Bold blog title.  I want to talk about coming up with new ideas and where your focus needs to be.  It's very easy to get extremely confused in this area and I recently had an experience where I was lost.....for almost a full year.  I couldn't figure out why a project was going South and why I was not able to lead my team to a solution that worked. 

I lost sight of the CONSUMER.  The CONSUMER'S wants, needs and desires are the only things that matter.  This actually makes tons of sense and isn't a new thing.  The challenge is digging to the core of what the consumer wants and pushing aside everything else.  "Everything else" can be disguised as something that looks good on the surface and can be easy to follow right off a cliff.  

Here is a list of areas where you can be led off course, as I was for a full year. 

"Strategy":  Proper strategy should be LED by the consumer insight.  Once you have an established business things can shift a bit.  Strategy can then be led by what your business SHOULD do versus going back to what the consumer actually desires.  An example of this is when brands over-expand into areas that aren't their core competency because it "strategically" makes sense.  Think Gap expanding past their core of basics and then end up losing their identity as a brand.  Trying to be everything to everyone.  Make sure the "strategy" is based on a true consumer insight and not just made up!

Data: Data is great.  I am a big believer in data.  Data can often be interpreted in different ways though.  You aren't seeing the true WHY around consumer decisions.  You often have to make some assumptions as to why the data is coming back a certain way.  Data is helpful to help support the insight you are seeing, but I struggle relying 100% just on data.

Personas: I am also a fan of personas to ground the team on the WHO.  These can also be up for massive interpretation though.  Do you know the DEEP insight on the consumer when it's posed as "an educated mom of 2 living in the suburbs who prefers natural products".   Again, the DEEPER insight needs to be illuminated that ties to this persona versus solely relying on a generalized persona. 

Too Many People & Ideas:  Oftentimes your team is too big.  You have too many people.  Too many ideas.  Too much wasted time trying to align everyone.  It's interesting to take a step back in conversations and observe the different directions it takes.  How one comment can derail an excellent line of thinking.  I like Jeff Bezos' thought on a two pizza party team.  You shouldn't have more people on the team than it would take to eat 2 large pizzas.  Everyone is doing their best, but too many people leads to a total lack of focus.  It's VERY hard to get a large group to all agree, as well.  And if they all agree it might not be a breakthrough idea.  It's likely a safe idea that isn't impactful. 

So how do we overcome this?  Get as close as you can to the consumer.  Get in their homes.  Observe them.  In COVID times, do phone and video calls to hear their voices and mannerisms.  Understand what else is going on in their lives outside of just your product.  I doubt your product is the center of their lives.  It's usually something they rarely think about, so try to grasp their full lives to see where your product actually fits in.  How is it helping?  Is it impactful or just so so? 

This process takes more time at the outset, but leads to better outcomes.  I just wasted a full year on a project and am embarrassed that I forgot a principle that I tell others.  It is easy to do for the reasons I mention above.  You THINK you're on the right trail, but you've actually been walking into the middle of nowhere.  The deep consumer insights will never fail you.  Don't take shortcuts!   

I have a 1994 BMW 525i with 220K miles on it.  I bought it used in 2002.  I've had it so long that it has gone from "old" to "classic".  I love it and represents something that is important on my entrepreneurial journey.  Sacrifice.  

I haven't had a car payment in 15 years.  I see all those car payments and small investments in Sloane.  Google ads.  Inventory.  Photo shoots.  A nice fancy new car has an opportunity cost.  

When you start a business you have to sacrifice.....a lot.  Saying that you're founding a company and also have a nice house, nice car, go on over the top vacations and are a member of a country club just isn't a reality.  Many people often can't fulfill their dream to start a company because their money is tied up.  

There have been plenty of times where I thought it would be great to have a new car.  I actually LOVE cars.  I've loved them since I was a kid and dreamed of having something new and cool.  I've had to push that dream to the because my Sloane dream is greater.  

My BMW is just one example of the sacrifice I've had to make.  I am a book called Peak by Chip Conley now.  He was an innovator in the boutique hotel industry in the Bay Area.  He said he went years without taking a salary when the economy tanked in the .com bust.  YEARS!  He said he had to borrow money from friends to make end meet.  He went to Stanford undergrad and MBA!  Can you imagine what that must have been like? 

My BMW is a source of pride for me now.  It's a great car and shows my commitment to Sloane.  I don't care what other people care about my car.  It's embarrassing sometimes because it's not in perfect shape anymore.  A couple of the window no longer work.  Whenever I get embarrassed I just think......is this embarrassment worth a $400 car payment?  The answer is always no!

If you have desires to start a business make sure you save your money and think long and hard about longer term financial commitments.  Those commitments could hamstring you and not allow you to have the money to get your business off the ground.  

Pick wisely as you choose between what you WANT and what you NEED.  I want a new BMW, but I NEED Sloane to keep progressing forward.  

To be successful in business the needed characteristics often are portrayed to be directness, winning at all costs, focus on bottom line at all times and just overall being an asshole.  That is one way to manage your career, but it feels super stressful and I doubt you'd have many friends.  What's the point of being "successful" if everyone thinks you're a jerk. 

I can see how this mentality forms by assuming that everyone else is out to beat you.  That causes you to keep your thoughts close and not opening up.  It creates a win - lose situation.....and you want to be on the winning side.  You are in survival mode.  

I had a recent experience that reminded me how important it is be the first to extend an olive branch to your employees, partners, vendors, etc.  If you open yourself up first you dictate how the relationship will flow versus just assuming the other person is out to screw you.  An influencer did a TikTok post that went viral.  It got 435K+ views!  He did it on his own and didn't have a relationship with Sloane ahead of time.  He reached out and started a conversation with me and I had a couple of choices.  

