Last week I found an old box of LEGO in a box in my garage. It still contained all the necessary ingredients (the box with a picture of the end result, the instructions and, of course, all the pieces). As a self-proclaimed completionist, I felt the urge and duty to build this once again. Which I did. After an hour I had the perfect rendition of a LEGO Batmobile. It was beautiful. I excitedly showed my wife, presenting it with an accompanying backstory and next Bat-adventure it would take. She was enthralled (not really, but go with me here). For that day I walked around feeling well-accomplished, and the Batmobile sat displayed in the lounge for all (both of us) to marvel at. It was a beautiful thing. Which got me thinking…

As much as I love the concept and personal usage of Uber, if I hear one more keynote speaker, CEO or any other business leader talk about “Uberising” their business, I may throw something at them. Uber has done an amazing job at linking the do-er with the need-er, facilitating transactions between them with great efficiency. So too have Airbnb and so many others. But this leaves Uber and their cronies as the heroes of the story.

My question is: Why shouldn’t the user, you, be the hero? So while “Uberising” is certainly one business model, my feeling is that organisations need to consider who the real heroes need to be: You and I. LEGO has certainly done this. Here’s a basic recap of my Batmobile story:

1. I obtained a set of tools and instructions
2. By viewing the end result in its glory (on the front of the box), I felt the need to replicate it myself
3. I followed the instructions using the tools that were provided
4. Hey presto! Look at what I made!

To be fair, I didn’t actually make it. I didn’t even have to think or work too hard to do it. I merely assembled it, but the overwhelming sense of accomplishment was something that no-one could take away from me. I did this. I made this. LEGO’s goal is for me to buy it, make it, and buy some more so that I can make some more. Fulfilling my sense of accomplishment over and over again. It worked.

For years I’ve been speaking to audiences about the ever-growing DIY mentality. How not only do we want to create our own things, but the opportunity to do this is far greater than ever before, because we have the wonderful world of the internet to access, in order to learn.

LEGO facilitates that DIY mentality amazingly well. What’s more, you don’t have to remove yourself from what they’ve given you. You have a picture, instructions and the pieces. They have your full attention from start to finish.

To put this into a business context: You have your end result of the picture (or the Victory Condition as we like to call it), the instructions (strategy) and the pieces (tools).

These are the core building blocks we’re using to develop LeadrSpeak. LeadrSpeak is an online platform that helps turn managers into leaders, giving them the tools necessary to deliver messages to their teams which are relevant, timeous and memorable. Not only has our POC produced phenomenal feedback, but, more importantly, it produced better speakers. Better leaders. High fives to us.

Why should you care about this?

Well, are you giving your staff or clients LEGO-esque tools, which gives them that sense of accomplishment, while still achieving your strategic goals?

Following last year’s little experiment to see where in the world people I knew spent their New Year’s eve, I asked them all again. Why? Because I’m curious about where people spend their time off (you’d be amazed at how many ideas for weekends away have been added to the bank).

Again, I sent a WhatsApp location pin, and they sent theirs straight back.

The stats from the 104-strong group who participated:

• 44,2% of people were at home (or nearby) – similar to last year
• 43,3% of people traveled locally – a little less than last year
• 46,5% of the SA’ns who traveled locally went to the East coast – 23% down from last year
• 11,6% of the SA’ns were at the Vaal River
• 12,5% of people traveled internationally – more than last year
• 87,5% of people enjoyed a summer New Year’s – similar to last year
• People still go to some weird-ass places
• People still share info too easily. I love it.

Basic review: More people traveled abroad, and South Africans have decided to spend less time on the East coast and more time inland.

Thanks again for everyone who contributed, looking forward to see what happens next year.

There’s a fine line between done, and done-done.

My father-in-law works in Safety for a large commercial airline carrier. Every safety-related incident – from an engine exploding inflight, to a pregnant woman mistakenly placed in the EXIT row – goes past his desk. These incidents are documented,  monitored, tracked and precautions are put into place to ensure they don’t happen again. All relevant individuals are consulted on the particular incident to clarify all information was correct, and to ascertain where the fault lies. From there, new policies, new tech, staff training, etc. are put into place to ensure the safety of all future passengers.

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Two weeks ago I bumped into Kevin and Allison at Cape Town International, all – it turned out – on our way home to Lanseria.

While catching up about the weekend, they told me about a school waterpolo game they watched, supporting their nephew. The coach, an early-twenty-something-go-getter, had a specific catchphrase for his team while the game was on:

“Make yourself an option!” 

