dancarlton

Co-founder of many things, including The PARAGRAPH Project. Fan of small thinking and @grealey

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

A brand’s identity is its repeated behaviors.

Stop spending so much time ruminating about what to SAY and start obsessing about what you DO and how you consistently show up for customers.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Too many strategists believe their job is to come to their clients with the answers. When really the strategists' job is to come to their clients with opportunities. So together they can come up with the answers.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

The answer is "yes."

Truth can be objective or subjective.

We run into trouble when we assume a truth we hear is one form when it's really the other.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Don’t ignore the outliers. It’s often with the outliers — not the averages — where the insights hide.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

@missjenny @JamesClear That stings me too!

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

San Francisco’s first millionaire was not a gold miner.

It was a man who sold picks, shovels, and pans to gold miners.

His name was Sam Brannan and he realized the opportunity was not in the gold but in leading people to gold.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Risk requires calm.

There’s this perception that fast paced, frenetic processes and corporate cultures lead to more risk taking.

From what I've observed, it's actually the opposite.

Good leaders know people need to feel safe in order to try something dangerous.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Clarity comes from conversation not contemplation.

You need to give voice to what you're thinking.

Let your ideas out and subject them to feedback.

That’s the only way to really know if there is any merit to them.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Whether you're selling a product or simply selling your ideas, trust is paramount.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Asking "why" may be our first instinct. But asking "how" is where progress is made.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Some strategists revel in the mental sparring that comes from debating their teammates or clients.

But I've found the best strategists use their intellect not to win debates but to introduce an opportunity in such a way that there are no debates.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Great strategists usually run out time before they run out of questions. At some point, you need to stop asking questions and act on the information you have on hand, even if it’s incomplete.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

"To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things every day."

Lao Tse

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Research is the act of curating not just collecting.

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

Humans' secret sauce: rudeness!

[dancarlton @dancarlton]

People silence themselves because they think they don’t have enough experience to voice their opinion.

But you don’t have to be the preeminent expert in a field to have influence. You just need to be a few steps ahead of the people you’re trying to help.