By Rajesh Setty on Wed 27 Jan 2010, 12:01 AM - 20 Comments
Photo Courtesy: Travis Gray on Flickr
We take “leaps of faith” all the time.
We don’t have a choice but to take a “leap of faith” when the data is limited to make a good assessment of the situation that leads to a rational decision [ For those smart types - not making a decision is making a decision ]
Actually, at some level the data is always insufficient for any major decision. So there is some “leap of faith” in any decision making.
Taking “leaps of faith” is so common and pervasive that sometimes you forget to notice it.
Why should you be aware of this?
Simply because you have benefited from someone taking a “leap of faith” on you (several times) until now. And, you will continue to benefit from others taking a “leap of faith” on you (several times) moving forward.
Reflecting on my own situation, I have been a beneficiary of this multiple times. Here are a few that I can share:
1. When I wrote my first book (a murder mystery) I was ten years old and shopped it like crazy for three years and got rejected more than hundred times. Everything seemed hopeless. Then, three years later when I was thirteen, two people (their names are G.Prakash and Nataraj Choudhury) took a “leap of faith” and said “Yes” to publishing the book.
2. When my first ever startup dream was shattered in 1992 and I was desperately looking for job, things seemed hopeless. I didn’t have the software background but was willing to learn. The future looked bleak. Then, someone (his name is Sridhar) too a “leap of faith” and said “Yes” to hiring me.
3. It was 1997 and Kavitha and I decided to come to United States. I had several interviews for a position in a Consulting company. The final interview was a super-technical one where I could not answer a couple of questions on setting distributed Oracle databases. The interviewer recommended that I should not be hired. So I thought it was over. But then, God had other plans. Someone (his name is Alok Khare, my Boss in two separate companies) took a “leap of faith” and hired me.
4. It was 1998 and I had never managed a large Vantive (a CRM product then, now part of Oracle) implementation before. Neither had I worked on a Vantive project until that time. We got a new project from Lincoln Telephone Company and then someone (his name is Bill Morton) took a “leap of faith” and made me lead that project. It worked out fine as we completed the project a week before the deadline.
5. More recently, in 2005, I wrote my first business book “Beyond Code.” My last book before that was published in 1987 (eighteen years ago) and I had never written anything serious in the recent past. I worked hard on the book for more than a year and I passionately believed in what I had written. I had put my heart into it. It was not easy to get to the finish line. And then, someone (this time, one of my heroes, Tom Peters) took a “leap of faith” in me and wrote the Foreword for the book. That meant the world to me. I never had to look back after the publication of that book.
I can go on and in each and every case, if the people above had taken a rational approach and looked for “history of accomplishments” as proof, I would have lost. Instead, they decided to take a “leap of faith” and that made a world of difference in where I am (and what I am doing) today.
These are special people and I thank them and many others who took a “leap of faith” on me.
If you think about it in your own life, you will notice that you will have a set of people who took a “leap of faith” on you. They are special people. Take time to thank them.
If I have one wish for you, it will be that you find more people that will take a “leap of faith” on you.
If I have one request for you, it will be that you take “leaps of faith” on a few people that truly deserve it.
Posted in the Main Page category.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 26 Jan 2010, 12:01 AM - 6 Comments
Seth Godin is one of my heroes and my work is hugely influenced by his work. I couldn’t wait to read his new book “LINCHPIN.” ( It was an honor to see my photo in the inside cover)
I thought I will finish reading this book on the same day that I got my hands on it. Boy, was I wrong.
Today is the launch of Seth Godin’s new book “LINCHPIN.”
In general, it takes me a day or two to complete reading a business book. LINCHPIN was different in many respects. I couldn’t complete reading the book for full two weeks. It was not a comfortable read by any means.
Why?
First, it was a different kind of book.
Second, it was a different kind of book compared to Seth’s earlier books.
Let us look at the themes of some of the previous books by Seth:
1. In “Permission Marketing” talks about earning the permission of your audience before you sell something. If you don’t do that, you might not get the kind of results that you will get with permission. In other words, without permission marketing, results will be mediocre.
2. “Purple Cow” was about doing something remarkable. People will remark if you do something “remark”able. In other words, if you don’t do something remarkable, you will get mediocre results.
3. In “Free Prize Inside,” Seth’s focus was on how to make your offers better. What could you include that the audience would consider as “free prize” and get more attracted.
In LINCHPIN, Seth focuses on BEING rather than DOING. Seth’s compassionate plea is for everyone to “be” an artist – be a Linchpin rather than a cog in the wheel.
