For someone who doesn’t actually have a Twitter account, I pull off some impressive stalking on Twitter.
Look what I found today:
“Couldn’t get a taxi home last night, so I went in kebab shop and ordered a delivery to my address and got in with delivery driver. I’m a genius.”
My hat off to you, sir. My hat off to you.
As someone who just spent 35 minutes waiting for a cab in the rain, I salute you.
Anyway, that got me thinking:
How can you apply this concept in business?
And why can some companies hail the delivery driver and zip home, while everyone else waits at the cab line like wet, frustrated sheep?
The answer lies in what Jason Fried, founder of Basecamp, calls the “judo solution”:
“Find a judo solution, one that delivers maximum efficiency with minimum effort. Judo solutions are all about getting the most out of doing the least. Whenever you face an obstacle, look for a way to judo it.”
For example, let’s say your challenge is to get a bird’s-eye-view.
One way to do it is to climb Mount Everest.
But then again, you could take an elevator to the top of a tall building.
That’s a judo solution.
And if you are trying to sell anything online, the judo solution is email:
According to the Data & Marketing Association, when it comes to purchases made as a result of receiving a marketing message, email has the highest conversion rate (66%), when compared to social (20%) or direct mail.
Ok, hang on.
So let’s say Bert and Ernie each want to make 100 sales.
They both spend the same amount of time to put together a campaign.
With just one difference:
Bert spends all his time on email.
Ernie spends all his time on social.
For every marketing message sent, Bert gets 6-7 sales and Ernie gets 2 sales.
Obviously, Bert is going to get to 100 sales 3 times faster than Ernie.
That’s like being the guy who hailed the delivery driver. He got home hours before everyone else.
Think about this:
The time you save compounds.
If you “get home” (hit 100 sales) before your competitor, it’s not like you’re going to spend the rest of the week lazing around...
You start the next project on your list.
The next sales campaign, the next product, the next list-building project.
Do this a couple of times in a row, and it will become almost impossible for those left behind to catch up.
Nobody wants to be the Ernie left behind.
So hail that delivery driver, find that judo solution, send those soft-sell emails.
Maximum effectiveness with minimum effort.
Not to live like a lazy slouch, but so you can compound your wins.
Ambition + effectiveness = unstoppable.
