The Fink Tank

How much of the content you consume was produced in the past 24 hours? Probably a lot.

What are the chances that consuming something produced IN THE LAST 24 HOURS is the best use of your attention?? Probably low.

Maybe Col should be holding up a newspaper, hostage and ransom style, to prove our worthiness for the 24 hour cycle newsfeed. Although this episode was recorded on the 16th of November, so the information we’re holding hostage could well be dead by now.

Could reading kids books make you a better presenter? Oh YES, J Dog!!

Often the WAY you talk matters more than the words you’re saying. Whether you’re outgoing and animated, or more subtly inclined, embracing a bit of drama and performance will make you more compelling. 

Georgia Murch says people hear our content, but smell our intent. Our delivery style speaks volumes about our intent. It’s up to us to smell good.

In this Friday Fink Tank Col explains how reading stories to his kids has helped. He also enjoys the word “proffer”. 

I extol the virtues of GOING COMPLETELY OVER THE TOP to stretch your range, and as usual we laugh quite a lot. 

🚽 🔇 Who’s in the toilet watching this on mute? You, probably.

When is it a good idea to be a bit of a goose? 🦆

Bloopers and unguarded moments can build connection and trust. But they often feel risky.

Vulnerability is appealing, but sloppiness isn’t. Making a mistake can make people like you more, but only if they already liked you!

It’s a minefield. 💣 💥

We can’t all have the charm of Dr Gihan Jayaweera 'Dr G' getting busted popping and locking in his car while stopped at the lights.

Fortunately, in this Friday Fink Tank Col and I provide an easy-to-follow and infallible formula for creating real human connection*.

* depending on how you define the terms "easy-to-follow" and "infallible".

ARE YOU GUILTY OF THIS EGREGIOUS CRIME?

Okay that was a bit dramatic. Downplaying your experience, preparation and hard work might not, at time of writing, be an indictable offence. But it should be.

- It betrays the effort underpinning your accomplishments. 

- It misleads those who might be inspired by you.

- It sells you short.

Tall Poppy Syndrome has a lot to answer for.

It’s particularly bad in Australia and New Zealand, where being “a natural” is high praise.

Yeah nah. 

Nearly all achievement comes from practice and hard work, and to play that down is unhelpful.

Col rounds out this Friday Fink Tank reflecting that North Americans are less guilty of this than antipodeans. Which might explain why the auto-generated captions called it Total Puppy Syndrome.

Are you memorable, or forgettably bland? 

You probably turn the volume down on interesting parts of yourself for fear of being unprofessional. 

That sucks.

In this Friday Fink Tank we chat about the time Cam's party persona and professional world collided, courtesy of the delightful Guy Chapple. Spoiler alert: nothing exploded.

Being different and distinct is a big advantage in many roles and jobs, particularly if you’re a solo operator. But knowing how to show up is tricky.

How do you bring more of your “human logo” to your profile in a way that serves you AND your clients and audience?

Maisie the miniature horse says: Don’t be original, be relevant.

Col scythes through today’s Fink Tank with this great sentiment. Striving for originality is a fools errand. Relevance is a far more useful goal.

As C.S. Lewis tells us, simply telling the truth is a far better path to originality.

Paul Watkins models this brilliantly with his LinkedIn Daily Dose, which you should definitely check out. I’ve never met Paul, but I’m working on it. (How’s that Beau Miles-esque challenge coming along mate??)

Jane Anderson gets a shout out too, as one of the first LinkedIn “influencers” Col and I learned from many years ago.

By the way, I can’t take any credit for unearthing the C.S. Lewis quote. Alicia McKay shared it a couple of weeks ago. Much of what goes through my brain is downstream from what comes out of hers. She has a voracious appetite for information, and a unique talent for distilling what’s relevant. Follow her.

While I’m on a tagging spree, Michael Ellis delivered a timely Gabor Maté quote to me last week as part of his amazing mens’ circle I’m in. It totally shifted my thinking, and my appreciation for Michael isn’t diminished one jot because the message wasn't his original work. The hard part was setting the trust and context which allowed me to hear it.

Go well, beautiful people!

The episode where Col and I are judgemental prats.

If you have a particular interest or expertise, there's a good chance you think it's more important than it actually is. We're inclined to think EVERYONE should spend more time getting good at the thing we do well.

Can't these fools see how much better their lives would be if they'd just listen to my expert advice?? Also, I have excellent taste and values thank you very much.

We conclude this Friday Fink Tank reflecting the good earth is rich with people who'll be just right for you, and you should go find them.

Asking for money is important. 

The best street performers practise how they ask for money, because they’ve learnt the quality of their show doesn’t magically turn into dollars in the hat. 

If a busker wants to make more money, getting 5% better at asking for money will make more of a difference than getting 5% better at juggling chainsaws.

If you’re a solo business operator, you’re probably in a similar position. You’re already great at juggling your chainsaws. Make sure you’re also practising asking for money.

My brother Michael trained his dog to scratch at the balcony door if he needed to go out for a wee. After a week or so the system worked fairly well. The dog would scratch the door, Michael would open the door, the dog would go out for a wee.

The dog learned that scratching the door got Michael to open it. So far so good.

Weeks later, the dog scratched at the balcony door. Michael duly got out of his beanbag to open it. The dog ignored the open door, and dashed over to sit in Michael’s warm spot in the recently vacated bean bag. Didn’t even need a wee.

As a result, the system broke down, and the dog often wees on the floor now.

Incentivising people is tricky. Often we inadvertently encourage and reward the wrong behaviour.

This story doesn’t feature in this episode, because I only just remembered it. But Col has strong feelings about who should bear the cost of disposing of rubbish.

The best thing about being your own boss is nobody tells you what to do. The WORST part about being your own boss….

I feel this on a daily basis. I have videos I’d like to record, videos I’ve recorded that I haven’t published (they’re literally just sitting there waiting to be posted!), and a bunch of ideas for directions I could take my business. And nobody is making me do it. It SHITS ME.

If you’re a solo operator, keeping yourself accountable to your goals can be tricky. How do you give yourself the best chance of success?

Col works closely with a HEAP of people running their own business, and has seen one factor in particular to be a huge predictor of success.

In this Friday Fink Tank we chat about how important it is to Find Your Five.

Keep an eye out for the baby goats who hit mum up for an aggressive feed just after the two minute mark, and the absolute cacophony of cockatoos swooping in immediately afterwards.