Sorry Nine Inch Nails, Every Day Is Not the Same
Tags: Approach, Process, Experience

So the past two weeks have been a very interesting exploratory period for myself. Until I have something that takes up more of my time — whether it’s a consulting gig or an actual job — I will be writing a blog, EVERY DAY. (Business day, weekends don’t count, obvi)

Even though I’ve been told that my blogs so far have veered a bit into the “too personal” or TMI (too much info) territory, I’ve succeeded so far! Wanna know my secret? I’ll tell you… in a later blog :)

Going forward I’ll try to keep my writing a bit less focused on my personal stories and a bit more focused on how I try to approach the things I do. And I’ll try not to let my partner watching “Are You The One?” on MTV distract me!

So the first thing I want to explore is approaching a new job, a new opportunity, or simply a new experience.

If you remember the World Cup from 2010, you probably remember the song “Wavin’ Flag.” If not, it was a song by an artist called K’Naan from Somalia who I’d seen previously on Austin City Limits perform a song called “Take a Minute” and this line from that song sticks with me:

Any man who knows a thing knows he knows not a damn, damn thing at all.

I try to bring that approach to everything that I do. No matter what. Even if it’s something I’ve done a hundred times I still try to remind myself that, hey, maybe don’t be a know-it-all, there’s something you can learn in this situation. Remember that every situation brings a unique challenge, and that you can bring your experience but don’t write it off ahead of time.

You see this in sports a lot. Just yesterday the Los Angeles Rams (football) were first in their division and headed to a playoff spot when they lost to the New York Jets, who had not won a single game this season. They lost focus, thinking they knew what was going to happen before it happened. The Jets aren’t better than the Rams — but the Rams took it easy and screwed up.

In business, this happens when someone tries to apply the same approach to situations, believing that they can replicate something that proved successful before. Though this can be done in some situations, it’s not always. Bar Rescue is a popular TV show where host and experienced “bar consultant” Jon Taffer goes into a failing establishment and tries to revive it. I just checked and 84 of 188 bars are now closed (94 still open and 10 sold). So barely over 50% success rate.

One episode in particular sticks out from Raleigh, NC where I lived for many years. Taffer attempted to create a nightclub which ended up closing. What I think he didn’t realize was the area he was attempting to open in was predominantly college students and young professionals. So kids with no money and young professionals who were moving quickly to a more open, bright, “hipster” atmosphere, not necessarily a dark club atmosphere where dancing was the main priority. The bar ended up closing soon after. I heard that it was neat but, again, not what was going to be successful in that area.

If you’re going to approach a new thing — no matter what it is — remember to approach it with an open mind and remember that every situation is not the same. Call upon your experiences and use a process that helps you explore all of the options.

When I am looking at a new challenge, I might have an idea for how to approach it, but one thing I do is look at the problem objectively and ask why it’s a challenge. Why can’t someone else see what I see? Maybe they can and they already tried the approach that I would. Perhaps it’s outside of their area of expertise or their capacity.

Whatever the case, I remind myself that if I can think of this solution so can they. So what else can I think of? The more angles I can see, the more I’ll be able to pivot if something changes or shifts.

Using this approach requires me to dig deeper, research what else is happening, look ahead and see trends that are going to shape this decision. Sometimes the easiest answer is the most obvious. What worked there will work here. But sometimes it’s not.

And if I remember that what I know is that I don’t know anything, I’ll be able to stay sharp, keep learning, and try new things in order to be the best I can be.

Now a personal touch: I was reminded of this story because I just sat to write this with a small glass of Fernet Branca. In 2013-ish I had just moved to Raleigh, NC and I basically didn’t have any friends there. I frequented a place called Fox Liquor Bar which was one of the first “hipster” cocktail bars in the city. As I was having my typical rum old-fashioned, the bartender asked if I wanted to try this Fernet stuff for free — and I said duh!

She told me the story about Fernet, how it is a liqueur made from 27 herbs and ingredients and that the exact recipe is a trade secret only known to a few people. I thought that was super cool and went the next 7 years of my life thinking the occasions I was drinking Fernet that I was part of some super cool exclusive club.

Until I told a friend about my bottle of it and she goes “oh gosh, we had that after dinner for like my entire life growing up.”

I know nothing, Jon Snow.