The 3 Things I Learned This Week: 2/17/17

For the past few Fridays, I've posted articles on the things I learned during the week while building [newkleus]. My goal is to provide a bunch of insight and lessons as an entrepreneur along this journey. I'm going to change it to 3 for this week. I'm getting busier and I've noticed shorter articles are better.

1) A Confused Mind Says "No"

I've led a bunch of large change projects in my career. Changing organizational structures, changing processes, changing business models, changing compensation plans, etc. The one phrase that has stuck with me over the years is - a confused mind says "no". If people don't understand what the case for change is or what is impacting them directly, they resist it. This resistance manifests itself in a variety of ways. People desire context and content. WIIFM (what's in it for me?). As an entrepreneur selling the world something, this WIIFM cannot be lost. I'm so close to every piece of this business and it boggles me why people don't jump on board. Seriously, it's crazy. Well, when I step back I have to remember what it was like when I was an executive in a company dealing with the day to day chaos of running a brand, people issues, and trying to be strategic at the same time. Put yourself in their shoes, educate them, solve their problems, make their jobs easier - and you will earn many more "yes'".

2) Listen and Listen More

A few months ago I started pitching [newkleus] to executives and friends. I absolutely did all the talking. Almost like I was trying to convince myself over and over that our platform was beneficial. That process should have be done while looking at myself in the mirror. I know we've all heard the phrase, "You have two ears and one month for a reason - use them proportionally." It's true. When pitching prospective clients your product, ask questions, find a need, listen to what they are saying, build a relationship. This week during one meeting, I did all of that. Guess what? I gave them advice on fixing another part of their business first and said I'd call them in 4 months to connect again about our platform. That was the right approach for them this week. Help solve problems - sometimes it's not about selling your solution in that moment.

3) Drive the Miles

Networking is as important as air, water and capital. If you don't like it, get a job at a funded company - entrepreneurship is not for you. I say "Drive the Miles" as a lesson learned this week because I've gotten comfortable (lazy) with conducting meetings over Skype, Join.me and Google Hangouts. This week however, I drove the miles to meet with people face to face. The meetings were better! It's nice to see reactions in person and read body language. Many times I've felt that driving the miles wastes valuable time during the commute. Instead, use the drive time to make calls. Take the meetings in person whenever possible, then stop at Starbucks on the way home to grab yourself a little treat.

Enjoy your weekend and keep making life great. #gratitude

Previous week's articles:

• The 5 Things I Learned This Week: 2/10/17
• The 5 Things I Learned This Week: 2/3/10
• The 5 Things I Learned This Week: 1/27/17