Stop Doing Dumb Stuff

When I need a quick kick in the pants, I reach for Tom Peters’ Brand You 50.

Each one of his 50 tips are tow trucks pulling me out of what ever rut I find myself in.

This is why I’m so excited about his new manifesto from Seth Godin’s ChangeThis project.

This I Believe! – Tom’s 60 TIBs

Yes, that’s 60 perspective changing points to reposition your work, and more importantly, your life.

  • 22. Screw-ups are the mark of excellence; I’ve seen many teams so afraid of making a mistake that the project falls victim of Analysis Paralysis. It’s not pretty. Often, the paralysis could have been avoided by the creation of a few prototypes and being comfortable with learning from failure.
  • 40. Stop doing dumb stuff; Systems become ingrained, systems that were created to solve one problem are repurposed to solve a different problem. They start to get in the way. They start being counter-productive.
  • 43. Take charge of your destiny. Or as Seth Godin says – The Time (to take action) is NOW. Things are constantly in flux, and ironically, that change you’re waiting for to make the big move won’t. That first step is up to you.

The remaining 57 are great and just as thought-provoking.

Thanks Tom.