Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 08/29/2022
A “heuristic” is a framework which enables us to make decisions by ourselves. We rely on them daily to reach quick solutions. We hear this often in the admonition, “go with your gut.” We may depend on heuristics to choose a restaurant on the spur of the moment or even to make a key career decision.
An “affect heuristic” refers to the fact that we often rely on our emotions rather than empirical evidence or observed behavior when making decisions. This enables speed but often threatens quality and can lead to what psychologists refer to as “suboptimal choices.” (That does sound like it merits a PhD, right?)
When you’re “on a high” you tend to overstate benefits and minimize risk in such decisions. But you reverse this if your mood is negative. You’re more prone to take a prudent risk if the world is treating you well, but apt to be more conservative if you think the sky is falling.
If you’ve had a great time on your first ski trip, and you accompany a friend who kept falling down the mountain on a first trip, you’re more likely to try more challenging hills than your friend. You may say that’s just “experience,” but bad technique is bad technique (and good technique is good technique) no matter what hill you’re on.
The benefits of speed are often offset by a poor quality decision based on mental state rather than objective evidence. My suggestion is the “third person test.” Don’t just make the decision, ask yourself, “If I were counseling or coaching Susan, what would I advise about this decision?” (You’re Susan.)
You can return or sell a time-share, or a car, or a membership. But I damn near went to law school for two years because I could ace any test put in front of me, and I felt I could be a great lawyer.
Thank God I said to myself that preceding summer, “What evidence do you have that you would be happy (not “successful”) being a lawyer?” Did I want to be a part of barratry?
And here I am.
Informed decision-making comes from a long tradition of guessing and then blaming others for inadequate results. —Scott Adams
Between calculated risk and reckless decision-making lies the dividing line between profit and loss. —Charles Duhigg
I spent half my money on wine, wild women, and gambling, and the rest I wasted. —attributed to both W.C. Fields and George Raft
Maximizing Revenues in Uncertain Economic Times: A full day in New York City, September 13. How to GROW your business with prudent risk and innovative approaches over the next year. Recovery? New Realities? Recession? Correction? Regression?
I’m back after huge turnouts across the country for “Getting Started in Consulting” with this immediately relevant and applicable program on capitalizing on the uncertain economy. Lunch is included for a ridiculously low fee for the day. You can receive an audio recording for the same fee if you can’t make the date. You need this to move forward and grow in confidence, and not hesitate in fear. https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/maximizing-revenues/
Alan’s Coaching Confidential Newsletter™: Beginning September 15 receive a monthly, highly targeted newsletter which will contain inventive coaching methodology, case studies, and strange experiences in the coaching trade! Alan has coached thousands of business executives and entrepreneurs.. https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/coaching-confidential/ Write me for a sample copy: [email protected], subject line: Sample Confidential.
Meet Me in London: I’ll be hosting a two-day, high-level discussion of likely business futures globally, financial considerations, global passive income, the new realities of sales, new approaches to strategy, and so forth. There will be a limit of eight people. I’ll also conduct a full-day experience for a larger group, probably a limit of 30, for an entire day which will address new approaches to value based fees, the five essential short-term revenue generators, role playing difficult conversations, the advanced Accelerant Curve, and scaling the practice.https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/london/ At the Baglioni Hotel, across from Hyde and Kensington Parks.
Return to Australia: I’ll be making my 19th trip in October, this time to Brisbane, to present a week of unique offerings from passive income and global “reach” to a new strategy approach. Join me and your peers for my latest value to grow your business and decrease your labor facing our “new realities.” There is also certification for a new approach to strategy (about which a publisher has just purchased a book on the topic from me) for the post-pandemic world that already has 60+ practitioners in six countries. There is limited seating capacity. Fee increases on August 31. https://alanweiss.com/growthexperiences/australia2022/
Million Dollar Consulting® for the World: I’ve provided 14 modules with videos from me, from your colleagues globally, slides, and text. They include everything from launch to self-esteem, proposals to fees, closing business to creating a brand. No upsells! It’s only $115. What do you think about a 10,000:1 ROI? We have over 500 people from 47 countries. https://milliondollarconsultingcourse.com
Beyond Thought Leadership: I’m bringing six experts and huge successes from five countries, spanning the globe, to a 2.5 session with a series of 90-minute interviews I’ll conduct, plus new IP and case studies. The seventh interview will be with me. Nothing else like this, and it’s far too difficult to coordinate schedules to do it again. So it’s now or never. Learn from your peers how they have scaled their business and built great lives.https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/beyond-thought-leadership/ Two seats remain. W Hotel South Beach, Miami.
Million Dollar Consulting® College: I’ve been asked to run this again, and I miss it, so I’m going to do it on December 13-15 (2.5 days) in Castle Hill, Newport, RI, my usual stomping grounds. The beach houses in the winter are fantastic. There’s a great holiday atmosphere that time of year. It will be on my site next week. I’ll be focusing on what I’ve seen as the critical areas for success: brand-building, accelerating referrals, provocative IP, low labor revenue focus, the post-pandemic lasting realities, and so forth.
The fee is $15,000, which includes lodging, breakfast, lunch, breaks, and one dinner. If you catch me at the bar, it could include two dinners. I’m also going to take time to show how I create this and other workshops, step by step, live or remote. Past grads are welcome to attend for $5,000. https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/million-dollar-consulting-college-2022/
NOTE: STARTING WITH MY SEPTEMBER 1 BROADCAST, THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH® WILL HAVE A NEW FORMAT, INCLUDING LONGER SESSIONS AND SHOW NOTES. EVERY OTHER WEEK I’LL BE HAVING A DISCUSSION WITH A THOUGHT LEADER AND LEADING LIGHT IN INNOVATION. THIS APPEARS EVERY THURSDAY ON MY BLOG WHICH YOU CAN FIND ON ALANWEISS.COM, AND IS COMPLIMENTARY.
