Whatever you do, whatever project you are trying to complete or goal you are trying to achieve: always start small. As ambitious and driven professionals we have this tendency to think big, we're always on the lookout to make a breakthrough and innovate to disrupt the status-quo. That's great and we should keep on doing that. The problem arises when we also try to execute big, which results in failure as we try to boil the ocean.
The key is to start small, and break the idea into small pieces which can be tested and developed. This allows you to reduce your risk, deferring big operational and financial decisions until you possess real data. It also helps you make quick wins, creating some momentum behind your initiative, capturing the buy-in of supporters who will see the value in your initiative.
The number one reason for failure is not even trying in the first place. Who would want to tackle a gigantic problem head-on? Only when it's broken into smaller, more manageable pieces it becomes achievable. Every achievement unlocked creates a virtuous cycle which will motivate you to achieve more.
Don't believe me? Andrew Carnegie, the famous author of the best-seller "How to Win Friends and Influence People" (15 million copies sold), started by doing a short public talk that expended to a 1h30 lecture (the equivalent of a Jolt!), snowballing over 15 years to become the famous book.
Another example is blog author Andrew Chen who tweets the potential headline of an article to gauge interest before deciding which one to write.
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My number 1 lesson is to not compare myself to other people. It's basic but true. I think the world is so often set up to pit people against each other "if someones doing this at a certain age then I should be doing this". It forces us to make bad decisions. At school, at university, on grad schemes we're graded and compared to our peers but I've forced myself to let go of that mentality.
There's always someone who will be younger, prettier, smarter, more successful than me, so why allow that negative energy into my life?
I make decisions based on what I want to do, live life to the beat of my own little (weird) drum and fundamentally am happier for it. When you're pushing yourself to try new things you're opening yourself up to a lot of rejection, criticism, people knocking you back. You can listen of course, but fundamentally there's nothing wrong with living life on your own terms. If we start to think about the world as winners, losers, better or worse, we start to feel unsatisfied with what we have and lose our sense of community. Life's tough enough, why add more things to worry about to it?
Medy Ract
Medy Ract is an Innovation Consultant at Capgemini Invent, where he helps FTSE 100 companies innovate and develop new business models, services, products and experiences to expand their business. Prior to that, he did a stint as Strategic Partnerships Lead at F6S, the largest network for the startup ecosystem.Medy has worked with reputable businesses and his work includes developing an innovation lab for a major FMCG company, building a beta business for a major retailer and designing a new service for a government organisation.