There is no premium paid for “being” a cog in the wheel. Not just that, your survival is at stake if you continue “being” a cog in the wheel. So, it is not like you have a choice on whether you want to do something different. You don’t have a choice but to start “being” a different person – an artist – someone who creates.
The book is BRILLIANT because it’s a wake-up call for most professionals. Wake up call to let them know that they are heading towards a cliff if they continue “being” who they are.
The book is SCARY because of the timing. It clearly shows that professionals neither have a choice or a LOT OF TIME to debate on this. They have to start “being” an artist NOW. No other choice.
Knowing how busy Seth is, I asked only one question to Seth and here is that question and Seth’s response.
Rajesh: Seth, I love LINCHPIN and am most certain that I will re-read it in the next few days. Knowing the speed at which the publishing industry works, I am sure you have thought about LINCHPIN after the book had gone to print. What are a few things that you would have included on this topic if the book went to print TODAY?
Seth: After you’ve written a few books, you realize that the publishing industry works at its own pace. A blog post takes three minutes to reach the world, a book takes 9 months (if you hurry). The book I wrote was written knowing that people might read it a year or two or ten after I wrote it. So I pushed myself to avoid the solace of recency and the shortcut of the immediate and instead tried to write something that might make you a bit uncomfortable (it certainly made me uncomfortable when I was writing it!).
The short answer is that I wouldn’t change a word.
Note:
I have scheduled a bunch of tweets starting 3am PST with some selected insights from LINCHPIN. There will be a tweet every 30 minutes. You can follow them here on Twitter: @UpbeatNow (under hashtag #LINCHPIN)
Posted in the Announcement, Compelling Offers category.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 25 Jan 2010, 12:10 AM - 3 Comments
Photo Courtesy: Alistercyne at Flickr
Last week, I had an opportunity to introduce one of my mentors Yakov Soloveychik to some of the people that I mentor. It was an honor and a privilege. I was explaining to the group that every time I meet Yakov I come back with something that I had not thought about. Every meeting was insightful and even if I had no questions before the meeting, I would come back with answers for the questions I should have had.
This was not a coaching session by any means but Yakov has insights to share ALL the time.
He mentioned to the group that when he meets with his CEO clients, he focuses on what comes before the “because,” because “because” is the cause of many problems.
The CEOs might say something like:
I can’t hire a new salesperson because…
I can’t fire the existing salesperson because…
I can’t increase the revenues because…
What comes after the word “because” is a story that the CEO has been telling himself (or herself) and the story is so convincing that he or she does not have to think about alternatives.
When you focus on what comes before “because” and ignore what comes after “because” for a short while, we have room to play with. There is an open space to dance. There is a new possibility. We are not captivated by the earlier story. We have an opening to tell a new story.
Over to you now.
Is there a “because..” that is bothering you. May be it’s time to revisit and focus on what comes before that “because.”
Posted in the Main Page category.
By Rajesh Setty on Sun 24 Jan 2010, 12:01 AM - 10 Comments
Photo Courtesy: Brunkfordbraun on Flickr
When you are not working, are your assets working?
A simple way to get leverage in your life is to have your assets working when you are not working.
For example, writing a “good” blog will serve as an asset. Engaging on Twitter with a “good strategy” can also serve as an asset. Noticing the difference between these two is very important as the former is leaning more towards bits and the latter is leaning more towards atoms. People are looking for thought leadership ( can be heavy on bits ) and the same people are looking for engagement on Twitter ( need to be heavy on atoms )
Since you have only 24 hours (and we are not in the industrial age anymore) you cannot scale using you the strength of your body. That was yesterday. Today, the scaling happens with the power of your mind – your creativity, your intellect, your relationships, your past accomplishments etc. If I have to sum up in one sentence, your scale comes from your “valuable contributions” that help people to “get away from places they don’t want to be” or “go towards places where they want to go.”
Such valuable contributions are your assets.
These assets work when you are not working. They provide the scale. They provide the leverage.
However, creating those assets are not easy. Think about it – if any asset has to be broadly applicable to address a concern, it has to be sufficiently abstract but it should also be reasonably practical so that it can be put to use. Now, to create that would require a lot of thinking and hard work. And, it cannot be done overnight. That’s precisely the reason most people won’t do it. And, that’s precisely the reason why you should.
Go ahead and create those assets so that they can work for you when you are not working…
Posted in the Compelling Offers category.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 22 Jan 2010, 10:55 PM - 3 Comments
Photo Courtesy: Selva on Flickr
When was the last time you were touched and moved?
