Daniel Shapero

I started a few companies earlier in my career, and the moment I really knew my idea was good or not was when I showed my prototype to potential users. Everything before that moment was theoretical. And from that point, I had conviction (or not) that I had something special. Also, delivering a great product requires understanding the hardest part of making it come to life… and building a prototype will give you visibility into what’s most challenging (ux, relevance, manufacturing, etc) and therefore how to build the entire design around solving that challenge.

When I was 25, I gave a big presentation to a series of investors considering a $10B acquisition. Instead of looking through the extensive 50 slide analysis of the company, I started by asking then if they'd spoken with many of the company customers. They hadn't. So I walked them through my day of conversations with customers (happy and otherwise) at a recent industry convention. I told them about customers that churned and then bought again because they were ultimately dissatisfied with alternatives. In the end, we didn't discuss the slides I'd prepared, they bought the company, and made a ton of money. In this case, the recounting of real discussions with customers were more illuminating than any deck. I hope you enjoyed my story.

Authentic persuasion comes from sharing information and perspective with someone from a place of serving them…. Helping them make an informed decision based on their own best interests. This kind of persuasion builds relationships. Manipulation is based on falsely acting in service of someone while undermining their best interests to further your own. If you serve… you can persuade and also deepen your connection (and humanity).

Diversification can be powerful and risky. Spreading your focus and resourcing across many objectives is usually a poor choice. However, finding new ways in which your core assets and capabilities can be applied to new problems and segments can be a fantastic avenue for growth. So the question is.. can you apply the things that your organization is really good at to new endeavors... if so, then you can tap into these adjacencies. On the other hand, if diversification means fragmenting your investments and having to become exceptional at a wider array of capabilities, then that can be a path to mediocrity.

Most persuasion starts with agreeing there is a problem. That can be done by laying out the facts clearly and agreeing that something must be addressed. Then you can ensure that your team is involved to whatever extent is appropriate in forming or giving feedback on the solution. Finally, the path to being convincing starts with demonstrating your own conviction. Aligning on a problem through common facts, involving the group authentically, and showing conviction all will go a long way.

I love this topic. As a manager, I organize tasks across two dimensions... "size of prize" and "likelihood of success". Great leaders delegate things that are high likelihood of success (to their most trusted stars when the "size of prize" is high) and monitor with appropriate tactics depending on the situation. The highest value activity for leaders is to dig in on high "size of prize" projects with uncertain likelihood of success... these big bets are where great leaders can truly make a difference to unlock upside. Also, great leaders eliminate projects that are low value and low likelihood of success. This healthy pruning often takes a senior leader's involvement, but it's essential to a high performing organization.