Chris Gratigny

I ran across a form that allows founders of startups to request testers found http://alphalist.co/pitch-the-list. These three questions are questions that everyone who is starting a business must be able to solidly answer.

1. What is the problem you are solving?
2. Who has the problem?
3. What is the solution to this problem?

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If people never disagree with you, it's not cause you're really smart. You aren't a genius, sorry. If you are always the smartest person in the room, you're delusional. People are smarter than you. There's a really good chance you're smarter than me!

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Each person has a name. One name. That name is spelled a specific way. It is pronounced a specific way. Please take care to learn how to spell people's names around you. Learn how to say them. It's not offensive to ask someone how to pronounce their name. Has it ever bothered when someone has cared enough in order to ask you how to say your name? Or has asked you how to spell your name? It's completely alright to ask people information about themselves. I think they will actually appreciate it. How often do people ask you, and genuinely care about how you spell and say your name?

To really "get" something, I believe you need to have:
 

1. Purpose in what you are learning so you know why that competence is important to learn.
2. A safe environment where, if you do it wrong, you are able to try again.
3. Feedback given so that you know when you did well, poorly, and what you can improve.

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I wrote a frustrated note today to our neighbor. It said something like "Please take responsibility for your dog. It was in our yard today.  It tore the pond liner. When I try to take it back home it BITES me. Please send me your contact information. If you don't come get your dog within 1/2 hour next time it crosses the fence I'm calling animal control."

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Countless times in life I've found myself apologizing for something. Fairly regularly I find myself apologizing for not doing something or another. You know that feeling that you have when you let someone else down? I know I sure hate that feeling. I've found so many times that we end up not caring until it's too late. Regret comes and you wish you would have done something earlier.

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I have this planned event on my calendar on Sunday nights. It's called "week prep" and I try to do it every week. I make sure I'm not behind on emails, see what the week's going to look like. The problem with this "week prep" is that I get latched onto something in order to get an early start to my week and stay up way too late. You know when you try to get ready for an event the next day and you stay up late getting ready for it? Every week it tends to happen. Why oh why.

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You've gotten these emails. You read it, stare at the screen and think, "What do you want from me?" You pick up the phone or walk over to the person's desk and say, "What are you asking?" You read the email and can't figure out just what they are wanting you to do.  You may have someone else read it and you both say, "Huh? I don't know how to respond...."

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This week there's been a common theme that has come up that has intrigued me. It's the difference between communicating "done" and "draft". When work is sent to me on a project that I'm responsible for, I have completely different feedback if I think you're "done" vs it's a "draft" you're showing me.

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