Four Simple but Powerful “Smart Ass” Ideas

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting with an improv group where I shared with them some of my experiences both as an improv comedy performer/director/group manager and as a professional speaker. I am not going to share the specifics of their situation, but I made a note of some of the random ideas that popped out of my mouth. I have listed some of them here, as you may get some benefit from them as well:

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Business is Easy

I got this one from speaker Larry Winget. Years ago I heard him say, “Business is easy: be amazingly good and ask lots of people to buy. If you are not successful, you are not doing one of those two things.” That saying has stayed with me, and I still frequently quote it many years later.

With the complexities of the world today, it is easy to look at this statement as oversimplifying. But really, at the end of the day, if you are amazingly good at what you do and ask lots of people to buy, you will be successful.

The hardest part is giving yourself an honest appraisal on whether you actually are asking a lot of people to buy, and whether you really are “amazing” at what you do (more on that to come).

Goals, Strategies, Tactics

This is a phrase I kept coming back to. In any endeavor, whether it’s building a business or simply performing a great improv scene, you must have three things, in order:

1. Goals – What are your overall objectives?
2. Strategies – What are the long term plans to achieve those objectives?
3. Tactics – How will you implement those plans?

In my experience, people will often skip goals, almost always ignore strategies, and jump right to tactics. The problem with that approach is that tactics without goals and strategies are just “busy work.” Sure, you may be doing something , but are you doing the right things?

For some reason people want to jump right into action. Taking a a little time to step back and refocus on goals and strategies ca go a long way towards making sure those actions get you to where you want to go.

Sacrifice Some Fun for Lots of Awesomeness

I was asked what are some of the things I would differently if I started a new improv group knowing what I know now. One thing I said was I would be more of a hard-ass in rehearsals, and would “beat the hell out of people.”

Don’t be scared, I don’t mean that literally. What I mean is that I would have spent more time in every rehearsal drilling fundamentals, driving people to relatively flawless execution.

This kind of work isn’t fun (hence the “beat the hell out of people” line). You’re not playing the fun improv games that everyone loves to do. No, you’re doing repetitive, often tedious exercises to drill home fundamentals until they become so ingrained that it is almost impossible not to do them right.

I would still make rehearsals fun. Start with fun, end with fun, and play fun improv games throughout. But there would be a decent middle chunk where the group focused heavily on mastering fundamentals.

By sacrificing a little fun, the group would get much better, much faster. Plus, the hobbyists would be weeded out from the serious performers.

This willingness to drill and focus on the fundamentals, even when not fun, is what separates the successful from the average. The basketball player who is willing to stay late after practice and shoot countless free throws. The musician who spends time every day practicing scales. The martial artist who practices the most basic forms and techniques years after he has learned them.

What are the fundamentals of your endeavor? Are you willing to sacrifice a little fun to master them?

How Good Are You Really?

Here’s the sad news: chances are, you are not yet good enough. Here’s the good news: chances are your competition is also not good enough. Here’s the great news: most people, including your competition, will never put in the work to get “good enough,” which means you have an opportunity.

How good is “good enough”? Well that depends on your goals (you see why that step is so important?) But if you want to build a successful business, or rise to the top of your field, or stand out from the crowd, then “good enough” needs to be pretty damned good.

Here’s a start: don’t judge how good you are based on your own self-estimation. Don’t judge it on a colleague, friend, or even professional feedback giver (whoever that may be in your field). Don’t judge it on reviews. Don’t judge it on client feedback, whether or not they are a decision maker. Base it on one thing: Are people falling all over themselves recommending you?

So when I ask, “are you good enough?” what I am really asking is, “are people falling all over themselves to recommend you?”

The sad news: that’s a tough point to get to it. The good news: Since it’s tough, very few of your competitors will get there. The great news: As I pointed out in my Wanna Get Good? post, you absolutely can get to that level

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Like the ideas in this post? If you could you use some ideas of your own to help you solve problems, gain clarity, or generate new and powerful ideas for your business, then check out: Smart ASS Ideas

About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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