My hat is off to you for the most honest answer I heard in years. You have been asked a truly difficult question, and it deserved a deeper reflection… I commend you for shooting from the hip and giving the answers quickly, and without anesthetics…
So, let me point out what the man behind the original idea for Netflix, Marc Randolph, recently said... He has three words of advice for any entrepreneur whose ideas are marginalized or met with dismissive skepticism - such as: “That Will Never Work”. So, repeat after Marc Randolph:
"NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING"
And to offer my help to all the aspiring entrepreneurs, I would like to tell you what worked for me in the past, while facing difficult situations… Hopefully, you will find it useful, too…
This is a story about how I learned to ask a single most important question in situations filled with uncertainty, limited information, and doubt. You can easily apply the same technique…
Knowing what questions to ask is like winning half the battle. I have learned over the years that the cracks in many stories can be spotted by asking… for the exact opposite.
If you are convinced that you uncovered a “winning” strategy - simply ask yourself under what conditions such a strategy wouldn’t work? And if you are certain that you found the right business plan to ensure the company’s success, simply ask yourself what would it take to make the company… fail? Just ask the above question. You’ll be glad you did…
You can find more details on the above and the WHOLE STORY in my LinkedIn post: “The Power Of The OPPOSITES”
Yet, it is good to realize that we all make different decisions – even when faced with the same sets of data. And to drive this point, I would like to quote a famous tale I heard about the “Glass Half Full/Half Empty Mindsets”:
• A shoe company sends two salesmen to Amazonia - to determine the market potential
• On arrival, they both discovered that NOBODY wears any shoes
• One reported: no one here wears any shoes - there is no market for us…
• The other one sent a different message: no one here wears any shoes - there is a huge market for us, send all the inventory…
In addition, remember what David Kahneman, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics once said about OPTIMISM:
“If you were allowed one wish for your child, seriously consider wishing him or her optimism. When action is needed, optimism, even of the mildly delusional variety, may be a good thing"…
Great points, Oleg! Love this idea of asking what would make it fail. It's a powerful and valuable thought exercise to help you recognize potential flaws before they become fatal flaws.
Aaron,
My hat is off to you for the most honest answer I heard in years. You have been asked a truly difficult question, and it deserved a deeper reflection… I commend you for shooting from the hip and giving the answers quickly, and without anesthetics…
So, let me point out what the man behind the original idea for Netflix, Marc Randolph, recently said... He has three words of advice for any entrepreneur whose ideas are marginalized or met with dismissive skepticism - such as: “That Will Never Work”. So, repeat after Marc Randolph:
"NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING"
And to offer my help to all the aspiring entrepreneurs, I would like to tell you what worked for me in the past, while facing difficult situations… Hopefully, you will find it useful, too…
This is a story about how I learned to ask a single most important question in situations filled with uncertainty, limited information, and doubt. You can easily apply the same technique…
Knowing what questions to ask is like winning half the battle. I have learned over the years that the cracks in many stories can be spotted by asking… for the exact opposite.
If you are convinced that you uncovered a “winning” strategy - simply ask yourself under what conditions such a strategy wouldn’t work? And if you are certain that you found the right business plan to ensure the company’s success, simply ask yourself what would it take to make the company… fail? Just ask the above question. You’ll be glad you did…
You can find more details on the above and the WHOLE STORY in my LinkedIn post: “The Power Of The OPPOSITES”
Yet, it is good to realize that we all make different decisions – even when faced with the same sets of data. And to drive this point, I would like to quote a famous tale I heard about the “Glass Half Full/Half Empty Mindsets”:
• A shoe company sends two salesmen to Amazonia - to determine the market potential
• On arrival, they both discovered that NOBODY wears any shoes
• One reported: no one here wears any shoes - there is no market for us…
• The other one sent a different message: no one here wears any shoes - there is a huge market for us, send all the inventory…
In addition, remember what David Kahneman, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics once said about OPTIMISM:
“If you were allowed one wish for your child, seriously consider wishing him or her optimism. When action is needed, optimism, even of the mildly delusional variety, may be a good thing"…
Great points, Oleg! Love this idea of asking what would make it fail. It's a powerful and valuable thought exercise to help you recognize potential flaws before they become fatal flaws.