being is the difference between a society that is geared to have more and a society that is geared to be more."
We must consider this as we build our lives. Are you working on having more or being more?
One will maximize what’s in your life.
The other will maximize who’s in your life.
One will leave you with more toys.
The other leaves the world better.
Take care,
Kelly
Anything You Want by Derek Sivers