⫹⫺ The Schultz Hour
⫹⫺ The Schultz Hour
CMMN WLTH 112 - Cheat Codes for Creators, Makers & Doers
Hello my friends,
George Schultz, Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan, scheduled one hour a week of solitude for strategic thinking and reflection.
Schultz used this practice to focus on the big picture, rather than getting caught up in daily crises.
Protect an hour from other commitments and think about where you want to take your creative work.
Sounds simple, not easy (as the recent consistency of this newsletter proves).
— Andy
In this week’s email:
Product - Building a product led brand.
People - The power of a shared mission.
Process - If the product doesn’t inspire you, find the thing that does.
Out of Office - Sapiens but make it a blog post.
*Product
Friday Thread by Seb Beasant
“It’s all hands to the pump to get the product ready to show to buyers at the end of the year, but that won’t stop your weekly Friday Thread, of course.”
Founder of technical sportswear brand Torsa, Seb Besant, writes about business, design and manufacturing in his weekly newsletter.
As a solo founded he has made it his mission to learn about as many aspects of his business as possible.
Great learnings come from both success and failure. Making and learning by doing are the best paths to improve products.
*People
The Man on the Moon Standard
“Hi, I’m Jack Kennedy. What are you doing?” The janitor responded, “Well Mr. President, I’m helping put a man on the moon.”
Creating a specific call to action has the power to unite everyone around achieving the vision, regardless of their job level.
People thrive in an environment where they can connect their role to the company’s mission.
Working backwards can also help you simplify your work. Ask yourself, is a particular activity helping you achieve the vision. If it isn’t, then you can likely stop doing it.
*Process
Forget Passion, Focus on Process
“We can’t all love the products we work with. Someone has to do the jobs and sell the things that don’t seem sexy but make the world go round.”
If you are not passionate about the product that you are working on, find the thing that you are passionate about. It could be the act of building a profitable company or leading people.
Turning a passion into your profession is a good way to kill the passion. What you love doing in your spare time doesn’t always translate to building a successful business.
Avoid “The Cute Little Cafe Syndrome” by realizing you need to love a lot more than coffee. You’ve got to take satisfaction in serving customers, cleaning, accounting, and many other non-coffee-related activities.
*Out of Office
Sapiens but make it a blog post.
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