ChangeThis
ChangeThis is our weekly series of essays from today's thought leaders that are meant to evoke conversation by bringing forth new and unique ideas.
ChangeThis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The First 20 Hours: Secrets of Rapid Skill Acquisition
By Josh Kaufman
"I'm willing to wager there's something in the back of your mind you've always wanted to learn how to do. [...] I'm also willing to wager you feel you don't have enough time to learn this particular skill. You're overworked already, and time is tight. You have work to do, family to take care of, friends to hang out with, and too many responsibilities as it is. By the time your work and family obligations are satisfied, you're tired: after you eat dinner and watch a little TV, it's time to call it a day. So much to do, and so little time. [...] I have good news for you: picking up new skills is way easier than you think. Believe it or not, you can pick up the fundamentals of any new skill in about 20 hours."
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Blog / ChangeThis
Recharge: 7 Ways to Improve Innovative Thinking
By Porchlight
"If companies want to innovate the way successful bold newcomers have, they have to unplug from the constraints of 'That's the way we've always done it' and recharge, starting with the mantra, 'Let's just not do that anymore. ' They need to be willing to take market risks that more traditional companies are often unwilling or unable to take. Consider that Apple doesn't have a formal innovation 'funnel' process with established procedures, nor do Amazon or Facebook. In this volatile world the old model of process innovation needs a new framework. It isn't in sync with the way our minds work, which brain research tells us is more serendipitous than linear. Innovation just doesn't lend itself to being predictable and risk free. Innovation demands looking at the world differently, and finding connections between seemingly disconnected things. Corporate protocol, management hierarchies, and rigid assumptions about customer needs often create anxiety and stifle freedom of thought and exploration. ".
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Monster Loyalty: How to Build Customer Loyalty like Lady Gaga
By Jackie Huba
"Where other businesses don't seem to have their priorities straight, pop star Lady Gaga understands that focusing on current customers is the key to building long-term, sustainable audience loyalty. With 23 million albums sold, five Grammy awards and Forbes' distinction as one of the world's most powerful celebrities, Gaga is one of the most well-known pop artists in the world. While known as much for her voice as for her over-the-top wardrobe, few recognize Gaga for her stunning business acumen, which has earned her legions of loyal fans worldwide. Lady Gaga didn't become the success she is today based solely on her talent. She did so by engendering immense loyalty from her fans—not just through her music—but also through her message and the community she has built around that message. Gaga's overarching philosophy focuses on her core advocates: the superfans called Little Monsters. These advocates become evangelists who bring in new customers on their own."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Brains Favor the Ridiculously In Charge Leader
By Porchlight
"I believe that among all of the things that a leader does, one of the most important ones is to set "boundaries." Basically, a "boundary" is a property line. It defines what will exist on a property and what will not. The property line around your home is like that....it defines where your property begins and ends, and you are in charge of exactly what will happen on that property. And, to our point here, within your business or organization. Leaders must establish some key boundaries in some very key areas if they want to get results. And, thanks to brain research, we now can scientifically get a peek into why the leaders who do establish these kinds of boundaries get the results that they get."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
An Action Plan for Making Good Customer Service a Reality
By Porchlight
"Any company can market and promote that they are experts at cuddling customers, but very few ever get the formula for execution right. A big reason is that most organizations never bother to put all of the essential building blocks in place to create a customer-centric culture. They like to talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. They also forget that before your employees will ever take good care of your customers, you have to first take great care of them."
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Blog / ChangeThis
Mentorship 2.0: How to Find the Mentor You Need
By Dorie Clark
"Waiting for a mentor to appear like a deus ex machina is a loser's game. Some people luck out, but most don't. This manifesto is about how to make your own luck—how to proactively identify the people you want in your life as mentors, cultivate real relationships, and look beyond the obvious. (Some of the most powerful lessons come from the least likely people.)"
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Art of Adherence
By Julie Davis-Colan
"In business and in life, the game is usually won by those who can consistently execute a well-thought-out strategy. In other words, winners stick with it—they practice adherence. Adherence is the ability to consistently execute. Not coincidentally, the word 'adherence' appears to have originated in the 1500s from the French word 'adherer,' which means 'to stick to.' Adherence is the critical link between strategy (knowing) and results (doing). Therefore, it is the solution to the knowing-doing gap. Winning requires adherence because successful execution of your plan is not a one-time event but rather steady progress over an extended period of time. [...] Achieving adherence is simple but not necessarily easy. It takes skill and creativity to continually nurture focus, competence, and passion with your team. This is why we call it the art of adherence."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Time Ain't Money: Stop Punching the Industrial Age Clock, and Start Embracing the Digital Now
By Douglas Rushkoff
"Living in the digital media environment changes a whole lot more than the technologies through which we do business. It has changed our relationship to time—and this is having profound effects on our businesses, our economy, and our customers."
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Blog / ChangeThis
Customer Service is Not a Department
By Lee Cockerell
"Customer Service is Not a Department It's also not a complaint desk, or a website, or a phone number, or an option on a phone menu. Nor is it a task or a chore. It's the responsibility of everyone in the organization, from the CEO to the lowest-ranking front line employee. In effect, everyone in the company is a customer service rep, because each of them has some impact on the customer's experience. As an executive, you may never see or speak to a customer, but you model how they should be treated with every interaction you have, with vendors, creditors, suppliers, and especially your employees. Treat everyone with sincerity and respect and it will trickle down to your customers."
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Blog / ChangeThis
It's Smart to Suck (Sometimes)
By Jake Breeden
"Think about work that made you proud. Remember something you produced—a product, a pitch, a proposal—that represents you at your very best? Pride feels good. We want to feel it more, and we'll work hard to get that good feeling. Now think about work you did that made you ashamed. Remember something sent off incomplete because you didn't have time to do it justice? Remember early work you completed before you climbed up the learning curve? How'd that feel? We're driven to do more of the work that makes us proud and less of the work that makes us ashamed. Usually, that's smart. Pride pulls us to do things well, and shame pushes us away from doing things poorly. But in certain critical times—especially when it's time to do something new—these emotions push and pull us in unwise directions. Sometimes doing your very best is the very worst decision. In fact, sometimes it's smart to suck."
Categories: changethis
The original idea behind ChangeThis came from Seth Godin, and was built in the summer of 2004 by Amit Gupta, Catherine Hickey, Noah Weiss, Phoebe Espiritu, and Michelle Sriwongtong. In the summer of 2005, ChangeThis was turned over to 800-CEO-READ. In addition to selling and writing about books, they kept ChangeThis up and running as a standalone website for 14 years. In 2019, 800-CEO-READ became Porchlight, and we pulled ChangeThis together with the rest of our editorial content under the website you see now. We remain committed to the high-design quality and independent spirit of the original team that brought ChangeThis into the world.