Creative Process

Robbing Peter Brady To Pay Pauly Shore

My recent interview with Seth Godin spurred me to re-read, (actually re-listen ), to his book Small Is The New Big . Last night I came across a riff that hit me squarely between the eyes.

Seth was recounting the story of a colleague who was trying to secure a deal. She was rebuffed, so she wrote up a contract that esentially said that the company was saying "no" to her offer and that she was free to take her offer to another company.

They refused to sign it.

Seth hypothesized that this was because ANY decision at that point was a risk. The only "non-risk" was to do nothing. Forcing their hand was forcing risk.

And here’s the killer line: they were willing to get the big things wrong in order to avoid making small mistakes now. 

Wow. How often do we live in "NTG" mode (nose-to-grindstone) and spend more energy protecting our rear than in trying to take big swipes? How many decisions are made everyday in the effort to survive another round rather than in the attempt to re-define the playing field? How many people go to their grave having NEVER attempted ANYTHING of significant consequence out of fear of the loss of reputation? 

I want to have the courage to make little mistakes and have people think that I’m off-kilter because I’m working toward something of consequence. I want to focus more on changing the game rather than fitting in.

Cover bands don’t change the world.

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