The biggest mistake you're making

You’re the smartest person in the room (because you read a lot).

You’re part of a discussion with the some of the biggest businesses in the world. They’re looking at you for solutions.

One of them comes up to you and asks “My business needs to increase its customer count this quarter by 33.7%. You’re the smartest person here. Help me and I will pay you 200,000$”

You recollect relevant information from all that you’ve read and put forward a proposal - “if you do these 5 steps, your business increases by 67%. Double of what you asked for”

The man stares at you, grunts and walks away murmuring “what a waste of my time”

The remaining business representatives pack up their bags. They leave the room leaving you all on your own.

What went wrong you wonder?

How does the smartest person in the room end up being the only person in the room.

Imagine:

• Talking to the CEO of your company and falling flat

• Talking to the head of a local business and not understanding his problems

• Designing your own business with a product that won’t sell

All this despite your knowledge?

It comes down to one dead-simple fact.

Let me explain.

There’s a small correction to the story above.

A reality check.

You think you’re the smartest person in the room.

What made you think that? All the books you read? All the podcasts and videos you consumed?

Great. How much of it did you apply?

Probably nothing

Why does that matter?

Because execution trumps consumption.

You see, most people consume but don’t apply.

Consumption leads use to believe that we know things.

The true test of knowledge? Application.

You can read all the books Bill Gates recommends. However, we want to know Gates’s recommendations because of what he has achieved, not what he read in the past.

A more personal example?

I’ve read a lot of books on productivity but the most I’ve learned is trying to apply those methods in my personal life.

• You can be productive but can you balance personal life?

• You can work 12 hours a day but how many in those 12 hours did you really use?

• You hit the gym 5 days a week but do you watch what you eat?

Your results are driven by your inputs. Your inputs are affected by nuances. Most books and advice ignore nuances (and that’s your job) which is why you can’t read a book and just get going.

1. You apply what you read

2. You observe the challenges you face

3. You address those challenges

4. You reapply with a few changes

These 4 steps, again, are just advice unless applied.

Why do people not realise this? because it’s easy.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I repeat, execution trumps consumption

The smartest people in the room are often the ones the realise the nuances and respond. They don’t go on a knowledge blurt.

Listen, I get it. Saying how to do things feels great. I’ve been there (still am sometimes) and that’s okay.

A nice way to pivot would be to start focusing on changes driven by experience.

• See what works for you

• Analyse WHY it worked for you

• Understand if it will work for others (assuming you have to help someone)

My way of doing this is always addressing an action point. If I’m reading something, it’s because the end goal is driven towards an existing problem.

If you have a problem, work on addressing that problem and things will follow suit

Hope you found this helpful

Until next time

Cheers
Rainar