A couple of years ago, a once-in-25-years snowstorm hit Evergreen, Colorado. My wife and I were at our house there, high in the mountains.
Snow dumped relentlessly that night. By morning, our quarter-mile-long driveway was buried in four feet of snow.
I fired up our small off-road vehicle with a snow plow on it. I pressed the gas pedal; the engine revved; snow moved above two feet, then…I got stuck.
To get our vehicle unstuck, I had to shovel away the snow and dirt burying the tires.
A similar approach works to get us unstuck in business too.
Shovel away the dirt
You’re stuck not because you’re not doing enough; you’re stuck because you’re doing too much.
You’re buried under the mud of complexity.
- Too many projects.
- Too many business ideas.
- Too many products.
- Too many marketing initiatives.
- Too many expenses—and people.
The fastest way out is to remove what’s no longer necessary.
One question
If you’re unsure what to do, try this question:
“If a new, competent, rational CEO were to take over my role today, what would that CEO eliminate immediately?”
Start there.
—Matt
P.S. Just printed my 192-page version 4 manuscript of my new book. This is the first book I will have really poured everything I’ve got into. Feeling equally excited and nervous.