We always love to read books that further our own worldview. Books that cement our view on the truth about things. I just read such a book. It’s titled What Would Google Do?, and was written by Jeff Jarvis. The book’s really loaded with great stuff and not so much a book about Google as it is a book about how you and I, and our companies, can become more googlish. Very cool.
Jarvis has read a bunch of Seth Godin, Chris Anderson, Clay Shirky, Paulo Coelho, and James Surowiecki. All authors I’ve read and enjoyed. Check it out…
Here’s one of his thoughts from page 191 and it’s actually a quote from Shirky. “The principal asset a young tech entrepreneur has is that they don’t know a lot of things. In almost every other circumstance, this would be a disadvantage, but not here, and not now…When the world really changed overnight, when wild new things are possible if you don’t have any sense of how things used to be, then it is the people who got here five minutes ago who understand that new possibility, and they understand it precisely because, to them, it isn’t new.”
Sooooo, how can you forget about what you know about the way your industry, your companies, and your teams go to market?
If you and your team are to survive and thrive in today’s market, you’ve got to unlearn a lot of things you thought were true. This will not be easy. Here’s a helpful hint. Do NOT miss this. This is HUGE.
Get younger. Get more inexperienced. Go hire some young people.
Your markets are changing quickly. You are most likely not. The status quo is the enemy and outside forces are disrupting banks, car companies, manufacturers, builders, developers, law firms, medical practices, insurance companies, and, most likely, your type of team too. Remember, your financial results are a “lagging” indicator. Are you aware of your “leading ones?”
Monday, walk into work and forget what you thought you knew. Walk in stupid.
You might just walk out thinking a little more googlish.
Very cool.
BUILT TO LEAD 