Jeff Calloway

website of a husband, father, writer, follower of Christ, and Apple enthusiast

We Can Do It

On March 26, 2010, In Teamwork, by Jeff Calloway

Too often, it seems, this attitude is missing from teams, organizations or the community. It’s missing because people are quick to opt out of the ‘we’ part. “What do you mean, we?” they ask. It’s so easy to not be part of we, so easy to make it someone else’s problem, so easy to not [...]

Too often, it seems, this attitude is missing from teams, organizations or the community.

It’s missing because people are quick to opt out of the ‘we’ part. “What do you mean, we?” they ask. It’s so easy to not be part of we, so easy to make it someone else’s problem, so easy to not to take responsibility as a member of whatever tribe you’re part of.

Sometimes it’s missing because people disagree about what ‘it’ is. If you don’t know what you’re after, it’s unlikely you’re going to find it.

And it’s missing because people confuse cynicism with realism, and are afraid to say “can”. They’d rather say ‘might’ or even ‘probably won’t’.

Just about everything worth doing is worth doing because it’s important and because the odds are against you. If they weren’t, then anyone could do it, so don’t bother.

Product launches, innovations and initiatives by any organization work better when the key people agree on the goal, believe that they can achieve it and that the plan will work.

Do we have a cynicism shortage? Unlikely.

Successful people rarely confuse a can-do attitude with a smart plan. But they realize that one without the other is unlikely to get you very far.

Count me in. Let’s go.

-Seth Godin

Self Determination – Seth Godin

On March 9, 2010, In business, Leadership, by Jeff Calloway

…are we stuck in High School? I had two brushes with higher education this week. The first was at a speech I gave in New York. There were several Harvard Business School students there, invited because of their interest in marketing and exceptional promise (that’s what I was told… I think they came because they [...]

…are we stuck in High School?

I had two brushes with higher education this week.

The first was at a speech I gave in New York. There were several Harvard Business School students there, invited because of their interest in marketing and exceptional promise (that’s what I was told… I think they came because they had heard that Maury Rubin would make a great lunch!).

Anyway, they asked for my advice in finding marketing jobs. When I shared my views (go to a small company, work for the CEO, get a job where you actually get to make mistakes and do something) one woman professed to agree with me, but then explained, “But those companies don’t interview on campus.”

Those companies don’t interview on campus. Hmmm. She has just spent $100,000 in cash and another $150,000 in opportunity cost to get an MBA, but…

The second occurred today at Yale. As I drove through the amazingly beautiful campus, I passed the center for Asian Studies. It reminded me of my days as an undergrad (at a lesser school, natch), browsing through the catalog, realizing I could learn whatever I wanted. That not only could I take classes but I could start a business, organize a protest movement, live in a garret off campus, whatever. It was a tremendous gift, this ability to choose.

Yet most of my classmates refused to choose. Instead, they treated college like an extension of high school. They took the most mainstream courses, did the minimum amount they needed to get an A, tried not to get into “trouble” with the professor or face the uncertainty of the unknowable. They were the ones who spent six hours a day in the library, reading their textbooks.

The best part of college is that you could become whatever you wanted to become, but most people just do what they think they must.

Is this a metaphor? Sure. But it’s a worthwhile one. You have more freedom at work than you think (hey, you’re reading this on company time!) but most people do nothing with that freedom but try to get an A.

Do you work with people who are still in high school? Job seekers only willing to interview with the folks who come on campus? Executives who are trying to make their boss happy above all else? It’s pretty clear that the thing that’s wrong with this system is high school, not the rest of the world.

Cut class. Take a seminar on french literature. Interview off campus. Safe is risky.

Tagged with: determination • seth godin

Your nuts if you believe me

On May 13, 2009, In business, by Jeff Calloway

Too many people follow other people who have no idea what they are doing. The old saying, “even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then” really encompasses this truth. Seth Godin writes about this “blind leading the blind” over at his blog- I’m the first person to admit that compared to you, [...]

Too many people follow other people who have no idea what they are doing. The old saying, “even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then” really encompasses this truth. Seth Godin writes about this “blind leading the blind” over at his blog-

I’m the first person to admit that compared to you, I have no idea what I’m talking about. You’re there, doing what you do, and doing it with skill.

Let me be really clear: My job is not to tell you what to do. I don’t know what to do. You do.

Not just me, of course. Everybody with a blog or a book or an interest in your success. Don’t do what they say. Listen to their questions instead.

My job is provoke you into asking hard questions. Ask those questions to your boss and your co-workers and yourself. It’s easy to show that self-aware decisions and thoughtful strategies outperform blind stumbling.

I don’t have a lot of patience for this list of seven rules or that manual of how it’s supposed to be or the step-by-step road map you can purchase today only. I think you’ll do a lot better if you get optimistic about the future and cynical about pat answers at the same time instead.

Tagged with: seth godin

Ignoring Your Critics – Seth Godin

On April 1, 2009, In Coaching, People, Weblogs, by Jeff Calloway

I really enjoy Seth Godin’s blog. Seth is an entrepreneur, agent of change, and he blogs as well. His latest book, Tribes is a must read for anyone who is involved in any organization. He posted a few days ago on Ignoring Your Critics and I want my readers to be introduced to Seth’s blog [...]

head-clickme2 I really enjoy Seth Godin’s blog. Seth is an entrepreneur, agent of change, and he blogs as well. His latest book, Tribes is a must read for anyone who is involved in any organization. He posted a few days ago on Ignoring Your Critics and I want my readers to be introduced to Seth’s blog and thinking. Enjoy!

If you find 100 comments on a blog post or 100 reviews of a new book or 100 tweets about you…
and two of them are negative, while 98 are positive…
which ones are you going to read first?

If you’re a human being and you’re telling the truth, the answer is pretty obvious: you want to know which misguided losers had nasty things to say and you want to know what they said. In fact, if we’re being totally truthful, it’s likely you’re going to take what the critics had to say to heart.

That’s a shame. The critics are never going to be happy with you, that’s why they’re critics. You might bore them by doing what they say… but that won’t turn them into fans, it will merely encourage them to go criticize someone else.

It doesn’t matter what Groucho or Elvis or Britney or any other one-name performer does or did… the critics won’t be placated. Changing your act to make them happy is a fool’s game.

Here’s a surprising thought, though. You should ignore your fans as well.
Your fans don’t want you to change, your fans want you to maintain the essence of what you bring them but add a laundry list of features. You fans want lower prices and more contributions, bigger portions and more frequent deliveries.

So, who should you listen to?
Your sneezers.

You should listen to the people who tell the most people about you. Listen to the people who thrive on sharing your good works with others. If you delight these people, you grow.

Tagged with: critics • seth godin