Do you recall one such moment in the last few weeks?
I am sure that it was not:
* When you went to a grocery store and picked up something and the cashier gave a smile that he gives to everyone in the line.
* When you ordered a book from an online store and it was delivered on the day it was promised.
* When you went to a restaurant and the meal was good – as it was expected to be.
I can go on with examples – but if I have to summarize it in a simple fashion, this is the way I would do it:
You rarely get touched and moved by a common and expected response on something that you care about.
So, carrying forward the same logic, you generally get touched and moved by an uncommon and unexpected response on something that you care about.
With that in the background, think about the last few weeks.
Were you touched and moved by someone or something?
I hope your answer was – “Yes, a number of times.”
But the real question is this:
In the last few weeks did you do something that “touched and moved” someone?
You would have, if you did something uncommon and unexpected related to something they cared about. You would have made their day.
If you are struggling to answer that question, you got your work cut out for next week 
Posted in the Main Page category.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 22 Jan 2010, 12:10 AM - Leave Comment
Photo Courtesy: Ekainj on Flickr
The general tendency is to build. create, publish or ship.
However, without a solid foundation whatever you build, create, publish or ship won’t get far.
You cannot NOT have a foundation. You have one. It is your sum total of your history, accomplishments, relationships and your contributions to start with. Whatever you build is on top of this foundation.
You have a sound foundation and you get better results for your creation.
You have a weak foundation and you get weak results for your creation.
You have a mediocre foundation and you get mediocre results for your creation.
The foundation has a HUGE influence on whatever you do.
And…
You can do something about it.
You can renew, re-invent and re-work on your foundation starting today. You can lay a new foundation starting today.
In fact, that should be an ongoing activity in parallel to whatever you are creating – always strengthening and upgrading your foundation.
Your foundation is your leverage engine.
Have you wondered how some people seem to get a LOT done in a single day?
You can learn a lot by observing under what foundation they are operating. You look back on how they progressed in their life and career and you will notice a strong slant towards (implicitly in many cases) to build a strong foundation.
Go ahead and set aside some time to work on your new foundation and let the magic begin.
Posted in the Main Page category.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 21 Jan 2010, 12:10 AM - Leave Comment
Photo Courtesy: Leo Reynolds on Flickr
A typical link exchange request looks something like this ( if you have already seen a lot of link exchange requests, you don’t need to read the email below.
Dear Target-Website-Owner,
My name is Link Hunter and I manage and operate the recently re-launched website http://www.www.MyWebsiteNeedsLinks.com.com. Our site caters to the luxury real estate community in the United States and Canada. Our site contains luxury home listings in every Canadian Province and US state as well as several other countries. As one of the premier destinations online for luxury real estate we would like to exchange links with websites such as yours.
If you are interested in having your website listed in our partners directory please link back to our site using one of the following text links:
1) Luxury Homes - Visit the internets destination for luxury homes and real estate.
2) Luxury Home Listings – Visit the internets #1 destination for luxury real estate. Find info on luxury homes in your area.
3) Luxury Real Estate – Looking for your dream home. Visit Luxury Home Web to find luxury homes for sale or rent in your area.
To select from a larger variety of text links and banners please visit our partners exchange page at: http://www.www.MyWebsiteNeedsLinks.com.com/partners/exchange.html
We are limiting our site to a maximum of 100 partners so you can be sure you will have good visibility.
Once you have provided a link to our site simply fill in our automated web form on the page above and we will add your site to our directory.
Link Hunter
http://www.MyWebsiteNeedsLinks.com
Now, let us look at this from a Link Hunter’s perspective. The deal is simple – they will send you a link and they are asking you to send a link back. So it must be a fair transaction.
So, why do so many people get annoyed when they get a link exchange request?
The answer is simply that the faulty assumption:
Similar actions will create a similar impact
This is an example of a seemingly win-win relationship which is mostly one-sided.
Depending on what their website is, the value of the link from them won’t be equal to the value of the link they are getting back although the actions are same – LINKING.
While the actions make it look like an equal transactions, the varying impact of these actions show that it is a totally unfair transaction.
Hence the problem.
Now, that was a link exchange scenario. So we can talk about it without any emotional attachment. But, unfortunately this happens all the time in real life too. IN the name of creating win-win relationships, people propose business arrangements that are equal in “action” but totally lopsided in “impact.” Then they wonder why people are not able to “get” it.
So, here is the final comment:
Even if you are not engaging in such practices, you should be alert to notice others who (knowingly or urn-knowingly) proposes lopsided “win-win” relationships.
