Today on The Startup Chat Steli and Hiten take a look at how to add value to those you interact with and how to be prepared to be helpful to those who seek you out for assistance.  The topic stems from a conversation Hiten had with somebody who recently asked how it always seems he is prepared when asked for advice or help.  He thinks of it more as being prepared to engage and focus on what is happening at the time.  Steli believes the feeling of being prepared comes from perspective of  confidence and clarity.

Steli explains how The Startup Chat conversations he and Hiten have are done with little preparation or research, but more of a plan of what they can talk about that will provide something of value to listeners.  He thinks that experience and all the years of work, study, research, failures and successes they've had plays an important part in that.  Hiten thinks it doesn’t necessarily take years of experience to be able to add value.

When somebody requests you help, there are a number of ways you can be prepared and provide value. Those ways of looking at adding value include:

Being fully present and paying attention to what is being asked of you

Believing you can add value

Doing some preparation work beforehand to ensure you fully understand the situation so you have a sense of where you may be able to help

Don’t dismiss the value an outsider can add

Hiten cites lyrics from the song Uptown (Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars) that he read from Genius.com.

From the second verse:

Ride to Harlem, Hollywood, Jackson Mississippi

If we show up, we gon’ show out

Smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy

According to Genius.com, the lyrics mean that no matter where Bruno and his band go to perform they do their thing and bring the house down.  

Hiten has adopted that philosophy and says, “when I show up I’m gon’ show out.”  

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