Back from Umbria, and not as rested as I expected
The Friday Takeaway 🥡
I came back from a week in the Umbrian hills expecting to feel refreshed.
Instead I didn't sleep properly for three nights.
Which was annoying, because there was nothing to lie awake about. The team had done an amazing job while I was gone.
I think it was the contrast. A week of doing very little, then straight back into a pitch and lots of things to move forward. My head hadn't caught up with my calendar!
And if I don't sleep, I'm no use to anyone.
- Doing something beats doing nothing.
The market is cautious and I'm seeing a lot of things stall. Decisions parked. Projects held until next quarter. Everyone waiting for a bit more certainty before they commit.
I understand it. But almost every time, moving beats waiting.
Even when it doesn't go the way you hoped, what you learn is worth more than the month you'd have spent not knowing.
- Understanding first.
I've been practising tactical empathy this month. Going into every conversation with the aim of understanding the other person's position before I put mine forward.
It's been sparked by Never Split the Difference, and then Fight Less, Win More by Jonathan Smith and Derek Gaunt.
I'd always assumed I was good at this. But doing it deliberately, with a bit of structure, turns out to be a different thing entirely.
Better conversations with clients. Better conversations with the team. Better conversations with my kids, which I wasn't expecting.
- Hyperfocus.
My wife gave me a word for something last week. Hyperfocus.
I've done it my whole life. Lock onto one client, one project, one person, and make rapid progress. I'd never had a name for it.
Having one has been more useful than I'd have guessed. When I move that focus deliberately between things, the work is much better.
Forty two years in and I'm still learning how I work best.
- Purpose does the heavy lifting.
We had a Kingston Giving board meeting this week. I chair it, and we're partway through restructuring the charity to set it up properly for what comes next.
Every trustee is a volunteer. A lot of what we're working through right now is unglamorous admin.
The energy in the room was better than plenty of paid meetings I've sat in.
That's what a clear purpose does. When people understand what they're building and believe in it, they'll do things with endless energy and passion.
- One number from the week.
We looked at anonymised data across a large set of client sites. Traffic arriving from LLMs converts 140% better than other sources.
The volume is tiny. Often under 2% of sessions. Which makes it easy to dismiss.
However, that gap tells you something about how ready someone is by the time they arrive, and the volume is only going one way.
Next week I'm going to focus on my early morning routine, see if I can get my sleep sorted out. I'll report back.
In the meantime, I'm curious. What's the thing you've had parked for weeks waiting for a better moment? Comment of DM me!
First published on LinkedIn.
