I Start Stuff

by Michael Holland     

How do you respond to the phrase, “tell me about yourself?”  Common answers include your job title, your scope of responsibility, the magnitude of power you yield and maybe a small piece of data on your personal life.  Interestingly, as we at look how leaders typically spend their days, it becomes evident that most spend their time holding or attending meetings, scanning a hundred emails without reading them, fitting into the culture, or appeasing those more powerful and attempting to stay the course for the ever- changing goals.

Seth Godin, in his most recent book, Poke the Box, challenged that most people just follow.  They don’t start; they don’t initiate or instigate.  We’re not rewarded for starting and failing but we are rewarded for fitting in and following the mandate.

We’re trained to fit in, seek security, and hold back creativity and there is great fear and anxiety of standing out.  Seth’s perspective: anxiety is experiencing failure in advance.  Let that sink in and really think about that concept.  When did you last experience anxiety?

“The simple thing that separates successful individuals from those who languish is the very thing that separates exciting and growing organizations from those that stagnate and die.  The winners turn initiative into a passion and a practice. . . The challenge is getting into the habit of starting.”  Seth Godin

Start something today for you and for those you think are following you:

• Make a list of things you could’ve started but haven’t.
• Watch a 3 minute video of Seth Godin talking about his book and The Domino Project.
• Invest 10 minutes to scan the workbook Seth’s group created.
• Buy – and read or listen to – his book.

And then let me know what you’ve started!