The entrepreneur, small business owner, and anyone else trying to make a name for him or herself has likely spent repeated amounts of time checking their website’s analytics, their company’s ranking on search engines, their google alerts, their twitter search results, and even things like their bank account balance and sales data. While all of this information is arguably important, none of it requires an hourly review. In fact, much of this information could be revisited every few days or even weekly.

Nevertheless, we have the tendency to revisit this data constantly. Why? After multiple conversations about this phenomenal and instinctual time-sink (and some introspection), I have come to realize that a very human sense of insecurity is at the core of this behavior.

Quite simply, I have come to define “Insecurity Work” as stuff that we do that (1) has no intended outcome, (2) does not move the ball forward in any way, and (3) is quick enough that you can do it multiple times a day without realizing - but, nonetheless, puts us at ease.

While I am sure that there has always been a tempt for people to spend their time on insecurity work, new technology and ubiquitous online access has made it easier now than ever before. Data that COULD make you feel more at ease is now always at your finger tips. And therefore, we always have a desire to access it - again and again. Why? Because, deep down inside, we are always wondering what we are missing.

The antidote to the addiction of insecurity work is a combination of awareness, self-discipline, and delegation.

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We all make mistakes, and our instinct is to cover them up - hopefully learn from them - and then quickly move on. When we share our resumes or publish our websites and bios, we seldom dedicate a section to our failures. After all, the first impression is so valuable and you wouldn’t want to taint it with anything negative…right?

Well, it turns out that we are all human. And, when someone is looking to hire you - or work for you, they are likely curious about your weaknesses. Why? Because they want to know what they’ll need to deal with. It is a fair question, and increased transparency would only lead to better matches and collaborations.

Why does the process of finding one’s weaknesses need to be so difficult? The obvious answer is the shame associated with mistakes and imperfection. If we all acknowledged that everyone screws up sometimes and were willing to talk about our failures and lessons learned…well, we’d probably develop and perform better on the job.

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Note on the ongoing series: I have always believed that quotes encapsulate concepts that are a catalyst for great insights and introspection. As such I will be sharing some of my favorite quotes on various topics along with some brief commentary. For this episode, we will focus on INNOVATION.

“Innovation” is a word that is thrown around way too often. I like to think of it as the discovery of new paths. Whether you are creating something new or something that already exists, innovation is all about finding new ways to do it. read more

I recently spent a day visiting Zappos – the largest online shoe company that is especially well-known for their great customer service, corporate culture, and almost magical speed when fulfilling orders. As I toured the campus and met with some of the leaders, I was struck by a number of features at the core of the company’s culture. Here are a few that caught my eye…

#1: Celebrating Visitors
As I took the tour of the headquarters, I was taken to a special room called the “VIP Room” where I was asked to wear a king’s crown and pose for a photograph. The Polaroid was then placed on the wall among thousands of other photographs. I suspect Zappos was keeping Polaroid in business for quite some time. My lesson here, visitors are worth celebrating (especially if they travel from NYC to Henderson, NV to visit).
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Note on the ongoing series: I have always believed that quotes encapsulate concepts that are a catalyst for great insights and introspection. As such I will be sharing some of my favorite quotes on various topics along with some brief commentary. For this episode, we will focus on DEVELOPING ONESELF.

Self-improvement is all about introspection and making an effort to push your own comfort zones. Exploring new terrain will push your capabilities in unexpected ways.

It is all too easy to remain stagnant and never push yourself when it is uncomfortable to do so. However, the investment in developing oneself is likely the one competitors won’t make. The greater your self-awareness, the more equipped you are to make an impact.

Here are a few quotes to consider on the topic:

“You’ve gotta leave home to become who you are.” -Amichai Lau Lavie, Creator of StorahTelling, NYC

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Note on the ongoing series: I have always believed that quotes encapsulate concepts that are a catalyst for great insights and introspection. As such I will be sharing some of my favorite quotes on various topics along with some brief commentary. For this episode, we will focus on SELF-DISCIPLINE.

Having ideas is easy, getting started on making those ideas happen is also relatively easy. However, enduring the pursuit to make ideas happen over time is very difficult.

The greatest barriers we face are not around us, but within us. Having the self-discipline and fortitude to manage and complete projects over time is one of the greatest traits of a leader.

Here are a few quotes to consider on the topic of self-discipline:

“Nothing is easier than saying words.  Nothing is harder than living them day after day.” -Arthur Gordon read more

Note on the ongoing series: I have always believed that quotes encapsulate concepts that are a catalyst for great insights and introspection. As such I will be sharing some of my favorite quotes on various topics along with some brief commentary. For this episode, we will focus on MANAGEMENT.

To me, leadership and management are two very different things. Leadership is about serving as the steward of a vision and motivating others to achieve it.

In contrast, management is, often times, about the minutia – the incremental challenges confronted and decisions that must be made along the way to achieving a goal. For people with passion for their work, management is often more challenging than leadership.

Here are some particularly interesting quotes on management:

“Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.”  -Josh Billings

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Note on the ongoing series: I have always believed that quotes encapsulate concepts that are a catalyst for great insights and introspection. As such I will be sharing some of my favorite quotes on various topics along with some brief commentary. For this episode, we will focus on FAILURE.

Intellectually, we all know that adversity, if survived, builds strength. One of the hardest parts of failure is not necessarily learning a painful lesson but being able to suffer for a bit.

I have always believed that you need to be able to lose if you want to win. For the dreamer that is willing to take a risk, occasional failure is inevitable. Some perspective – and dare I say even some desire – to occasionally fail and learn from it will prepare us for the inevitable challenges ahead as we seek to do extraordinary things.

And so, I present a few quotes for you to consider:

“I have not failed.  I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  -Thomas Edison read more