Productive Paranoia

I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions.

They feel too soft. Squishy.

I much prefer the concrete—dates, actions, outcomes (and consequences). Otherwise, it’s just too easy to focus on my clients’ business while forgetting to forge my own.

Sound familiar?

What if 2015 could be the year that changes everything? The year you go after your dream—your on-line audience, your book, your speaking career, your dream client niche?

Resolutions won’t do it (although a firm resolve will aid you greatly).

You need a plan.

One you’ll stick to, no excuses.

Jim Collins calls it “The Twenty Mile March” and describes success criteria as “a triad of core behaviors: fanatic discipline, empirical creativity, and productive paranoia.”

Does this not describe pretty much every extraordinary entrepreneur you know?

So yes, use that big creative streak you’ve nurtured. But match it with some consistent discipline (think plans vs resolutions) and mix in just enough “productive paranoia” to keep you going.

That means when your inner voice says “competitor so-and-so is going to beat me to this” (paranoia?), you still keep up YOUR consistently manageable game, no matter what (productive).

It’s all about the process. Your process. Your daily commitment—writing 300 words, building your Twitter following for 30 minutes or making one new business call.

It has certainly worked for me (recent case in point: launch of my Digital Kit) and I know it can work for you.

So why not join me? Kiss the resolution goodbye as you welcome 2015. And embrace “fanatic discipline, empirical creativity, and productive paranoia.”

What is worthy of your commitment in 2015?

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1 Comment

  • I found it rather simple and direct for me; use my Thanksgiving eve-released ebook, The Public Ought To Know, to help build my profile and thus my practice. It already resulted in a column of the same name running in a NYC-based online news site, The Labor Press; interestingly the editors there prefer columns that run 300 words when I comfortably embrace op-eds that run 7-800 words. The column and the book give me reason to use social media more; many of my posts previously followed the need to get client and client related media out; in my practice times exist when no media at all might very well make sense; the column and book promotion now offer regular or fill-in social media opportunities.

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