Anthony K. Tjan, Richard J. Harrington, and Tsun-Yan Hsieh
Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck
Let’s start with some nonbusiness (at least not conventional business) examples of Heart-dominant personalities. Chef Ferran Adrià of elBulli,
Cutting across all these types of Smarts is a capacity for pattern recognition.
The Smarts-dominant individual may not have come up with the core business idea, but she has a rare ability to seize, capture, frame, and extend its essence. She connects ideas, trends, and patterns earlier and faster than others and then shapes them into a coherent storyline.
The Guts trait can be subdivided in several different ways. One is the divide between risk takers and risk tolerators.
Another way to slice up Guts (not the most pleasant image, we admit) is between (1) the Guts to Initiate, (2) the Guts to Endure and (3) the Guts to Evolve.
In addition to the Lucky Attitude, this organic process of cultivating a Lucky Network is enhanced by the four characteristics of vulnerability, authenticity, generosity, and openness.
Third and most important, Luck-oriented people have an optimism that is the source of the energy and belief that turn intellectual thirst into reality.
This third part of Heart is less tangible and intuitive than the first two elements of purpose and sacrifice. It’s nuance.
Among the nuances Apple offers is the convergence of design and functionality, perfectly mirrored by the late Jay Chiat’s iconic “Think Different” ad campaign, which injected a knowing, minimalist tone that was and still is in sync with the company’s operating culture.
Heart-dominant business-builders, founders need to translate that passionate narrative into a practical, legible plan of action.
blur the line between work and play.
We believe the three-minute rule is the best such tool. It is based on a simple premise: you can learn a great deal about customers by finding out what they are doing three minutes immediately before and three minutes after they use your product or service. Context matters.
Note: This is occasion from the edge. And about long game on career for leaders we develop. And empathy too natch
Business-builders should learn to master three types of critical conversations: one-on-one meetings, small-group discussions, and one-to-many town-hall-style convenings.
Note: What if we rank the team on each of these and make sure each is practicing right ones
Out of every hundred people we meet, most of us can survive by never encountering fifteen of those people again. On the opposite end, we immediately feel a strong first-impression connection with five of those people. Focus on them.
Smarts is all about recognizing patterns.
• Four Common Crossroad Decisions That Require Guts: Guts-dominant individuals especially differentiate themselves during these challenging decision points. – Do I pivot and change the course of the business? – Do I replace myself as CEO? – Do I replace/change an early (or even founding) team member? – Do I sell?
Note: Glen. Story important to tell.
Ultimately, the great paradox for the Guts-driven business-builder is the tightrope balance between refusing to accept failure and simultaneously embracing it when it appears.
Luck matters, and you can influence it.
Richard Branson, one of our favorite examples of an iconoclast, has a seemingly insatiable appetite for taking the unconventional path and pushing limits.
1. What Is Really Holding You Back? (Heart) 2. On Vision and Purpose (Heart) 3. On Assumptions, Beliefs, and Values (Heart) 4. Getting the Right Mix of Smarts (Smarts) 5. Do You Need a Strategic Checkup? (Smarts) 6. On Guts (Guts) 7. To Sell or Not to Sell? (Guts) 8. Are You Humble Enough? (Luck) 9. Creating Luck with Optimism and Relationships (Luck) 10. Reflecting on Failure
3. Do you believe you’re an entrepreneur, but you just don’t have a great idea yet? Then you’re not an entrepreneur.
4. Who is living your values today?
4. What is the most pragmatic way you can attack your business intent? What if you only had $100? How would you get started?
The most confident, visionary business-builders tell us that their job is to transport others to a vision point they glimpsed months or years earlier—and to close that time gap as quickly as possible.
2. Do you embrace ignorance?
The foundation is self-awareness. To the extent we have opened your eyes a little, made you stare a little more closely in the mirror, or prompted you to self-reflect with a little more intellectual honesty about your inclinations and skills for business-building, we feel like we have won half the battle.