1) Selfish Approach:  Thank him for doing the video.  Offer him nothing and tell myself that I just got some amazing free advertising.  This approach maximizes my short term profits, but limits the potential long term wins.  

2) Long Term Thinking Approach:  Thank him for doing the video.  Pay him the commission that I offer current partners.  Start a friendly relationship where I offer to help him and his business.  Can Sloane do anything for him?  I also asked some questions about TikTok because I am curious to learn more about the platform.  A relationship is now formed.  

Too many people look short term.  They see things as a finite game of us versus them.  They need to shift to an infinite game where they take into account what COULD happen in the long term by fostering the relationship.  Simon Sinek has a great book called Infinite Game that dives deep into the topic.  Having an infinite approach makes me feel more optimistic about how I approach everything in my business.  

It's true that a small amount of people could take advantage of your kindness.  It has happened to me, but it's in the very small minority.  To have a short term approach just because a few people take advantage of you isn't worth it.  The wins have far outweighed the losses.  I also feel lighter and happier about life when approaching every decision with an infinite mindset.  

People all in all are good.  They are trying their best in life.  Wouldn't it be great if you formed relationships with those people that benefited both sides?  You can't assume that every relationship will pay off for you, but having an attitude of possibility can't do you wrong.  

Lateral thinking is the ability to see across many disciplines/areas and piece things together into a winning idea.  For example, Uber put together the frustration that consumers had with taxis with the abilities that smartphones and GPS had to connect people and gig workers who were more than happy to drive strangers around for money.  All of those things were, at the time, disparate and didn't seem to logically fit together.  So I'm going to connect with a random person and get into their car???

Disparate thinking is a critical skill as the world gets more and more disrupted.  Barriers to enter are lowering.  Things like eCommerce are growing rapidly.  Demographic trends are shifting as current minorities will be in the majority in the US in the coming decades.  Being aware of what is happening is important to stay ahead. 

You are not born with lateral thinking ability.  It's something that is nurtured over time.  The most successful people in the world seem to have it, which is why I believe it is so critical.  

Warren Buffett reads hundreds of pages a day of books and newspapers.  The books allow him to have a strong understanding of history and macro trends.  Newspapers/magazines allow him to stay on top of all the current events.  His grasp of both allow him to see what is happening and adjust his investments accordingly.  

Steve Jobs had an incredible gift to laterally think across computer technology and design aesthetics.  Elon Musk is doing this in multiple ways across vehicles and space.  He is seeing that now is the time where battery technology is powerful enough to be used effectively in cars.  He is also seeing the technology to go to space is within reach of a private company versus NASA needing billions of dollars from the government.  

The list is VERY long of successful people who have used lateral thinking in order to reach phenomenal success.  

I have just recently seen the light in this area.  I was never a voracious reader.  I wasn't very interested in the financial services industry I was in after college, so preferred playing pickup basketball than studying up in my free time. 

Now that I like the industries I'm in (CPG marketing and apparel) I have come to totally enjoy immersing myself in it and trying my best to give myself the opportunity to become a lateral thinker.  Here are my steps. 

Read:  Books provide such an incredible opportunity to learn about pretty much anything.  Books give you a great base on which to build your lateral thinking skills.  World History.  Business History.  Biographies.  Marketing Principles.  Digital Disruption.  Corruption/Greed.  Self-Improvement.  Productivity.  It's endless.  I personally prefer audiobooks because I can read them almost at anytime.  I read while commuting, working out, walking the dog, grocery shopping, in between meetings and whenever I have 15 minutes of downtime.  I also read at 1.75X to 2X speed.  This allows me to read from 3 to 5 books every week.  

Classes:  Classes allow you to go deep into topics.  This is important for the topics you are most interested in and want to get to an expert level in.  LinkedIn Learning is great.   For a few hundred dollars a year you have access to THOUSANDS of courses.  That's a good investment.  I have recently taken classes in AI/Machine Learning, Data Science, Product Management, Disruptive Innovation and Leadership.  I consider those all core areas I need to know and need to be expert in.  I do many of these classes in audio form, as well.  I can knock out a full course in a few days.  

Newsletters:  I try to stay away from news sites like CNN.  They have current events, but I feel like much of the news is sensationalized and actually brings you down.  They want you to click on things, so the news they highlight often is over the top stuff that pulls at your emotions.  It can be a rabbit hole and not offer a ton of benefit for you personally.  I like newsletters like 2PM.  That is an eComm focused on that comes 3 times a week.  It is curated by an expert in the industry, so you given the cream of the crop articles.  He does the searching for you!  I also read Morning Brew, Marketing Brew and Retail Brew.  All newsletters focused on my industry and short in length to allow me to understand what's going on without spending hours reading.  

Listen to People:  People are fascinating and can be a wealth of knowledge.  Sadly, many people end up talking more than they listen and miss out on the learning they can get from others.  People have a bad habit of needing to prove themselves and educating others on their greatness.  That helps your ego, but doesn't help your learning.  I love asking questions and learning from others.  You never know what someone will bring up that will connect.  You never know who knows someone that can be of help.  I have met critical visual designers, web designers, lawyers, logistics companies, media experts, etc, etc....all through relatively random conversations that turned into something that I could leverage.  Since people like people who listen, then I was seen as someone worth helping.  

If you enjoy learning and getting better, than the above should be exciting.  It's been a great growth experience for me.  I hope this is helpful to you!