Grit + Dynamite

@themgmtconsult LOL. Been out of the game too long. RIP - 404 post not found. Try again tomorrow.

Great to see Nick back on the X game. He did a junior mistake though: he linked his Sbstck to his post and now he's throttled forever by the algo!!! 😂😂😂 Give him a follow anyway...

@Paul_Providers Great move. Phone on black + white mode is a huge deterrent for prolonged use too.

I turned off notifications for all social media on my phone. Productivity instantly increased 1063%. You should try it.

Dude! Thank you so damn much. I've been a total hermit the last month or so trying to keep up with my writing, getting back to the social element of social media. 1. This post is one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me since I've started writing - so thank you 2. Ditto on the phone call and compliments - think about our call regularly (gotta do it again) 3. I'm going to be more active on here and substack, so I'll absolutely hop into the consulting intel discord!! Pumped for 2024 and supporting each other.

Nick is a smart guy, a great consultant, a lovely human being, one of the few people I actually had a call with here on 𝕏, ... and a fantastic writer! I subscribed to his newsletter. Great first issue already. Maybe he'll join us on the Consulting Intel discord for our Office Hours??? @thenicksamaan 👀👀👀

@themgmtconsult Appreciate you man. Sorry I'm so late on this, just haven't been on here and been focusing on the holidays and writing! Can't express enough how much this means to me!

@thenicksamaan Good luck Nick. I'm subscribing right now. Looking forward to reading it! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

*I am starting a new project and need your help!* I am starting a newsletter called Grit + Dynamite. I'd really appreciate it if you'd subscribe and give it a shot (link below). What's in it for you? At a minimum, you get a weekly email for the next 52 weeks on the biggest lessons I've formed over the last 10 years as a consultant and start-up operator. • All with matching scars from experience • All with supporting stories, information, and examples ranging from my experiences to history to psychology to Batman All with 1 purpose: To arm you with real tools and knowledge to help you live a life you choose. 52 tools for free? Not bad… A bit about me and G+D? On September 29th I walked away from a terrible business relationship and stepped into the unknown. This meant leaving a start-up I helped create and walking away from 6 years of work with nothing. Those choices and that experience taught me a lot. The most important thing? The kind of person I want to be. And I'm the kind of person who: • Works on long-term, detailed projects • Works to deliver something that I truly believe in • Tries to create businesses and value, not just content and follower counts I am a person that builds something that I think makes the world better than how I found it. And that doesn't come from just batching a few tweets each week. If you've previously liked my writing or talking with me, I'd love it if you gave me a shot and subscribed to the newsletter. If you're just coming across me for the first time, this is what I'll say about me and my writing project: I spent 10 years as a consultant, 6 of those years operating a consulting start-up. Then I quit (we’ll get into that). Now I’m unemployed and on sabbatical. I’ve spent a long time trying to figure out how to live life with purpose, pursue my dreams, create happiness, and start and follow through on cool, independent projects. I’m taking that effort live and trying to figure it out in public, with you. Together. So if you’re someone that knows there’s more to life…more within you. And you know that life is a game that we just need to figure out the rules to. And you know that too much laughter is better than too little. And you know that most people are good but we all need to deal with far too many that are…not. And you know that change is possible and the most worthwhile pursuit humans have… …Then sign up. Join Grit + Dynamite. Because we’re going to do great things. It just takes some hard work (Grit). And harnessing luck when it comes our way (Dynamite). "Most purpose is more burden than glory." Hope to see you again. P.S. Don’t worry, I'm not some attention slut. You'll get at most 2 emails per week from me. Anything additional will always come with value and explanations. This isn't an excuse for me to try to take over your inbox. With Love/Paranoia, Nick gritanddynamite.substack.com

@DarrellLerner well..that's one kind of confidence lol

🤔

@themgmtconsult Nothing like the managers who watch campfires turn into infernos froim the sidelines. *SteerCo is furious* "Hands-off" manager:

You don't want to micro-manage, but knowing when to step in is key. When I see a project derailing, I know I have to do something. Your entry point should be as a facilitator, not a dictator. The objective is to help your team find their own solutions, not impose yours.