Posted in the Business Models, Compelling Offers category.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 20 Jan 2010, 3:05 AM - 2 Comments
Ambal Balakrishnan (@ambal) from ClickDocuments (@clickdocuments) asked top experts in Content Marketing, B2B Marketing and Social Media Marketing to share their predictions on how the world of content marketing will evolve in 2010. The effort was sponsored by Marketo.
The result: ClickPredictions 2010 eBook
Here are the top 10+1 Tips for Content Marketing in 2010
(all based on the predictions in the book)
1. Interruptive, “tell-and-sell” marketing is a thing of the past
2. Don’t follow the crowd.
3. Get visual!
4. Grow more ears.
5. Think about engagement
6. ROI realities emerge. Pay attention to them.
7. Don’t forget the recession.
8. Scale back the volume; it’s quality that matters
9. Understand your sales process and funnel.
10. Find the writers inside your organization.
11. Bonus Tip: It’s not the size of your megaphone that matters; it’s the size of your customers’ megaphones.
Ambal and I want to thank everyone (especially the contributors, the sponsor and the team at Stresslimitdesign) for making this happen.
You can read more about the eBook and download it on the ClickDocuments site. Here is the link:
ClickDocuments: ClickPredictions 2010 eBook (FREE download)
Have a great day.
Posted in the Announcement, Compelling Offers category.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 19 Jan 2010, 12:10 AM - 4 Comments
Photo Courtesy: Michale on Flickr
How will you behave when you are on the stage?
You are typically nervous and you want to put on a good show. You are well prepared and you have rehearsed it a number of times and you know that your reputation is online. You know that people will make assessments about you and your capacity based on how you perform. You know that what you say is important and can make a difference in how they view you when you come on stage the next time.
So, in summary:
* You prepare well
* You are a bit nervous (generally, I am not talking about professional speakers who are speaking 200 times in a year)
* You care for your audience
* You give it your best shot and hope to exceed the expectations
* You are happy when you do a good job and get great reviews.
If you think about it, with all the social networks and social media, you are always on the stage. Just that you are not there physically in front of a crowd. But all other rules apply. The same risks and same opportunities exist as if you were there on a stage in-person.
However, you don’t give it the same importance as if you were on a “real” stage.
Why?
Simply because you don’t get a “visual” feedback about how the audience is receiving what you are sending. In “real life stage experience” if you are not interesting, all people can do is ignore you and focus on their Blackberry to take care of their things. You get a visual feedback on the interest level.
On social media, if you are not interesting, what do people do, they just click through to the next thing that is interesting. You can get some feedback on that based on how much time that they have spent on what you have shared. However, you don’t really get all the feedback as some of them may never come back and also don’t bother to say anything about how they were not “satisfied” with the return they are getting from spending time on what you have shared.
They are just gone. Vanished.
Actually, forget about social media. Let me take it to the next level. When you send your next email you are on a stage. The same rules apply there too.
So, the thing to remember is simply this:
Whatever you share and however you share it, there is a cost of consumption for the reader. If that cost is not justified, you are history – sooner than later.
Have a great day.
Posted in the Main Page category.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 18 Jan 2010, 12:10 AM - 4 Comments
I was at CES show a couple of weeks ago. The show was fascinating by all counts and in some ways it was overwhelming. The article is not about the show but I want to make a point based on a few incidents in and around the show.
First, at the show:
I visited many booths – domestic and international and was super impressed by what was in store. At one of the booths, a company from South Korea had an interesting technology that intrigued me. I wanted to learn more but unfortunately nobody there understood what I was asking. If they only had someone who was able to converse (the last mile) they would have gotten a lot out of the show.
Next, at the hotel:
Hari (founder and CEO of Jiffle) and I were staying at Excalibur and were checking out from the hotel at 5am. Hari decided to use the checkout option on the hotel TV. It took us through a series of steps and finally gave us a message that you can make use of “express checkout” on TV only between 6am to 11am.
lastly, at the check in counter at JetBlue:
We were early at the airport and the counter was not open. But the automated check-in option at the terminal was open. Hari and I were wondering how could the logistics work as we do need someone to pick up our bags after we complete the checkin procedures. But we wanted to go ahead and try it anyway.
The system took all our information and in the last screen printed a “Oops” ticket and asked us to take it to the counter and give it to an agent. Remember that the counter was not open.
No race is complete without running the last mile.
A time for you to revisit your own actions. The question to ask is:
Are you sure your helping your customers in the last mile?
Have a great day.
Posted in the Business Models category.
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