I love words. And new times sometimes demand new words because old words don't help us to see the world differently.So I've been collecting some important new words that I think are relevant to our brave new world, and it occurs to me that sometimes I may use these words as if you know what I'm talking about. So with thanks to Seth Godin and a few others, over the course of the next few months, I will share 26 of my favorite new words that in these new times maybe you need to adopt for yourself:
A is for Artist: Our world needs more artists. But to me, an artist is not defined as someone who just paints or writes, but a person who brings humanity to a problem, who changes someone else for the better, who does work that can't be written down in a manual or textbook. Art is about bringing creativity and insight to work, instead of choosing to be someone who just regurgitates what you've been forced to learn. Learn how to be an artist!
B is for Bootstrapper: A bootstrapper is someone who starts a business with no money and funds growth through growth. The internet has made bootstrapping much easier than ever, because the costs of creating and marketing remarkable things are cheaper than ever. It's really important not to act like you're well-funded if you're intent on bootstrapping (and vice versa). You can read the Bootstrapper's Bible for free.
C is for Choice: I didn't coin the term the Long Tail, but I wish I had. It describes a simple law: given a choice, people will choose. For business that means that digital commerce enables niches, and presents an opportunity to offer choice. Offering lots of choices--aggregating and enabling the long tail--accounts for the success of eBay, iTunes, Amazon, Craigslist, Google and even match.com.
D is for Darwin: Things evolve. But evolution is, well, evolving. While it used to take a hundred thousand years for significant changes to happen to our physical culture, the nature of information and a connected society means that 'everything' might change in just a few months. Ideas that spread will win--and people and companies that can "go Darwin" learn from their mistakes and will lead the rest of us.
E is for Edgecraft: Brainstorming doesn't always work so well, because most people are bad at it. They're bad at it because their lizard brains take over moments before a big idea is uttered. "Oh no!" it says, "I better not say that because if I do, it might be a BAD idea and then I'll have to defend it." And so brainstorming quickly becomes clever stalling and timewasting. Far better is to practice "edgecraft." Someone announces a new direction for a business ("we'll be really convenient, we'll offer our menu by fax,") and then the next person goes closer to that edge, topping it, ("we'll offer it by email!") and so on, each topping the other in any particular direction.
More in September...