@rtgiordano Love it! Have Surrounded by Idiots on my list too! Have to let me know how Starfield is!

@thenicksamaan Hey what’s up Nick! Can relate to the range of emotions & the value of the time away / between. 📕 Lightbringer (Red Rising series, it’s like Hunger Games in space) 📘 Surrounded by Idiots 📗 The Obstacle is the Way 🎮 Starfield 🧑‍🚀

Starting my new job in a week. Using my time between now and then to finish a few books, hit the gym, play video games, cook, and go on a trip to the desert.

@DarrellLerner Appreciate you sir, as always! Excited for this.

@thenicksamaan Yes!!!

@Paul_Providers ^ the answer most people are searching for.

@thenicksamaan Exactly. I was shotgunning content that didn’t back up any offers. Build the offer first and post content to build authority, awareness and trust of that offer.

Offers rule. Content drools. You get immediate feedback if an offer is good. You can spend months building content only to find it leads to empty likes and an empty wallet.

@LakesideMindset Appreciate it, Will!

@themgmtconsult If we had the oceans of ink from the "sold contracts" that have never been signed we could sell printer cartridges tomorrow lolol

@thenicksamaan I've seen so many people celebrate "pending approval SoWs" that never got signed 😂

It's not sold until the contract is signed.

@philaraujoPM See it through/build the roadmap into a reality. I think people envision defining a vision as the beginning and end. But referencing it and maintaining - ensuring you're building what you set up to build - and saying no when you need to in order to do so - that's the real work

@thenicksamaan It’s true. Define it takes a lot of time. What do you mean by maintain?

Working on a vision is a great exercise for your team. Upon joining the new contract, they put me in charge right away of a new product within a team. Our first task was to agree on what to work on. The vision exercise is amazing for this.

"When you have a thought to do something - especially something nice like calling someone, writing a letter, etc. - try to just do it. Take some action on that thought in that moment. I think that's one key to living a life you want." Some great advice I've gotten this reminded me of.

"One day we will look back on this and laugh" Screw that! Laugh now. Don't delay things for the one day, some days. •Have fun now •Do the thing now One day, some days never come but now is right in front of you.

@MariaEChapero "The bright side" - love that. It's hard to face the normal stress of live coupled with marketing/comms/biz strategies designed to prey on scarcity. A combo of education, like you're building, and folks pursuing more intrinsic purpose can make navigating the world effectively.

Americans are doom-spending to cope with stress. That's the conclusion of Business Insider's latest surveys. The reasons? • 96% are worried about the current state of the economy • 27% are “doom-spending” to deal with stress • 32% have gone into more debt in the last six months What are you going to do with this information? ----------------------------- Marketing's job is to influence your prospect's buying decisions. It does this by communicating ideas, thoughts and concepts. But the influence has nuances. There is good influence (motivation). And bad influence (manipulation). You know which side I'm on. If you want to join me on the bright side, this is what I’ve found works: • Messages based on empathy: Start with a message that resonates with your current emotional state, showing understanding and empathy. • Educational content: Position your brand as a source of information and solutions, offering guidance to navigate economic downturns and make informed decisions. • Transparent communication: Avoid manipulative tactics. Clearly communicate the benefits and values of your products or services without instilling unnecessary fear. • Practical solutions: Offer practical advice or tools that help your audience take actionable steps. ----------------------------- Great marketing starts with understanding your potential customers. And by being aware of the sentiment of the market. This is how you can be the guide that leads them to a better life.

That's a compelling vision. Reminds me of a recent idea from the show Loki of all things. Most people want to create purpose but we only visualize the fun / glamorous parts. But life, achievement, are hard work and struggle. "Most purpose is more burden than glory." If you can embrace that as a responsibility, it can free you to walk down the hard path and embrace the rewarding challenges of a life you choose.