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When we started 21Tanks almost a decade ago, we had no products, all we had was perspective. Yup, perspective. Knowledge that we’d acquired over the years (that we thought was valuable) and a network of smart people to help us along the way. How’d we get work? Well, most of the time, people just asked if we could help. And we did.

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Mitch Joel from Mirum explains the term ‘Thought Leader’ as follows:

A thought leader is someone who is sharing (in text, images, audio and video) their own unique perspective. That would be the “thought” component of the equation. A thought leader is someone whose unique perspective is seen and accredited by both peers or other industry experts as truly being visionary (saying and doing the things that others have yet to do). Leadership isn’t just about being first. Leadership is about how the thinking is ingested and used by the audience.

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Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 is a beautiful representation of the dull, mindless slog most people feel like they go through every single day, in order to get their paycheque at the end of the month, with no recognition, resulting in making rich men richer. The chorus is extra-specially fun…

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Indicate [in-di-keyt]  verb

1. to point out or point to; direct attention to

2. to state or express, especially briefly or in a general way; signal

In my experience, most cars on the road have indicators fitted for obligatory purposes only when changing lanes. To indicate is to share an intention with others. Therefore, when changing lanes, indicating to let others know you’ll be turning, before you actually turn, is the correct procedure. Most drivers, though, hit the indicator with their hand while they’re turning the wheel.

Did they share their intention with others beforehand? No.

As a biker riding between lanes, I know this sneaky little cage-driver trick, so my first indication of anyone turning is not the indicator, but their front wheel. If it starts to turn toward your general direction, you know they’re about to make a break for it. I’m pretty good at identifying these, however, sometimes I get it wrong.

This whole non-indicating indicator dilemma got me thinking: Is the real reason people actually don’t give enough time to indicate (set their intention) because when others see it happening, they race ahead to not let them in? I’ve seen it happen. It may have happened to you. Hell, you may have been the douche closing the gap!

Is this how people generally tend to think? Much like they hold back on the indicators until the last minute, what are people holding back on in their business or personal lives? To make it personal, what are you waiting to do/launch/create that you don’t want others to know about until the very last second, just in case they steal your idea or break it down before its begun?

Time and again I hear of people who had amazing ideas but never executed them (I’m guilty of this myself, too) because they didn’t want anyone else to know about it until it was ready to launch, but then someone else launched it before they could.

<insert sad face here>

The one thing that we never learn though (read this about learning from others’ mistakes) is the fact that their idea was, in fact, eventually executed by someone else. Which means your idea is not only in your mind. It’s everywhere. Ideas are developed through experience, and there are loads of other people experiencing similar things to you right now, and will have ideas too. Probably ‘your’ idea.

So what to do?

Simple: Get that idea out there. Don’t hold it in. Make it. Own it. Tell the world. Do your idea. Stat.

(Originally posted on LinkedIn)

It amazes me that in today’s opportunity to learn, grow and do better, the world is still full of idiots.

German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote “By seeking and blundering we learn.” Well, it was probably “Durch das Suchen und Fetzen lernen wir” (hat tip Google Translate), but the point remains: We seek, we blunder, we learn.

However, so many people have sought, blundered and learnt in the past, and those seekings, blunders and learnings have, in turn, been shared and taught! So I sit here and ask myself this question: Why are there still people in the world who get on planes headed to Abuja to settle the estate of Nigerian princes that they believe they might be related to (or won a lottery they never entered), or forward emails from Bill Gates thinking they’ll get a free laptop, or add friends on Facebook that are 100% fake – who are undoubtedly set up to glean information from them.

I received a request from “Susan Zimmerman” earlier today, and wasn’t shocked that not only had she made some friends already, but they’re all guys. Why Eugene, Kyle, Utit and all the others added her? I’m guessing for the hope of some more raunchy pics to hit their timeline. Have they not heard of the internet? Raunchy is on-demand!

A quick reverse-image-search on Google revealed Susan as Instagram-famous model Chantel Zales, FYI.

Usually I report/block these users to assist the many gullible/pervy gents who love these requests, but today I’ve made a stand to say “Durch das Suchen und Fetzen lernen wir.” If these guys aren’t going to learn from others’ mistakes, they’re going to have to learn them for themselves. They’re seeking free soft porn, they’ll blunder if they give information away that may harm them, and therefore learn.

Hopefully. I’m holding thumbs.

So why am I writing this? We’re running a strategy facilitation for Missing Link tomorrow, guided by the Legacide principles. In this session we’re going to look at our own business, identify what legacy thinking is holding us back and, in turn, look to the world to see who’s sought and blundered and already learnt from these mistakes, how they fixed them, and then define how we apply them to our own business.

It’s going to be one helluva ride. Thanks Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Legend.

(Originally posted on LinkedIn)