Being CEO

Don’t slip into reactive mode -> determine your top 3 priorities for the week and spend 80%+ of your time on those

Chris Labs

Most executives are entirely reactive to requests for their time and typically let anyone in the organization put meetings wherever they want on the calendar. You should instead view your calendar as something you proactively manage and design. Each Sunday afternoon, write down your top 3 priorities for the week and design your calendar to spend 80%+ of your time on those priorities. You can leave some “leftover” time on your calendar to fill with the reactive requests. You need to constantly check back in every week to not let yourself slip into a reactive mode and perform calendar audits … Continue reading Don’t slip into reactive mode -> determine your top 3 priorities for the week and spend 80%+ of your time on those

Learnings

Project selection is king

Chris Labs

So first things first, is this what you want to do? You think it’s a good product/idea, but you don’t think the business economics are great Ask yourself Are those true? Or just stories I’m telling myself If I don’t know, what work can I do to get the info? If it’s not true, then how do I replace those beliefs with more true beliefs? If it is true, then what am I going to do about it? -All Access Pass, Shaan Puri Continue reading Project selection is king

Copywriting

Mention any major point at least 3 times in a letter

Chris Labs

The basic mistake most people make is you don’t even say, “Save time.” Most ads just say,”You can do it very quickly,” or something. They don’t make the point. Make the point, and make it as many times as you need to make it. You may have 4 or 5 different bullet points in there, all saying essentially that you save time, but in maybe different ways. Don’t be afraid of saying the same thing. Most people need to be told things 3 times before it gets through to them. Like you tell them it’s free. You say, “By the … Continue reading Mention any major point at least 3 times in a letter

Copywriting

Give them something that helps them flesh out the fantasy. People aren’t as visual as we think

Chris Labs

Rather than saying you’ll save time and leave it to them to imagine what saving time means to them, say, “So instead of spending an hour changing the oil in your car, you’ll spend 10 minutes. You can use the rest of that time to take your kids out to a movie. Or you can spend the time with your family or spend the time practicing your golf swing,” or something like that. Bring it home to them. Sam Fishbine, Gary Halbert: XXX, p.14 Continue reading Give them something that helps them flesh out the fantasy. People aren’t as visual as we think

Copywriting

We have a need to feel a little special, and respected

Chris Labs

That’s why I always try to make the person feel a little special. I always try to slip in, “You’re going to get a better deal than anyone else.” […] Most people feel like they don’t get enough respect in their lives. I think anybody listening to to this tape, you guys all have little tiny slights that happened to you in childhood or high school. Sam Fishbine, Gary Halbert: XXX, p.13 Continue reading We have a need to feel a little special, and respected

Copywriting

2 reasons why a man buys anything. There’s the reason he’ll give you and there’s the real reason

Chris Labs

Often, they’re not the same at all. The classic one is the Corvette. A classic Corvette buyer will quote you all kinds of stats about the car, how it’s one of the original cars, the classic car, goes fast, has all of this engine power, has a lot of stuff. He’s well aware of its ability to turn heads and stuff. But he’s still filling a need inside. Nobody spends $90,000 on a car without fulfilling some deep inner need. Don’t scoff at those needs. Mark Twain, Sam Fishbine, Gary Halbert: XXX, p.13 Continue reading 2 reasons why a man buys anything. There’s the reason he’ll give you and there’s the real reason

Learnings

Focus on growth, growth alone

Chris Labs

We usually advise startups to pick a growth rate they think they can hit, and then just try to hit it every week. The key word here is “just.” If they decide to grow at 7% a week and they hit that number, they’re successful for that week. There’s nothing more they need to do. But if they don’t hit it, they’ve failed in the only thing that mattered, and should be correspondingly alarmed. Programmers will recognize what we’re doing here. We’re turning starting a startup into an optimization problem. And anyone who has tried optimizing code knows how wonderfully … Continue reading Focus on growth, growth alone

Learnings

Your product can’t be a little better, it has to be miles better.

Chris Labs

If you are to fight in a new market, an emerging market, then you can afford to have a mediocre or an average product. But if you fight in an existing market. Where there is a trusted brand. Then your product must be significantly better in order for you to get a market share. The customer will think: “is this so much better that I will go and switch brands?” -Elon Musk Continue reading Your product can’t be a little better, it has to be miles better.