Most entrepreneurs say they'll never retire because they love their work. Most corporate employees can't wait to retire because they hate theirs. What will you choose?

Communication / softskills are really the ticket/linchpin. I've seen so many talented technical minds or experts shoot themselves in the foot b/c they wanted to let the idea do the work. If you have a great idea - it's your responsibility to create a community around it / express it effectively.

I’m building 3 marketing teams at tech companies ($33M combined). 7 things I wish I knew about leadership: 1) Finding great talent always takes longer than you think. Start looking for talent before you need it. I’m now building an ecosystem of agencies that are the best at what they do so I can recommend top talent to clients fast. 2) Say “no” to good ideas. A choice may sound good, but it’s not the path that moves the needle the most. I’ve had to say “no” to: • URL changes • Website redesigns • Changing headlines on blog posts None are bad ideas. But only say “yes” to what moves the needle on your goals. 3) Don’t feel bad delegating. At the beginning, I felt horrible telling people to do work. Who am I to tell you what to do? But people like to be challenged. Especially when you come from a place of empathy. They know you’re not just giving them work because you’re lazy. Every new employee, I find out what energizes them, and try to send them the work that gives them energy 4) When things are good, praise your team. When bad? Take responsibility. Nothing gets a team more motivated to move mountains for you than feeling praised for what they do (& protected when things go wrong). Example: • Big update to leadership on great work we’ve done? I want that sent by someone on my team. • Owning up to a mistake (& steps to fix it)? I’ll send that. Keep in mind: the trade-off means others outside your team may not know all the great work you’re doing. But you’ll have a more motivated team so you’ll overdeliver. 5) Every choice is a tradeoff. When one of my CEOs asks the team to do something, I always ask: “Yes, but at what cost?” The answer is usually your team’s time + attention. What aren’t they working on because of this goose chase? Time + attention gets expensive fast. Ask for opportunity costs and your team will feel you value their time. 6) Never be shocked by a downside. The best leaders can “see around corners.” Take time to visualize possible scenarios from your decision. Explain the likely and “bad” scenarios to your stakeholders, then overdeliver. 7) Your value is limited by communication. If you create 12/10 value, but your stakeholders think it’s 5/10… You’re perceived at 5/10. Communication is the highest ROI skill you can do. But it feels so low value because we’re not building. Don’t just send updates with the tasks you checked off. Craft each story and communicate the value you create. Leadership creates incredible leverage. Get people excited to move mountains for you and you’ll be able to achieve much bigger goals than you thought was possible. P.S. 1) If you enjoyed this, follow me, @BrianFOConnor, for lessons from building marketing teams as a CMO. 2) If you’re new here: I’ve managed a team of 200 and now I build marketing organizations for CEOs. Ask me anything in the comments. See you in the comment section!

This is a great lesson. I think the biggest thing for me on here - especially after a few recent big life shifts and taking some time away - is that I was building something I didn't want and connecting with many people i couldn't relate to. All because I was supposed to. Just trading one prison for another that way. Community / authenticity / inner-confidence is the way.

Do you actually like following people with massive bravado? I think it reeks of neediness. Your idols are just as flawed as you are. Post your authentic self to attract your community. Community builds Trust. Trust builds Revenue. Neediness repels all of this.

@cliftonsellers what's the biggest mental shift / unlock that you've learned on this path or that sent you on this path?

I will be the first millionaire in my family

@WriteyTidy This is true in biz too. The worst shops have no vision / think the hard work of vision/strategy can come later. You're always working toward something. And if you haven't defined it, someone else has.

Successful people are ones who intentionally work toward a goal. Look around and you'll see that 95% of people aren't working toward shit. Not a group I ever want to be a part of and its the main reason I moved away from my hometown as quickly as I could.